For years he was indicated by investigators as one of the frontmen of the mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro. Today, the Court of Appeal of Palermo, prevention measures section, annulled the decree of the Court of Trapani which, in July 2018, had ordered the confiscation of the assets of the former owner of Valtur
Carmelo Patti
, who has since died. The Court ruled out that Patti had any "close" relationships with the mafia association during his activity.
The entrepreneur was defended by lawyers Francesco Bertorotta, Roberto Tricoli, Raffaele Bonsignore, Angelo Mangione, Marco Antonio Dal Ben and Giuseppe Carteni.
The court also ruled out that Patti built his empire with illicit methods, "restoring to him, albeit post-mortem - the lawyers say - that honorability unjustly tarnished during the 13 years of prevention process".
The former owner of Valtur was also accused of external complicity in a mafia association, but the proceedings were closed at the same request of the Prosecutor's Office. "It could be said that time is a gentleman - the lawyers continue - there remain, however, the signs of a media attack unjustly suffered by the knight Patti who was indicated to the public of many television programs and by the national press as an entrepreneur 'close' to the mafia context of Castelvetrano".
"Knight Patti died without a criminal record and was acquitted in all the trials in which he was called to defend himself and dedicated his life to work and the growth of his companies after emigrating to northern Italy at the age of 26. - concludes the defense team - He has never reacted to the media attacks and has never lost faith in Justice which today, finally, fully restores his honor".
Judges, no proof of Patti's social danger
"Taking into consideration the overall evidentiary material collected during both the first level and the appeal level, it must be excluded that concrete symptoms of the proposed person's social dangerousness have emerged, as closeness to subjects, in turn close to the mafia association, has been demonstrated, in the absence of concrete circumstantial elements relating to a co-interest of mafia members in Patti's business activities".
It is a passage of the provision with which the Palermo court of appeal annulled the millionaire confiscation of the assets of Carmelo Patti, the former Valtur patron who died in 2016 indicated as the frontman of Matteo Messina Denaro, and his heirs. Patti was defended by the lawyer Francesco Bertorotta, the heirs by the lawyers Roberto Tricoli, Raffaele Bonsignore, Angelo Mangione, Marco Antonio Dal Ben and Giuseppe Carteni. Even more so, the college excludes the entrepreneur's membership of Cosa Nostra.