Milan finance police have arrested
architect Giovanni Oggioni, the former director of the
construction department and member of the landscape committee of
the Italian financial capital's municipal government, judicial
sources said on Wednesday.
Oggioni has been placed under house arrest as ordered by
preliminary investigations judge (GIP) Mattia Fiorentini as part
of a probe into the urban management of Milan.
The case is part of a number of probes coordinated by Milan
State attorneys Marina Petruzzella, Paolo Filippini and Mauro
Clerici on charges of corruption and fraud, among others.
The local association of construction companies Assimpredil-Ance
Milan and real estate development company Abitare In are also
under investigation as part of a probe that has also led to the
seizure of some 300,000 euros in assets suspected of having been
illicitly earned by the architect, according to judicial
sources.
Commenting on the arrest on Wednesday, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala
said he was "living with concern", although "at the moment I
don't have enough information to express judgement".
"As soon as I will understand something, I will talk", said
Sala, explaining he knew nothing about the charges and whether
they were related to Oggioni's role as a municipal official or
to his work for Ance.
Sala, however, also said that construction work in Milan has
halted because "the State Attorney's probes have led to a
paralysis", addressing students at the local Parini high school.
According to prosecutors, Oggioni had set up a parallel
organization within the municipal offices involved in the probe
to give preferential treatment to a selected group of
professionals, even though their urban development projects did
not respect regulations, in exchange for benefits.
State attorneys have asked for the other officials involved in
the probe to be suspended from public office.
In particular, Oggioni cooperated with Marco Cerri, a former
member of the landscape commission who is also under
investigating, in allegedly drafting amendments to the so-called
Save Milan legislation to halt urban planning investigations
acting, through Cerri, as a lobbyist in Parliament, according to
court papers including tapped conversations between the pair.
The alleged aim was to propose legislative measures that acted
on the most clear violations discovered by magistrates,
shielding Milan construction operators from investigations,
according to GIP Mattia Fiorentini.
Meanwhile Assimprendil Ance said it had "always operated with
the utmost transparency and correctness" in a note, stressing
"full confidence" in magistrates investigating the case and
saying it is "cooperating with judicial authorities to provide
every useful element to ascertain the facts".
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