Italy: Atlantia ex-CEO arrested over bridge collapse
November 11, 2020
Italian police placed the former head of Italian infrastructure group Atlantia under house arrest on Wednesday, local media reported. The company is responsible for managing much of Italy's motorway network through its Autostrade per l'Italia subsidary.
Giovanni Castellucci was arrested in connection to the investigation into the 2018 Ponte Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa, which killed 43 people.
Five other senior managers were also targeted for house arrest or restrictions, including former top managers and current executives.
They face charges relating to transport safety violations and fraud.
The arrests were made at the request of the Genoa prosecutor, who is investigating the collapse.
Investigators previously accused the managers of knowing about, but failing to act on, defective soundproofing panels, design defects and unsactioned anchors.
Castellucci was the managing director of the company until January 2019. The Italian government is restructuring the company to place it under state control.
Prosecutors are investigating 70 people over the incident.
A replacement bridge was unveiled earlier this year.
aw/rt (dpa, Reuters, EFE, AP)