{
"text": "<p>Mafia and corruption: Salvatore Iacolino investigated, regional manager Teresi arrested</p>"
}

The Prosecutor's Office of Palermo has ordered a series of searches in the homes and offices of the general director of the Policlinico of Messina and former European parliamentarian of the Pdl Salvatore Iacolino. Appointed to lead the hospital of the City of the Strait last week, Iacolino is under investigation for external complicity in mafia association and aggravated corruption for having facilitated Cosa Nostra in the context of the investigation that today led to the arrest for corruption of a regional official and a mafia entrepreneur.

According to the magistrates of the Dda of Palermo, led by prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia, the manager would have made available to the boss of Favara, his fellow townsman, Carmelo Vetro, already convicted for mafia association, the influence and network of relationships built thanks to the position held at the Region as general director of the strategic planning department of the Health Department and his political experience, contributing to the strengthening of the Favara clan.

The prosecutors accuse the former deputy of having supported the economic interests of the mafia boss and his men, such as the entrepreneur Giovanni Aveni, by providing them with information on ongoing administrative procedures or facilitating meetings with important regional officials such as the manager of the Asp of Messina Giuseppe Cuccì, the vice president of the Sicilian Anti-Mafia Commission Bernardette Grasso, and the head of Civil Protection Salvatore Cocina.

According to the accusation, moreover, Iacolino, as general director of strategic planning of the Health Department, would have acted contrary to his official duties, through continuous solicitations to the administrative leaders of the Asp of Messina regarding administrative proceedings indicated by Vetro. The former MEP would then have failed to report that Vetro had been convicted for mafia and would have instead facilitated the creation of confidential channels with top figures of the regional administration to help him obtain jobs in the public sector. In return, he would have received funding for electoral campaigns and promises of hiring workers. 

 The investigation into Salvatore Iacolino arises from the discovery of a consolidated system of corruption linked to contracts awarded by the Region, who was recently appointed general director of the Policlinico of Messina and is now under investigation for external complicity in mafia association and aggravated corruption. Investigators have reportedly established close ties between Carmelo Vetro, a member of the mafia family of Favara, and the manager. Vetro, the son of a mafia boss, has over time also leveraged important relationships stemming from his membership in Freemasonry. According to the magistrates, who ordered searches at the homes of the suspect, Iacolino would have been at the complete disposal of the boss from his hometown, ensuring business prospects for the company linked to him, ANSA Ambiente.

In exchange, the manager would have referred to the mobster individuals he was interested in having hired by a company operating in the Messina area and in one case would have put the boss in contact with other political figures, such as the vice president of the regional Anti-Mafia Bernadette Grasso, so that she could recommend his protégés. Essentially, Vetro would have systematically exploited his fellow townsman to establish and consolidate relationships with key figures in the regional administration, in the public works and healthcare sectors. Among the suspicious events indicated by the magistrates are the procedure for regional accreditation for healthcare services of the company ARCOBALENO s.r.l. linked to Giovanni Aveni, an entrepreneur in business with the Favara boss and referred to the manager by him, and the revocation of regional accreditation in the healthcare sector for ANFILD ONLUS of Messina, which belonged to a competitor of Vetro. Iacolino, in addition to making himself available to handle the administrative duties of his office, would have repeatedly urged the general and administrative directors of the ASP of Messina and created a reserved direct channel between them, Vetro, and Aveni. Aveni is also under investigation.

During the searches at the homes of manager Salvatore Iacolino, who is under investigation for external complicity in mafia association and aggravated corruption in the context of an investigation into bribes that a regional official allegedly received from a mafia member from Agrigento, 90,000 euros in cash were found.

He would have awarded contracts to a company owned by a mobster in exchange for money: with the charge of aggravated corruption for having favored Cosa Nostra, and in particular the boss of Favara (Ag) Carmelo Vetro, Giancarlo Teresi, regional director of the Department of Infrastructure and Mobility of the Sicilian Region, has been arrested. The Agrigento mafia boss has also ended up in prison for the same crimes.

Among others, the investigation also involves Vetro's brother, Salvatore, and Antonio Lombardo, an employee and formal administrator of the mobster entrepreneur's company. According to the accusation, for years Teresi would have "subordinated his function" to the private interests of the boss of Favara, who was previously sentenced to 9 years for mafia, with a now definitive ruling, receiving various bribes in return. Only between March, July, and August of last year, there would be three confirmed payments of money. Under the scrutiny of investigators are the works for remediation, dredging, coastal replenishment, and for the disposal in authorized landfills of sediments removed from the seabed commissioned by Teresi's department for the ports of Marinella di Selinunte, Scicli-Donnalucata, and Terrasini.

Teresi would have systematically sponsored and favored the company secretly managed by Vetro, Ansa Ambiente s.r.l., which deals with waste brokerage and trade. The official, through corrupt agreements, would have allowed Vetro to bypass the obstacle represented by the preventive measures he faced and the regulations regarding anti-mafia interdiction allowing him to effectively carry out business activities "in a very delicate sector, such as waste, earning money and prestige in criminal circles," also in light of his relationships with figures such as Giovanni Filardo, cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro.