Process ThyssenKrupp judgment Corte D'Assise

Over 16 years managing director for 10 years to 13 years for another 5 leaders, 1 million EUR and other sanctions pursuant to Legislative Decree. 231/01 the company, heavy damages in favor of plaintiffs, local authorities, trade unions and associations. Of R. Dubini.

The serious condemnation of individuals and of the legal person

By judgment of the Court of Assizes of Turin on 15 April 2011 closed the trial began Jan. 15, 2009 following the accident occurred December 6, 2007 to 5th line ThyssenKrupp steelworks in Turin in which they died due to the fire Joseph de Masi (23 years), Angelo Laurino (43 years old), Rosario Rodino (26), Bruno Santino (26 years), Rocco March (54 years), Roberto March (54 years), Roberto Scola (32 years), Antonio Schiavone (36 years old).

When the line 5 of Corso Regina plant caught fire, most of the workers was being transferred in view of the disposal of the Turin plant, the remaining employees were few, and working conditions, despite the frenzied pace, they were below the minimum threshold of safety and dignity, "there was an explosion with something unusual: the flames became huge, huge. They looked like a big hand, a tidal wave, stood a few feet and then are like fallout, the explosion made a dull sound similar, though much magnified, to what you hear when you open the hot water and lights the flame of a gas boiler. "With these words, Boccuzzi Antonio, one of the survivors of the fire, said during one of the hearings of this process, the dynamics of that tragic December night.

The same Boccuzzi, that night, he felt melt the right ear in a vain attempt to help the comrades who died, has repeatedly said that a few hours before the fire the work on the line was discontinued due to a fire, " On December 5, there was a stoppage of the plant, which was blocked for a problem related to a photocell. drove off line at half past midnight. then developed a fire is very, very small. We had seen worse. tried to extinguish the flames high around ten to fifteen centimeters with a fire extinguisher, but it was virtually empty. I threw away angrily, I went with Bruno Santino and Angelo Laurino (were then killed in the blaze, ed) to retrieve a fire hose, carried her up to the ' graft from which the water had to go out, I held in my hand the graft, four to five feet from the fire area. I connected it - continues Boccuzzi - checked that the water came out and fill the hose, then pulled his head up to see if the water coming out of the nozzle, hand held by Robert Scola, but at that moment there was an explosion and the flames became very high. "

The first degree of judgment closes in record time after more than eighty hearings: President Mary Iannibelli, the associate judge Paola Dezani and six jurors took a historic decision for the Italian Law in relation to alleged offenses to the six defendants. All have been accepted requests from the prosecution (penis required in accordance with "knowledge and belief," he said at the hearing Guariniello) in relation to '"incredible capacity of criminal imputatati", always words of the PM Guariniello:

1) the CEO Herald Espenhahn, with responsibility for safety in the workplace, has been sentenced to 16 ½ years in prison for murder with indirect intent (or for having done concretely represented before the deadly fire event), disaster and fire arson.

The installation of the allegations made by prosecutors led to believe that Espenhahn had "accepted" the risk of a deadly disaster within his company and that he chose, especially in view of the Turin plant decommissioning decided in favor of that of Terni , a "logic of cost savings" that has sacrificed the safety of the workers to the point of causing the massacre. Espenhahn, despite being fully aware of the problems, "at first took the decision to postpone the 2006/2007 al 2007/2008 fire investment for the establishment of Turin despite having already scheduled closing", and then "the decision to postpone ' investment for the adjustment of line 5 to period after his transfer from Turin to Terni. " The CEO was therefore condemned for having "failed to take appropriate technical, organizational, procedural, prevention and protection against fire" with reference to the line 5.

2-3-4-5) The charge of prevention and protection, as well as executive, Cosimo Cafueri, the plant manager Raffaele Salerno, and the members of the executive committee Marco Pucci and Gerald Priegnitz with powers in trade matters financial, all sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for aggravated manslaughter by the anticipation of the event, disaster and fire.

6) The manager of investment planning fire Daniele Moroni was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months for the same offenses.

 

With regard to the liability of the ThyssenKrupp dependent on crimes committed by top management company referred to in Legislative Decree no. N. 231/2001, the fine shall be borne by the company itself is a million Euros, while others were charged € 800,000 by way of confiscation of profits (based on savings in security), and were more willing ancillary measures such as:

1) the prohibition to advertise their products for 6 months;

2) exclusion for 6 months from subsidies and public funding;

3) withdrawal of public funding already granted;

4) the publication of the judgment in national newspapers "La Stampa", "La Repubblica" and "Corriere della Sera".

