Report
Corruption in Venice: Councilor, mayor implicated in historic build scandal
City Councilor Boraso got into trouble for several episodes, including the sale of a historic building, Palazzo Papadopoli, at a price of €10 million, when the true value should have been at least €4 million higher.
A judicial earthquake is shaking up Venice: City Councilor for Mobility Renato Boraso has been arrested and Mayor Luigi Brugnaro is under investigation (along with 15 other entrepreneurs and public officials) in a scandal involving corruption and selling off the city's historic buildings.
The amount of involvement of the figures under investigation varies greatly. For instance, regarding Mayor Brunaro, prosecutor Bruno Cherchi said that he had been served the notice that he was under investigation “for his own protection.” The mayor's involvement is connected to the blind trust that has been managing his assets, in the context of the attempted sale of an urban area to Singaporean businessman Chiat Kwong Ching (which ultimately didn’t go through).
In 2017, the mayor of Venice decided to entrust a New York-based trust with the management of the companies he owns, including the employment agency Umana, which in 2022 had a turnover of €985 million. According to Brugnaro, this move was partly a political gesture: “In order to show all my love for Venice, my city, for the sake of which I am dedicating myself wholly to the responsibility of first citizen, in addition to foregoing the salary I would receive as mayor, I have chosen to set up a blind trust, the first of its kind in Italy, even though there is no law on the matter,” he announced on December 19, 2017.
City Councilor Boraso got into trouble for several episodes, including the sale of a historic building, Palazzo Papadopoli, at a price of €10 million, when the true value should have been at least €4 million higher. The prosecutors argue that the councilor allegedly worked to lower the valuation number and in return received a payment of €73,200 for “consulting” to the company Stella Consulting, which he co-owns with his wife. “No consulting actually took place,” the investigators claim, adding that the money was then funneled through to other companies, such as Boraso Agricola.
Another instance of corruption alleged by the prosecutors concerns the construction of a parking lot near the airport, for which Boraso allegedly pocketed €80,000 in 2015 from the businessman Nievo Benetazzo in exchange for a change to the master plan.
Finally, the prosecutors also examined the local public transport contracts, in an investigation that reportedly began in 2021 following a criminal complaint. Preliminary Investigation Judge Alberto Scaramuzza had very harsh words for Boruso in his order: according to the judge, he “has systematically turned his public function into a commodity, selling it out to the interests of private individuals,” which means he poses an “exceptionally high danger to society” as well as a “great risk of repeat offenses.”
There is also the charge of destroying evidence: before being arrested, the city councilor allegedly destroyed a large quantity of documents, also enlisting the help of his private secretary.
Mayor Brugnaro gave out a terse comment: “I am appalled. In my heart and conscience, I know that I have always fulfilled, and will continue to fulfill the duties of the office of mayor as a service to the community, unpaid, always putting public interest first.” For now, at least, he hasn’t benefited from statements of support from the national leaders of the center-right alliance.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/corruzione-a-venezia-arrestato-lassessore-boraso on 2024-07-17