Milan urban planning investigation: Riesame revokes Catella's house arrest

In fact, according to the public prosecutor's office - as highlighted in the supplementary brief of 14 July - Catella had a 'masterly way, bordering on the improbable, and outside the law, of interacting with the public administration, using as a go-between councillor Tancredi, general manager Malangone and mayor Sala, whom he treats as his clumsy and inefficient employees, to condition to his advantage the opinions of the Landscape Commission, the contents of the calls for tenders in which the municipality must auction the properties of its heritage'.

Catella in Milan is known for the construction of Porta Nuova, Piazza Gae Aulenti, as well as projects in the pipeline such as the regeneration of the former Farini depot and the construction of the Olympic Village for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Above all, the Pirellino affair emerges in the papers, which is still controversial. The building was purchased in 2019 for 197 million, through a public auction. The project was redesigned with the support of Stefano Boeri (who is also under investigation), who intended to build a Botanical Tower, next to a 25-storey skyscraper. The municipality then tried to impose a social housing quota, which Catella refused, paving the way for an administrative dispute.

For the public prosecutor's office, this affair would constitute blatant evidence of bribery, given that an alleged bribe of EUR 28,548 was paid to Scandurra by Coima (this was the only figure shared by the gip in the pre-trial detention order, not the other more onerous fees that the public prosecutor's office contested in this affair). The Pirellino affair was, however, partly scaled down by the gip, who did not find that Tancredi had been induced to give or promise benefits in his relations with Catella.

The evolution of the Landscape Commission's decisions for the Pirellino represents for the prosecution evidence of subservience to Catella. On 23 March there is an initial negative opinion, and in intercepted conversations Catella declares his opposition to councillor Tancredi, describing the corrections requested as 'unsustainable'. On 18 May, the commission gives another no, and again Catella asks for explanations, with the councillor defending the decision by claiming that the changes made are only formal. However, Tancredi says he wants to intervene "well beyond his role", also to prevent Boeri from leaving the project. Thus on 22 June the opinion becomes positive.

Shortly afterwards, on 31 July 2023, Coima issued an invoice for EUR 28,548 for a consultancy service to Scandurra, formally for the Via Messina 53 student residence project, which, according to the prosecutors, was in fact intended to 'thank' Scandurra for the authorisation for the Pirellino project.

All six suspects remanded in custody on 31 July have been released, but addition Tiziana Siciliano stated that the investigation will continue, having a 'very solid' basis.

This is Catella's statement after the release: 'In relation to all the circumstances in which we have interacted with the municipal administration, I express my esteem for the professional ethics of Christian Malangone, Giancarlo Tancredi and colleagues who have always acted with respect for their public function. Among other things, we have also dedicated part of our time to writing the book 'OTTO - part one' as a contribution of concrete perspective reflection, starting precisely from the ongoing urban planning investigation and the words of Archbishop Delpini, of which we will anticipate the publication of chapter 4 'Responsibility' shortly'.