A Milan court on Friday
sentenced entrepreneur Giuseppe Nastasi to eight years and 10
months in prison in a fast-track trial on charges including
criminal association for tax fraud, embezzlement and money
laundering for the Mafia in a case on the suspected infiltration
of the Fiera di Milano group by Cosa Nostra.
Nastasi, the administrator of the Dominus Scarl consortium of
cooperatives specialized in setting up stands, is believed to be
close to the entourage of fugitive Mafia boss Matteo Messina
Denaro by DDA anti-Mafia investigators in Milan coordinated by
prosecutor Paolo Storari.
Eight other defendants were convicted to terms of up to five
years in prison.
Investigators believe Nastasi set up a network of companies
around Dominus and issued false invoices to create slush funds
for the Mafia.
Dominus, through a company controlled by the Fiera Milano
group called Nolostand, obtained contracts worth over 18 million
euros, including subcontracts for Milan Expo 2015 pavilions,
according to investigators.
Prosecutor Storari, who had asked for a nine-year jail term
for Nastasi, said during the trial that the businessman is
linked to the "Mafia family Accardi di Partanna", near Trapani,
Sicily.
He also said investigations showed he acted as a member of
the entourage of fugitive Cosa Nostra No.1 Messina Denaro, along
with his former right-hand man Liborio Pace, who is a defendant
in a separate trial.
Nastasi and Pace were arrested last July together with nine
others as part of the probe.
Nastasi's father Calogero on Friday was sentenced to three
years and eight months, along with three other defendants.
The court also ruled in favor of compensation to be paid to
the city of Milan, Fiera Milano and Nolostand, the amount of
which will be decided by a civil tribunal.
Milan's city administration was granted a provisional sum of
200,000 euros by the court, which will issue the motivations for
the sentence in 90 days.
photo: Messina Denaro
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