Rome Court of Appeal overturns Stadio Roma trial convictions

The Third Section of the Rome Court of Appeal has overturned a previous first-instance verdict in the major trial concerning the proposed AS Roma stadium project in the Tor di Valle area.

Several key defendants, including former president of the Rome Assembly Marcello De Vito, lawyer Camillo Mezzacapo, and Luca Lanzalone, have been acquitted. This reverses their previous sentences of 8 years and 8 months, 9 years, and 3 years, respectively. Additionally, Gianluca Bardelli and Giuseppe Statuto were acquitted, while the sentence for entrepreneur Luca Parnasi was reduced from two years to three months.

The investigation, which began in 2019, involved allegations ranging from corruption and illicit influence peddling to illegal financing regarding political maneuvers to approve the stadium project. The court also declared that proceedings could not continue for Giulio Centemero and Andrea Manzoni due to the statute of limitations.