The accusation leveled against the former Pavia prosecutor, Mario Venditti, of having received money to exonerate Andrea Sempio , now under investigation again for the murder of Chiara Poggi, is just the tip of the iceberg, or the most visible chapter in an investigation that has been ongoing for months under the radar and has now come out into the open.
The investigation, coordinated by the Brescia Public Prosecutor's Office, concerns the so-called "Pavia system," the management of the office, with alleged irregular spending and exchanges of favors, prior to the arrival of the current head, Fabio Napoleone. Prosecutor Pietro Paolo Mazza also found himself involved. Following the raid on September 26th that brought financial police and Carabinieri to the homes of Venditti, Sempio's parents and uncles, and former Carabinieri officers Silvio Sapone and Andrea Spoto, the Brescia Financial Police's GICO conducted searches and seizures throughout Milan and Pavia throughout the day, searching for documents regarding the suspected "mismanagement" of funds allegedly spent on dinners, horse races, and luxury cars, and regarding unorthodox relationships between the judiciary and businessmen.
The Guardia di Finanza (Fiamme Gialle) raided the home of Mazza, accused of corruption and embezzlement, and his room on the fourth floor of Milan's Palace of Justice, where he has been living since May 2024. Investigators, who seized the magistrate's cell phone, collected documents until late afternoon. At the center of the charges brought by prosecutor Claudia Moregola and prosecutor Francesco Prete is Esitel, the company that handles wiretaps and provides vehicles for surveillance and investigation services. Managed by siblings Cristiano and Raffaela D'Arena, under the guidance of Venditti, who in this case is only charged with corruption, it allegedly had a monopoly on wiretapping conversations and, in 2017, also carried out the wiretaps against Andrea Sempio.
As far as we know, investigators' reconstruction concerns a machine that Mazza allegedly obtained six years ago at a discounted price from Esitel, which in exchange received a series of contracts. "I'm very confident that everything will be resolved as quickly as possible," said Massimo Dinoia, who represents the prosecutor along with his colleague Fabrizio Testa.
Regarding the case alleging corruption in judicial documents against Venditti, investigators are continuing their investigation and scrutinizing the retired magistrate's accounts. A hearing has been scheduled for next Tuesday before the Brescia Review Court to discuss the appeal filed by his lawyer, Domenico Aiello, against the search and seizure order executed two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the full handwritten notes of Giuseppe Sempio, Andrea's father, are emerging, and they are among the key elements of this part of the investigation. In addition to the now-infamous phrase, "Venditti, investigating judge, closes the case for €20.30," there are other statements: "The accusation by Stasi," Chiara's then-boyfriend, who is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence, "is against the Sempios because they are the ones who had my son Andrea followed, accusing him of using DNA, so it's not a defense, it's an accusation against my family." And again: "Venditti, investigating judge, Pavia," and other remarks such as: "If he closes the investigation, he should put the subject's name on the Sempio Andrea case." Or: "This way, DNA cannot be investigated for the same reason." Finally, there is also a wiretapped conversation between Stasi's then-lawyer and Marshal Spoto. The lawyer then handed over the mandate to Massimo Lovati, whose mandate the 37-year-old is expected to revoke.
(Unioneonline)