Giuseppe Scopelliti

Giuseppe Scopelliti (born November 21, 1966 Reggio Calabria, Italy) is an Italian politician.

Giuseppe Scopelliti
President of Calabria
In office 12 April 2010 – 29 May 2014
Preceded by	Agazio Loiero
Succeeded by	Mario Oliverio
Mayor of Reggio Calabria
In office 28 May 2002 – 14 May 2010
Preceded by	Italo Falcomatà
Succeeded by	Demetrio Arena
Personal details
Born	(1966-11-21) 21 November 1966 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Political party	MNS (since 2017)
Other political affiliations	MSI (1988-1995) AN (1995-2009) PdL (2009-2013) NCD (2013-2014) AzN (2015-2017)
Alma mater	University of Messina

Mayor of Reggio Calabria

He was elected Mayor of Reggio Calabria in 2002. According to investigations of anti-mafia investigators in 2016, Scopelliti was elected thanks to votes from the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type criminal organisation in Calabria.[1]

On 9 October 2012, the Italian government decided to dissolve the city council of Reggio Calabria for infiltration by the 'Ndrangheta. The move came after some councillors were suspected of having ties to the powerful crime syndicate, under the 10-year centre-right rule of Giuseppe Scopelliti, mayor from 2002 to 2010.[2] The investigation was launched in June 2011, following the suicide of Orsola Fallara, Reggio Calabria's council financial controller, who had resigned after government inspectors discovered a €170 million deficit in the Reggio's coffers.[3]

President of Calabria

Scopelliti was elected President of Calabria in the 2010 Calabrian regional election, ousting his predecessor, incumbent President Agazio Loiero of the Democratic Party, in a landslide. He took 57.8% of the vote, while Loiero lost re-election with 32.2%. Scopelliti took office as President on March 30, 2010.

Prison sentence

He was sentenced to six years in prison, a 120,000-euro fine, and permanently banned from public office on 28 March 2014. Scopelliti was found guilty of abuse of office and misinformation while serving as mayor of Reggio Calabria (2002–2010).[4][5] He resigned as President of Calabria on April 29, 2014.[6][7]

References

1. Secret 'Ndrangheta cupola 'picked men for parliament', Ansa, July 15, 2016
2. (in Italian) Sprechi e mafia in Calabria, La Repubblica, 23 September 2012.
3. Air Malta owed €2.5 million by Reggio Calabria council – Italian magistrates, Malta Today, 18 April 2012
4. Calabria governor sentenced to six years in jail, Ansa, 28 March 2014
5. Calabria governor steps down after abuse of office sentence, Ansa, 28 March 2014
6. (in Italian) Regione Calabria, Scopelliti si dimette: si andrà al voto, Corriere della Sera, 29 April 2014
7. (in Italian) Calabria, Scopelliti si è dimesso, La Repubblica, 29 April 2014