crime is a problem. Is it right to abolish it? The choice is up to the jurists»- Corriere.it

Antonio Decaro what do you think of the abolition of the crime of abuse of office?

“Over the years, we have never asked for immunity or impunity for that crime.”

We, or rather the mayors that you represent as president of the Anci. You are also mayor of Bari, what do you think of the government’s abolition of abuse of office?

«The problem of abuse of office is serious for mayors. 67% of those who receive the guarantee notice do not even go to trial. There is data from 2021 that says that 99% of those who received the guarantee notice were acquitted, or did not even have the non-indictment “.

So how do you think this problem can be solved?

«We mayors have been asking for years that the perimeter of the crime of abuse of office be better defined. A change has been made, with the Conte government ».

And what happened?

“The number of warranty notices has decreased, but the problem highlighted by the absurd statistics I have just mentioned has remained”.

So is the abolition of crime a good thing?

“I don’t have the technical skills to say what’s good and what’s bad.”

Is the Democratic Party against the abolition of the crime of abuse of office?

“Yes, it’s against it. But I don’t make it an ideological question, nor in this case do I answer to the party of which I have a membership card. I am the representative of the mayors».

And so what? That says?

«I don’t have the skills, I repeat. In this government there is a minister who is a former magistrate and a deputy who is a criminal lawyer: who better than them can deal with this problem? Obviously, with the abolition of the crime, the problem is solved at its root».

And don’t you think that in this way the mayors are given an excessive free hand?

«If a mayor is wrong, it is right that he pays. We have never asked for free hands, on the contrary, we want certain rules to respect the law. To date I only know that there are many mayors whose life has been destroyed by the notices of guarantee and not only from a political point of view, but above all at a private, family and reputational level. And often for incredible reasons, not just for abuse of office.’

For what?

“The mayor is accused of everything that happens in his municipality. He is only being investigated because he is mayor, as if there were some sort of statutory crime ».

Any examples?

«The mayor of Matera: accused of manslaughter for lack of maintenance of the road section whose failure caused a fatal accident. The mayor of Traves, also manslaughter, for not having prevented a firefighter from falling from the ladder he had climbed to straighten the fir tree for the Christmas lights. Continuous? I have an endless list.”

Returning to the abuse of office?

“A case for everyone. Carmelo D’Angelo, mayor of Ravanusa, province of Agrigento: acquitted because the fact does not exist. He had been accused of abuse because he had denied the use of the library for a singing event to which he had preferred a debate on the constitutional referendum ».

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