Building contractor Francesco
Caltagirone Bellavista was acquitted on appeal Monday on fraud
charges in a construction project at the port of Imperia in
northwestern Italy after the Turin appeals court agreed with a
lower court there was "a lack of evidence".
Caltagirone Bellavista, owner of the company Acquamare
which was responsible for the construction of Imperia's new
port, gave the thumbs up sign after the sentence was read out.
Prosecutors said they would appeal to Italy's third and last
tier of judgment, the supreme Court of Casstion.
Prosecutors had asked for an eight-year sentence for
Caltagirone Bellavista, who was accused of fraud and abuse of
office in construction of the tourist port.
The businessman said outside court that he was relieved.
According to investigators who launched the probe in 2010,
a public tender for the construction contract was never held.
The cost of construction, originally estimated at 30
million euros, was raised to 140 million euros before police
seized the nearly finished works in 2010.
Former industry minister Claudio Scajola had also been
named in the initial probe but charges were later dropped.
Scajola, and the company Aquamare, have always rejected the
accusations, saying that the job involved private, not public
money.
Scajola had been forced to resign when he was indicted on
charges related to a real-estate deal involving an expensive
home with a view over Rome's iconic Colosseum.
He became the butt of jokes after claiming the apartment was
rented out to him without his knowledge.
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