Campaign For A Living Venice

A fiery city council meeting today after news breaks of the investigation into contracts and corruption and the arrest of Renato Boraso. The mayor, not present at the meeting, makes a statement: “We are moving forward”. In front of the town hall a demonstration calls for his resignation

July 17, 2024

July 17 was one of the most heated City Council meetings ever held in Venice, taking place the day after the investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office which includes the mayor Luigi Brugnaro and sent a councilor of his council, Renato Boraso, to prison. The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, who is supported by FI, FDI, Lega and Lista Brugnaro, was not present, but stated: “We are moving forward”.

The mayor did not take part in the City Council meeting as there was already a predefined agenda, but he had a letter read: ”As I already anticipated yesterday, in my heart and in conscience, I know that I have always carried out and to continue to carry out the office of Mayor as a service to the community, free of charge, always putting public interests first, in transparency and in total honesty” Brugnaro began.

”I myself will be the one to ask to include the issue on the agenda in one of the next City Council meetings, to report to you councilors and to the whole city, not so much about the judicial issues, which at this point will be addressed in that setting, but rather about questions of a political and administrative nature that are connected and inherent to the investigation itself” explaining that he did not do so today ”because I have no intention of transforming the courtroom into a battlefield, without having analyzed all the whole situation in detail, in order to then intervene with good reason” concludes Brugnaro.

A protest demonstration promoted by the Rivolta social center, and the opposition committees was held in conjunction with the municipal assembly, to call for the mayor’s resignation.

Boraso Ready to Resign

The judicial storm that has shaken the lagoon administration is made up of different strands, but as the Chief Prosecutor of the Venice Public Prosecutor’s Office Bruno Cherchi explains, the central figure is Renato Boraso, Councilor for Mobility of the lagoon administration, who is now in precautionary custody in prison.

He has said he is ready to resign, as announced by his defense lawyer, Umberto Pauro, who met the politician in the Padua prison. “The resignation mechanism is not so immediate – explains Pauro – in light of the procedures and my client’s detention situation. But he is absolutely evaluating this prospect, both out of respect for the institutions and for full freedom in the conduct of his defense”

Entrepreneur Fabrizio Ormenese is also in prison, and seven people are under house arrest. Among those under investigation, eighteen in total, is also mayor Luigi Brugnaro. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Venice hypothesizes a series of crimes against the public administration. The complaints against municipal officials, public companies and entrepreneurs are related to several episodes of corruption, in particular for the sale of Palazzo Papadopoli in Venice.

The Wiretap: “They tell me you ask for money, be careful”

From a telephone interception dated March 17, 2023 – cited in the GIP order – Mayor Brugnaro is heard addressing Boraso, harshly reprimanding him: “they tell me that you are asking for money, be careful”. But the affair involving the mayor of the lagoon concerns the negotiations for the sale of the “Pili” area overlooking the Venice lagoon to Singapore entrepreneur Chiat Kwong Ching. The investigations concern the “blind trust” that manages Brugnaro’s assets. “We don’t understand why Luigi Brugnaro is under investigation. There were no searches and seizures, we only received a page and a half of notice of investigation and as per procedure we were not given any other paper,” Alessandro Rampinelli, the attorney for Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, tells ANSA. “We cannot understand the meaning of the accusation – he adds – for us it is unimaginable to hear talk of corruption. We cannot explain why. The mayor is astonished. The Pili affair [investigation] is inexplicable because the property was acquired before his candidacy for mayor, and a considerable volume of it was already buildable, practically a city”. And about Palazzo Papadopoli, Rampinelli explains that “a first auction was held with an estimate of around 14 million euros, the building was deserted and after some time, with a second estimate, the price was lowered and it was sold at an auction, published in maximum transparency, with only one participant, who won it. If other people’s actions also involve Brugnaro – he concludes – we will evaluate them and act accordingly”.

In addition to Brugnaro, the head of the mayor’s cabinet and general director of the municipality Morris Ceron, and the deputy head of cabinet Derek Donadini are also under investigation.

Luigi Brugnaro: “I’m appalled!”

Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro stated in a note, “I am appalled! In my heart and in conscience, I know that I have always carried out and will continue to carry out the role of mayor as a service to the community, free of charge, always putting public interests before”. And on the merits of the investigation, he added: “The idea that I was able to act regarding Pili to bring advantages in terms of buildability and/or urban planning variations is totally unfounded. As is known, and I have explained publicly, that is an area already buildable before my administration”.

Councilor for Mobility Boraso in Prison

Among the measures taken was the imprisonment of the municipal councilor for Mobility, Renato Boraso, apparently involved for his activity as a financial consultant, and building contractor Fabrizio Ormenese. The investigation, conducted by the Venetian prosecutor’s office, also led to preventive seizures of around one million euros.

Searches at Ca’ Farsetti and at the AVM/ACTV Headquarters

The searches that were carried out concerned the Municipality of Venice, however, the headquarters of the Avm/Actv lagoon public transportation group was also searched. In fact, the general director of the company, Giovanni Seno, is also among those under investigation for an affair that involved some Actv contracts.

Investigations which appear to have also involved Luis Lotti, the Italian representative for Ching Chiat Kwong, a Chinese tycoon based in Singapore who specializes in large real estate transactions, to whom the current municipal administration sold two historic buildings, sales that were at the center of a journalistic investigation by the Rai 3 program Report.

Source: RAI