Milan, Dec. 10 (LaPresse) – The Milan Court of Appeal has upheld the sentence of four years' imprisonment for the former President of the Chamber of Deputies, Irene Pivetti, in the trial in which she is charged with fraudulent evasion of tax payments and self-laundering for a series of commercial operations in 2016 worth about 10 million euros with Team Racing Isolani, which were allegedly used to hide money deriving from fiscal offences. The request of public prosecutor Giovanni Tarzia, who also supported the prosecution in the first instance, was accepted.
Pivetti ended up on trial after the investigation by the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza, which hypothesized a role of intermediation by Only Italia, a company linked to the former television host, in operations by Isolani’s Team Racing that aimed to hide from the tax authorities certain assets — including three Ferrari Granturismos involved in sales transactions — after accumulating debts of 5 million euros.
The ruling also confirms the confiscation of more than 3.4 million euros. The court’s reasoning will be filed within 90 days. The sentence also confirms the conviction of Leonardo "Leo" Isolani, the rally driver from Ancona and former Gran Turismo champion, to 2 years and a 4,000-euro fine with a suspended sentence and no entry in the criminal record, as well as of his wife Manuela Mascoli (2 years). Their daughter had already been acquitted in the first instance.
The former TV host and politician, defended by lawyer Filippo Cocco, was granted mitigating circumstances, while she was ordered to pay the legal costs. Among the accessory penalties imposed on the 62-year-old are a five-year ban from public office, a one-year ban from holding managerial roles in companies, contracting with the public administration, and performing representation functions in tax matters, and a permanent ban on serving as a member of the tax commission.