 

Also, the judgment provides a long list of damages to the plaintiff, but not only, in addition to 12 million and 970 thousand Euros that had already been delivered to the families of victims 7:

1) one million euro to the municipality of Turin, subject to the additional sums to be established on the civil court;

2) EUR 973,300 to the Piedmont Region;

3) 500,000 euro to the Province of Turin;

4) € 100,000 to each of the Unions FIM-CISL, FIOM-CGIL and UIL Uilm; FLM-CUB;

5) € 100,000 to Democratic Medicine;

6) other remedies have been recognized with dozens of former colleagues of the victims who were working in the factory in Turin;

7) has been recognized as the sole survivor of a provisional squad of the fire victim, Antonio Boccuzzi, parliamentary today.

 

The court in fact ordered in the queue to the device, "the transmission of documents to the prosecutor" will be entered in the register of suspects also, in addition to other people, Berardino Queta, which has carried out a consultation process for the defense, but which, for the company had treated a part of the fire risk assessment, which he himself, a few years ago, had devised for the company. Were the same prosecutors to ask the Court to the transmission of documents, assuming manslaughter and voluntary removal of cautions. This procedure relates to the omission which, according to the indictment endorsed by the Court, came to power the tragedy of 6 December 2007, which cost the lives of seven workers.

The Court also handed over to the prosecution papers relating to the position of three (Arturo Ferrucci, Leonardo Lisi and Frank Kruse) so that you evaluate the hypothesis of false testimony.

But not only that prosecutors will investigate also on 4 Spresal officials warned that the company before the inspections, and dozens of false witnesses. During the process had been approached in the classroom to tell a version of "softened" on the working conditions of the plant. In addition, steps will be for the responsibility for the case of workers affected by serious emotional stress after the tragedy.

 

"It would be enough for a smoke detection system, even those that cost a few thousand Euros, to avoid the tragedy - said the prosecutor Laura Longo - with an emergency procedure different, in fact, the workers would not have been forced to intervene with fire extinguishers, would have run away from the line and would not be affected by the cloud of fire and boiling oil that killed them. " "It was painful ': Judge Paola Dezani, he lets slip a few words and ThyssenKrupp admits that the process has been marked by a deep emotional tension.

ThyssenKrupp has sold more than 200 thousand square meters of buildings and outdoor spaces of his former factory in Turin, but no one will buy the area will remain under seizure until the "line of death". "First" of the tragedy, the corporation had planned to transfer the factory in Terni. Locked line 5 on procedural grounds, the area can not even have a real estate value. It is more than 100 million Euros frozen for who knows how long. ThyssenKrupp has completed the dismantling of other plants and transferred them to Terni. Even large tanks below the mills have been emptied and reclaimed. It remains the annealing and pickling line 5, scorched and blackened, but basically intact in almost 200 meters long and 9 high. Antonio Boccuzzi, the survivor of the tragedy, who has worked for more than 10 years, recalls that "went into operation in 1992, three years before I was hired. Of the other four similar plants was the most recent, still destined to have a long productive life, if we think that the line 1 from us was productive since 1934. "

For that kind of equipment after the fire at the plant in Krefeld (where there was a serious fire June 22, 2006), the insurance company Axa had raised the deductible of your insurance policy to 100 million euro complaining about the deficit of Fire . The Assize Court ordered the release from seizure "in step considered in the present judgment" could not rule out that the defense on appeal ask an expert about the incident.

The chief prosecutor of Turin dr. Caselli said: "I can only say thank you to colleagues."

From his office Guariniello spreads his arms. For him, now is the time of thanks to his collaborators, in particular to two alternates Laura Longo and Francesca Traverso. "Without all of them the process would not have even been able to do." For Guariniello the ruling "sends a message" to boards of directors and all the places "where companies decide policy on security." The prosecutor of Turin has had a long conversation with the Minister of Labour Sacconi, who raised: "This tragedy requires a more widespread prevention. Strict judgments can not compensate for the loss of human lives. "

Always Labour Minister Maurizio Sacconi has welcomed the decision of the Court Torinese: "The ruling upheld the prosecution's is solid constitutes a valuable precedent. It demonstrates to other sanctions available if the trim is also appropriate in the case of the most serious violations. "

 

This judgment of the minister seems particularly appropriate and justified. The judgment fully confirms the prosecution formulated by the pool prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello capable of an incredible detective work to ascertain the truth.

