Italy’s Former Railways Chief Jailed for 2009 Viareggio Rail Disaster
Overview of the Viareggio Rail Disaster Case
ROME, June 26 (Reuters) - The 72-year-old former head of Italy's state railway company has begun a five-year jail term over a 2009 derailment that killed 32 people, in a case highlighting the issue of management liability and the snail's pace of Italian justice.
The Incident and Immediate Aftermath
Mauro Moretti was the CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) when a goods train came off the line as it passed through the station of Viareggio in Tuscany. Its cargo of liquefied gas exploded, triggering a huge fire in the station and surrounding area.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
After a lengthy initial trial, Moretti was given a seven-year jail term in 2017. He did not go to prison because sentences in Italy are rarely effective before the appeals process is completed.
During a string of appeals in the following years Moretti's sentence was reduced to five years, and became definitive on Thursday.
Management Liability and Precedent
"This sentence sets a terribly dangerous precedent regarding the responsibility of managers," Moretti told daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Friday.
He added that he was going to jail "with my head held high," while "hoping that it won't be for very long."
He is expected to request an early release due to his age, and serve most of his sentence from home, doing community service.
Crimes and Corporate Responsibility
Moretti's crimes included "culpable railway disaster" and "culpable fire", with courts holding him responsible, as a top executive, for systemic failures in infrastructure maintenance, safety protocols and risk management.
He left FS in 2014 to become CEO of state-controlled defence group Finmeccanica, later named Leonardo, a role he held until 2017 at the time of his first conviction.
Similar Cases in Italian Infrastructure
In a case with some analogies to Moretti's, on Monday a court in Genoa will hold the 283rd hearing of an initial trial regarding the collapse in 2018 of the city's Morandi bridge, which killed 43 people.
Morandi Bridge Collapse and Legal Proceedings
The best-known of the 57 defendants is Giovanni Castellucci, who was CEO of motorway operator Atlantia at the time of the disaster.
He is accused of multiple manslaughter, among other crimes, with the prosecution requesting an 18-year prison sentence. He has denied the charges.
(Reporting by Gavin Jones and Emilio Parodi, editing by Crispian Balmer)
