The manager of the Mottarone cableway Luigi Nerini and the operating manager Enrico Perocchio
they leave the prison of Verbania whose entrance had seen closing behind them at dawn last Tuesday, 48 hours after the cabin that fell on the mountain overlooking Lake Maggiore caused the death of 14 people. It goes under house arrest the head of service Gabriele Tadini who admitted tampering with the safety braking system. This was decided by the investigating judge Donatella Banci Buonamici at the end of a day of interrogations. For Tadini, house arrest is sufficient, while for the other two suspects – brought up by the head of service – there is no serious evidence necessary for a precautionary measure.
Tadini left the Verbania prison after midnight to reach his home in the province of Novara where he will spend his house arrest. Red cable car sweatshirt, a black envelope with the few personal effects, he went head down to his lawyer’s car and left. Tadini cannot communicate with strangers.
Luigi Nerini, manager of the cable car system, also left the Verbania prison after the investigating judge did not validate the arrest. On leaving, escorted by lawyers, he made no statements.
The investigating judge has not validated the arrest for the three suspects accused of multiple manslaughter for the 14 victims of an accident triggered by the breaking of the towing cable (the causes of which are yet to be ascertained) which would not have caused the crash of cabin number 3 if the emergency brake system had not been voluntarily deactivated. If for Tadini the confessions weigh on the fork – made to the magistrates – for him house detention is enough, while Nerini and Perlocchio return home after the detention started at dawn on Wednesday. Against them the elements collected were not sufficiently serious for a precautionary measure.
If Tadini goes to house arrest, the cable car manager has not been held responsible for safety, according to the judge who accepted the defense of the lawyer Pasquale Pantano. “He knew about the problem with the brakes, but also about the two maintenance interventions, it is not he who can stop the cable car. By law, two legislative decrees explain it, the head of the plant service and the operating manager must take care of safety. “, that is Tadini and Perocchio, the words of the defender at the end of the validation hearing. If Tadini’s words go against Perocchio, the testimony of a maintenance technician outside the company ‘absolves’ him, so the investigating judge decided to send him home to his family.
Gip: employees accuse Tadini of blocking brakes
From the statements made by the employees of the Mottarone cableway “the strongly accusatory content towards Tadini is evident” and “all unanimously declared that the decision to keep the logs was a decision of the head of service”, or Gabriele Tadini, “while no one spoke of the manager or the service manager “, respectively Luigi Nerini and Enrico Perocchio. It is one of the passages of the ordinance issued by the investigating judge of Verbania, which deals with the disaster of the cable car.
Pm: no evidence against Nerini and Perocchio, Tadini not believed
“Against Nerini and Perocchio, the judge considered the evidence to be insufficient, considering Tadini’s words not credible,” said the chief prosecutor of Verbania, Olimpia Bossi, commenting on the judge’s decision.
“It is a precautionary phase – he said again -, it is an evaluation by the judge, we are at the initial stages and I reserve the right to evaluate the reasons. We will continue the investigation activity, the reason why the rope broke is still missing. “added the prosecutor of Verbania after the decision of the investigating judge Donatella Banci Buonamici. Decision that effectively dismantles the accusatory system.
Nerini: now we have to find those responsible
“Glad, now we need to find those responsible”. These are the words spoken by Luigi Nerini and reported by his defender Pasquale Pantano. “With personal freedom justice is done, but there is no reason to rejoice: now we need to carry out heavy investigations and understand what happened. For us this counts”.
Perocchio: I am desperate for the 14 victims
“I am desperate for the 14 victims, it is a huge tragedy for the people who have passed away” says engineer Enrico Perocchio, who left the Verbania prison after being arrested for the Mottarone tragedy. “The maintenance has all been done. I would not have endorsed that choice to leave the fork, I have been working in the field of cableways for 21 years and it is something not to be done at all” he adds. “I don’t know why the rope happens is a rare event, I don’t know the breaking point of the rope” explains Perocchio, who underlines how the problems on the safety braking system “would have been solved with a third intervention already planned”.
“When the prosecutor accused me of knowing about the inserted jaws I felt like dying, I didn’t know anything; if my eye had fallen on those red hooks I would have had them removed. In prison I felt bad for my family and the victims” he adds. Perocchio. On the day of the disaster, “I will remember it all my life,” he says before leaving prison. As for relations with the manager of the plant Luigi Nerini “they were quite good, Nerini never had pressure to prevent the plant from running smoothly”.
Defense Tadini: home-based victory, indefensible on brake block
“He did not realize, after a devastating day. For me, professionally it is a satisfaction. The issue of the braking block is his fault and on this aspect it is indefensible. It seemed offensive to me to ask for freedom” says Marcello Perillo, Tadini’s defender. under house arrest after the decision of the Verbania investigating judge who did not validate the arrests for the three suspects. The order, which accepts the defense’s request, was read in front of all three suspects.