Acquittal at the Court of Ragusa: Avv. Mario Bellavista defends Vincenzo Cortegiani

Three men from Modica and two from Palermo have been acquitted by Judge Giovanni Giampiccolo of the Court of Ragusa, on the ground that “they did not commit the act”. The acquittal follows an investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Modica which had involved the defendants in a series of offences, including fraud, misappropriation, forgery, use of a forged document and extortion by a public official.

The case originated in 2008 with the sale of a plot of land in the Treppiedi Sud area of Modica for six hundred thousand euros. The owners, who had given a mandate to Emanuele Avveduto of Modica, the representative of a construction consultancy firm, became involved in the fraud and misappropriation charges. The prosecution argued that Avveduto had collected the entire sale price and kept it, thereby committing the offence of misappropriation, continuing and aggravated.

The investigation then widened to include the former councillor for Economic Development of the Municipality of Modica, Carmelo Drago. According to the prosecution, Drago had “induced” Avveduto to hand over the sum of 320,000 euros in order to obtain authorisation from the one-stop business desk.

Vincenzo Cortegiani, from Palermo, defended by Avv. Mario Bellavista, was charged with aggravated fraud, jointly with Avveduto, and with handling stolen goods. Cortegiani, the broker in the sale of the property, was found not guilty of the charges brought against him.

The verdict marks a turning point in the case, reaffirming the principle of the presumption of innocence. In helping to demonstrate his client’s innocence, Avv. Mario Bellavista underlines the importance of fair justice and of a competent legal defence.