Robert Formigoni will have to go to jail. L'former president of the Lombardy Region was definitively convicted of corruption. Thursday evening, after just over three hours in the council chamber, the final word came from the Cassation: five years and ten months' imprisonment, with a slight reduction in the sentence due to the statute of limitations compared to the appeal sentence.
The other appeals of the co-defendants were also rejected: the sentence of 7 years and 7 months for Costantino Passerino, former manager of Maugeri and that of 3 years and 4 months for the entrepreneur Carlo Farina were confirmed.
Formigoni was retained responsible for a round of bribes related to health care: money from the coffers of San Raffaele and the Maugeri Foundation in Pavia. The former Governor received luxury benefits of six and a half million euros including yachts, holidays and the co-ownership of a large villa in Sardinia.
Born politically in Christian Democracy and pupil of Don Giussani, the founder of Communion and Liberation, Formigoni was nicknamed "the Celestial”, like the Chinese emperors. He led Lombardy for almost twenty years: from 1995 to 2013.
In Cassation, the Attorney General had asked to confirm the maximum sentence, taking into account the importance of the role covered by Formigoni and the extent of the corruption. According to Celeste's lawyers, however, the prosecution had no evidence.
He was sentenced last September on Appeal to seven years and six months, with the perpetual interdiction from public offices and the seizure of assets.
Now Formigoni will have to go to prison despite his 71 years: will not be able to enjoy the prison benefits provided for the over 70s, which are excluded for those who have committed crimes against the public administration.
As soon as the device of the sentence of the Cassation is transmitted, the substitute pg Antonio Lamanna, owner of the file, will issue the execution order of the sentence. Order that will be immediately executed unless, as probable, Formigoni turns himself in spontaneously.
