After Signa raids:

Small political earthquake in South Tyrol and Trentino

(Bild: Wilhelm Eder)

The investigations by the public prosecutor's office in Trento against Signa founder René Benko and several entrepreneurs and local politicians from Trentino and South Tyrol have triggered an earthquake in Italy. The Democratic Party is considering suspending suspected local politicians.

The mayor of the well-known vacation resort of Riva del Garda, Cristina Santi, is suspected of having promoted several non-transparent construction projects. She is to be questioned by the investigators on Friday, explained her lawyer Nicola Zilio. Santi has appealed against the house arrest imposed on a total of eight people and refuses to resign.

Party supports the mayor
Santi, who belongs to the right-wing governing party Lega, received backing from her party. "I know Cristina Santi personally, she is an honest, decent person and a good mayor. I am convinced that she will prove that she has nothing to do with what she is accused of," said the head of the Lega in Trentino, Diego Binelli. The presumption of innocence also applies in this case.

Investigations against dozens of people
Local politicians from the ranks of the social democratic party PD (Partito Democratico) are also involved in the scandal in Trentino. The PD is now considering suspending the suspects. A total of 77 people are under investigation.

"Mafia-like criminal organization"
 The Trento public prosecutor's office suspects Benko of being the "leader of a mafia-like criminal organization" that was founded with the aim of obtaining concessions and permits in order to make unjustified profits, according to the investigation files.

At the head of the criminal organization, Benko acted with the help of the Bolzano tax consultant Heinz Peter Hager and the entrepreneur Paolo Signoretti from the city of Rovereto, according to the Trentino public prosecutor's office. Hager is also chairman of the board of the Laura Private Foundation named after Benko's daughter.

In the meantime, the mayor of Bolzano, Renzo Caramaschi, and the city council have expressed "full and unconditional trust in the work of the judiciary" in connection with the investigations by the Trento public prosecutor's office against politicians, entrepreneurs and public administrators in Trentino and South Tyrol. According to the press release, the mayor and the city council are offering the judiciary "maximum cooperation" and at the same time reaffirming "the utmost trust in their employees".

"Bolzano in the hands of unscrupulous entrepreneurs"
The Bolzano architect Claudio Lucchin, "father" of the Bolzano "Noi Techpark", criticized in an interview with the daily newspaper "Corriere del Trentino" that "Bolzano has fallen into the hands of unscrupulous entrepreneurs". "The political class has left the city to the private sector, which has done what it wanted. Benko's bankruptcy was a story that had already been written. An entrepreneur who becomes a billionaire at the age of 35 and builds houses in Vienna is not credible: you know where he ends up. I said that eleven years ago. First I was ridiculed, then I got threatening letters. They were real crooks. I was scared," emphasized the 65-year-old architect.

"Nobody could say where Benko's money came from: there were rumors, rumors about hidden financial groups, about the Russian and Israeli mafia. If I were a public administrator, I would never sell my land to someone who was not transparent, even if he brought in substantial funds. (...) We would have to scrutinize these entrepreneurs before giving them the keys to the city," said Lucchin.

Tax consultant Hager had always been the mastermind behind all operations. "All the big deals of the German economy in South Tyrol, the most difficult real estate transactions, were handled by the accountant Hager and everyone was in agreement," he said.