The defense lawyer Zaccone, required of the reasons for such a serious sentence, said "you - indicating the journalists - and all this - spreading his arms and pointing to the packed courtroom - all this and depressing. We're going to appeal but I do not think we'll get a lot more. "

In conclusion appear enlightening statements Raffaele Guariniello, the light of which seems to open up a new and more challenging season for companies in the field of health and safety at work as well as administrative responsibilities of the institution in accordance with Legislative Decree no. 231 / 01:

"We are facing a turning point, a judgment is never to be celebrated, because it means that something bad has happened before. Better than that, though, could not go. For the first time recognized the willful murder for an accident at work and also the company is doomed. I had never requested a sentence of 16 years, the idea of prison, I was never impressed, even whether to use them may be necessary. Previously I had never in the boundless profiles arson of "my" crimes. I think that the judgment will affect the reasoning of managers on the boards. I imagine that say, "Do not mess around more, you could really go to jail." And you say they pay more attention to the safety and health of workers. The reverberations of the judgment on future injuries I am very interested. The leap in quality more important that you could do to the case-law. Now the workers feel more protected and companies will invest more in security. "

Regarding the behavior of the jury, a few words, but clear: "Studying the rules and evaluate the evidence is difficult, but a juror can bring common sense. Lifeline, sometimes, for our judiciary ".

Guariniello adds that "you have to hurry surveys for these disasters, using the methods used by us in this survey: in search of corporate computer analysis of financial statements, the email." The financial police also seized a document in German, called "Einleitung" then used as a "weapon" fundamental accusation: "In this investigation we have relied on the factors of speed and pervasiveness, using any useful technology. After the seizure of the line of tragedy, we went right into the headquarters of Terni, with the Guardia di Finanza, talented, and computer technicians. We searched the computer, seized files and e-mail. And in the case of Espenhahn we found that document in German proved crucial to understand how he intended to move the ThyssenKrupp Italian. The normal scenario of investigations on the victims of work covers only the inspection. Instead, we must refer to the organization of the work that needs continuous and rapid communications: seize the e-mail in cases where appropriate, may bring as much to discover for ThyssenKrupp. The e-mails between ThyssenKrupp managers have proved very useful for us to understand that he had chosen to save on workers' safety of a steel mill. We simply adopted the techniques of investigation expenses against crime. Only in this sense there may be a point of contact between certain scenarios. "

 

The magistrate said that "the intent is not mechanically applicable to all cases of accidents at work. We have not tried. Our investigation began, as usual, for a wrongful death. Then we found the elements that have led us to question the intent. But we had to apply new methods of investigation for accidents at work, the most typical methods of organized crime offenses: We did a normal inspection, we did some searches, in which crucial was the role of the Financial Police, including looking email exchanges business. There are, in fact, stop the anomalies of the factory: we have tried to understand why the anomalies had been created. "

Guariniello always said that "investigations are needed fast, the process is the short way to ensure justice for the victims, but we need adequate resources. We dedicate this victory to the president of the republic. "

And he concludes: "This sentence can shake and change the consciousness of entrepreneurs - because - from now, when they go in the company, should be aware that they are in charge of security, and if something happens they are no longer protected from convictions" virtual "that will never be taken for granted. Now the sentences have become "real" and their faces prison. "It's on the boards that you take the big choices in business and those that relate to security: the obligation to assess the risk of the employer, and therefore the board, and can not be delegated. Entrepreneurs need to know what can happen and take responsibility for their choices. "" From today - he explains - it is possible that the judgment is reflections on the reasoning that you make on the boards. Penalties that may apply are not theoretical. E then you could ask: If we do or do not do this, if we take or do not take this measure, there is a risk of fraud snack items such as to take us to jail? ".

The risk fact, in addition to imprisonment, is to financially ruin even the future of their own businesses with the sentence to heavy administrative sanctions as those imposed on ThyssenKrupp. "The second new feature - added pm - concerns over the company management.'s The first time that a firm is sentenced to severe penalties."

26/04/2011

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Translated via software

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Source:

Italian version of ReteIngegneri.it