During the hearing, Gianni Mion, former head of Edizione, parent company of Atlantia, declared that he had been aware of the structural problems of the bridge since 2010 (which collapsed eight years later) and that he had not acted on them. “We were unprepared to manage the network”
What emerged from the trial for the collapse of the Morandi Bridge. The former CEO of Edizione, the Benetton holding company that owns Atlantia, former manager of Autostrade per l’Italia, heard as a person informed of the facts at the trial for the collapse that caused the deaths of 43 people in 2018, declared in the courtroom which in 2010 had come to the attention, in a meeting, of some structural problems about that bridge.
The revelation
—
Gianni Mion’s words could represent a turning point both for the importance of the news and for the names involved. The former CEO of Edizione stated that the meeting took place in 2010 and that, from what he recalls, Giovanni Castellucci and Riccardo Mollo (respectively former CEO and general manager of Autostrade per l’Italia) were present, Gilberto Benetton and the board of statutory auditors of Atlantia, as well as technicians and managers of Spea Engineering (design company of the Atlantia group). At this meeting it would emerge that the bridge was at risk of collapse due to original design flaws. “We self-certify it” – so, again according to Mion, Mollo would have said when the former wondered how it would have been possible to have a safety certification issued for the Morandi. “Unfortunately I didn’t reply, but I was worried. What does it mean to self-certify? It’s a contradiction in terms. I didn’t agree, but I didn’t say anythingit’s my regret”. After these statements, Mion’s examination was suspended at the request of Giorgio Perroni, lawyer of the former director of the First Section of Autostrade, Riccardo Rigacci, one of the 59 defendants in the trial. “We were unprepared to manage the network” – added Mion in today’s statement in the courtroom.
Victims’ representatives: how is it possible to remain silent?
—
The comment released to the press by Egle Possettipresident of the memorial committee for victims of the Morandi bridge, after Mion’s testimony: “A person with his role could not shut up. Because you can’t keep quiet when you have such serious information in your hands. He said that it emerged in 2010 and therefore I say: how much silence, incompetence and greed have been carried out in over eight years without doing anything. I wonder how those people can sleep. The defense speaks of a hidden risk that could not have been known but now it emerges that everything was known very well”.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
#Ponte #Morandi #CEO #Benetton #holding #knew #collapse