An alleged illicit system of relationships between officials, technicians, and companies is said to have managed ARPAS procedures and inspections, also concealing pollution risks. However, the Carabinieri of the NOE (National Environmental Protection Agency) also discovered a series of alleged irregularities in administrative procedures, appointments, and competitions involving regional politicians and managers. After five years of investigation, Deputy Prosecutor Andrea Vacca has formally closed the investigation involving 26 people. Among those under investigation are former Regional President Christian Solinas, MP and former Regional Councilor for the Environment Gianni Lampis, the mayors of Quartucciu and Muravera, Pietro Pisu and Salvatore Piu (outgoing), and former President of the Sardinia Regional Administrative Court Francesco Scano, public officials, entrepreneurs, and technicians.

The crimes

The Prosecutor's Office suspects various crimes, ranging from ideological forgery to illicit influence peddling, corruption, and fraud against the public administration. The alleged events date back to 2021-2022. The allegations contained in the notice of conclusion of the preliminary investigations reveal what investigators call an "ARPAS System," characterized by pressure on business owners and falsifications aimed at concealing irregularities, if not outright pollution. At the center of the charges is official Giorgio Culazzu, accused of exploiting his role in environmental inspections to obtain advantages from business owners and technicians for the Marevivo environmental association in exchange for more favorable environmental inspections.

The companies

In addition to Culazzu, Fabrizio Da Pelo, Gian Pietro Ibba, Diego Cani, Alessandro Grosso, Stefano Guaita, Ferruccio Secci, Ezio Esposito, and Fabio Carmignani, nearly all directors of companies subject to ARPAS oversight, are also accused of undue influence. This line of investigation is also linked to several counts of fraud involving Culazzu, Cesare Penco, and Battista Grosso, respectively an employee and an external consultant for Eurallumina. According to the Prosecutor's Office, environmental data relating to pollution levels were manipulated or false analyses of the plants were prepared. Similar charges also concern Giovanni Maricca and Maria Francesca Lobina, respectively an ARPAS official and technical director.

The politicians

Prosecutor Vacca is also convinced that former councilor Lampis and the then commissioner of the Province of Southern Sardinia improperly induced a regional environmental department official to change an opinion given to Eurallumina during a 2022 service conference. The outgoing mayor of Muravera, Salvatore Piu, and the mayor of Quartucciu, Pietro Pisu, are under investigation for hiring the daughter of technician Mario Mossa through a lower ranking from another municipality. Also facing charges of forgery are physician Carlarberto Lippi Serra and Fabrizio Da Pelo, who are accused of bribery for issuing allegedly false health certificates in exchange for approximately €200. Another strand of the investigation, again involving the possibility of improper inducement, concerns former magistrate Francesco Scano, former secretary general of the Region, for a competitive examination at the Forestry Department. And then Silvia Curto, then director general, along with managers and officials Silvia Cocco, Nicola Onano, Massimo Carboni, Stefano Ferri, and Aldo Derudas: according to the prosecution, the regional offices prepared a ranking that allowed the director general to make a discretionary, rather than merit-based, choice. Former governor Solinas and former director general Curto are accused of forgery for certain resolutions that identified the boards of auditors for ENAS and Sardegna Ricerche.

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