Motorway investigation, one plea bargain and 46 on trial

A plea bargain and 46 indictments closed the preliminary hearing for the investigation that began after the collapse of the Morandi bridge (14 August 2028, 43 victims). After the tragedy, investigators had discovered false reports on the state of the viaducts, the dangerous noise barriers. The bis investigation had also included the collapse of the Bertè tunnel on the A26 (30 December 2019) and the failure to comply with European standards for tunnel safety.

The public prosecutor had proposed 12 plea bargains, but only one agreed with the prosecutors on a sentence of five months and 10 days. Among the defendants are former Aspi CEO Giovanni Castellucci, former Autostrade per l'Italia numbers two and three Paolo Berti and Michele Donferri Mitelli, and Stefano Marigliani, a former director of the same company, all defendants in the Morandi viaduct collapse trial.

The charges, under various headings, are forgery, fraud, endangering transport safety, and culpable collapse. The crime of omission of official acts has been filed. According to investigators from the Guardia di Finanza, coordinated by prosecutors Stefano Puppo and Walter Cotugno, Spea's technicians softened reports on the state of the bridges to avoid the work. It had also been discovered that the sound-absorbing barriers mounted on some sections of the motorway were defective and had come loose, causing problems for motorists. One of the suspects had even said on the phone that they were 'stuck with Vinavil'. The trial will begin on 8 January next.

Investigations had shown that the inspections of bridges and viaducts and also of tunnels were not carried out according to the conventions, i.e. without entering the caissons or with special means, which is why underestimated grades were given that did not correspond to the actual state of the infrastructure.

The inspections in the tunnels also took place in cars passing at 60 kilometres per hour without looking at the vaults, while some tunnels would never be inspected. Those fake inspections gave rise to false reports that were then forwarded to the MIT. According to the investigators, the safety of motorists was jeopardised by the risk of detachment of material from the tunnel vaults, allowing 'the continuation of circulation in the tunnels', 'despite the obvious danger caused by the omission, lasting decades, of any control'.