On Friday, Giovanni Toti, the former President of the Liguria Region, reached a plea agreement with the Genoa prosecutor’s office, agreeing to a sentence of two years and one month, along with the confiscation of €84,100. Under the terms of the deal, Toti will plead guilty to charges of improper corruption and illegal financing, with the prison sentence potentially being replaced by 1,500 hours of community service. The agreement also includes a temporary ban from holding public office and a prohibition from contracting with public administrations for the duration of his sentence.
The plea agreement still requires approval from the preliminary hearing judge of the Genoa Tribunal, although a hearing date has not yet been set. Toti publicly commented on the decision, stating, “As with all settlements, there are mixed emotions: on the one hand, the disappointment of not fully pursuing our claims of innocence, and on the other, the relief of having a significant part of them recognized.”
Toti was at the center of a large-scale investigation by the Genoa prosecutor’s office, which alleged that he accepted bribes in exchange for favors, particularly the granting of port space in Genoa to Aldo Spinelli’s port services company. Toti was placed under house arrest on May 7 and resigned as President of Liguria on July 26, after which he was released from house arrest on August 1. Previous requests for release had been denied due to concerns about potential re-offense.
Prosecutors accused Toti of accepting €74,100 in illegal campaign contributions (including €40,000 in December 2021, €30,000 in 2022, and €4,100 in 2023) in exchange for various political commitments. The most significant of these was the 30-year renewal of a concession for the Rinfuse terminal, a cargo terminal at the port of Genoa, to a company linked to the Spinelli Group. The renewal had been stalled by the Western Ligurian Port System Authority.
In addition to Toti, other individuals were arrested in May, including Spinelli himself and Paolo Emilio Signorini, the former president of the port authority overseeing Genoa’s port. Signorini also reached a plea deal, receiving a sentence of three years and five months, along with a confiscation of €100,000 and a temporary ban from public office.
Toti’s chief of staff, Matteo Cozzani, is also implicated in the investigation. According to prosecutors, Cozzani allegedly accepted a campaign donation from Francesco Moncada, an Esselunga board member, in exchange for facilitating the approval of two Esselunga store openings in Sestri Ponente and Savona, which had been delayed in regional offices.
