Nicola Di Girolamo

Nicola Di Girolamo (born June 25, 1960 in Rome ) is an Italian lawyer, politician and entrepreneur.

Studies and legal work

At the age of three months, Nicola Di Girolamo became a half-orphan through the death of his father. After studying at the Sapienza University of Rome , he opened the Di Girolamo-Straffi & Associati law office in Rome. He is certified as a sworn auditor and is admitted to the bar at the Corte Suprema di Cassazione . He is also Chairman of the Fondazione Porfiri Onlus , Vice-President of a Society for the Promotion of Technology and Development in Rome, Vice-President of Europartners, Auditor of Gruppo Net SpA , Auditor of Assisi Project SpA and President of the Auditors of Nicola's Foundation Onlus .

Activity as a senator

In his youth he was politically close to the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI). In 2008 he was elected as a candidate for the Popolo della Libertà (PDL) in the regional elections in the constituency of Europe with more than 25,000 votes, although he was almost completely unknown. There were also many voices from Stuttgart and the surrounding area. As a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Italians Living Abroad, he tabled two bills. One concerned Article 51, Paragraph 2, which concerned the equality of Italian citizens who were not covered by the Italian state in elections. The second draft concerned the regaining of Italian citizenship for residents of the Eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union who had settled there as Italians. He also asked eleven questions for written answers.

Contesting the election and defending against arrest

The lawyer Mirko Tremaglia lodged a complaint with the electoral authority, alleging that Di Girolamo did not live in the remote location he had indicated at the time of the campaign. The judge for first instance investigations at the Court of Justice of Rome therefore filed an application for the arrest of Di Girolamo on allegations of several violations of the law, in particular because of false information about himself.

In his election papers, Di Girolamo had stated that he was in Etterbeek at ave de Tervuren no. 143 is reported. This information turned out to be incorrect because this street did not exist in Etterbeek. However, there was a street with this name in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre / Sint-Pieters-Woluwe , a suburb of Brussels , where a person Oronzo Cilli lived. It turned out that the Italian ambassador in Brussels, Sandro Maria Siggia, had obtained this address for him. In September 2008, the Senate refused to arrest Di Girolamo. Senator Marco Follini , chairman of the Senate Immunity Commission, continued to pursue the belief that Di Girolamo had lost his Senate seat and in a report proposed to the Senate that the election be voided. On January 29, 2009, the Senate rejected the proposal to postpone the issue of the loss of the Senate seat mandate and advocated the executive's intention to investigate the case and not bring it back to the congregation until after indictment.

Arrested on financial charges

On February 23, 2010, Di Girolamo was arrested on charges of money laundering by the mafia organization 'Ndrangheta . The allegations extended to a criminal organization relating to money laundering and reinvestment of laundered funds and violation of electoral law with the support of the Mafia. Di Girolamo is accused of having laundered more than two billion euros in funds from 2003 to 2006 as a member of a criminal organization. He is also accused that the Arena family of the mafia organization 'Ndrangheta from the city of Isola di Capo Rizzuto organized the election fraud in Stuttgart for him. The Mafia organized a vote purchase for Di Girolamo from immigrants from Calabria in Stuttgart.

This charge is based on tapped phone calls with the Roman businessman Gennaro Mokbel , who, according to the knowledge of the Italian investigators, has numerous contacts with the criminal organization Banda della Magliana and the 'Ndrangheta. The now imprisoned also had contacts with Antonio D'Inzillo , who is considered to be the murderer of the Magliana boss Enrico De Pedis . Mokbel is said to have organized a fraud system for Telecom Sparkle and Fastweb. In this context, a photo of Di Girolamo and the head of the Ndrangheta Franco Pugliese was published on February 24, 2010 .

Return of the mandate

On February 25, 2010, Gianfranco Fini said he was in favor of Di Girolamo arrest. One day later, Senate President Renato Schifani said he would be the choice for a cancellation. The chairman of the responsible Senate Committee Marco Follini then opened the procedure for the loss of Di Girolamo's mandate. On March 1, 2010, Di Girolamo announced his resignation as senator in a letter to Schifani. On March 3, 2010, the Senate voted with 259 votes for the withdrawal of Di Girolamo, 16 against and 12 abstentions. Di Girolamo received applause and approval from the Popolo della Libertà , the Lega Nord and the senators Pinzger, Thaler Ausserhofer, Galperti and Paolo Rossi. Raffaele Fantetti now took his seat .

Arrested for money laundering and violation of electoral law

On the evening of his resignation from the Senate, Di Girolamo was arrested by the Carabinieri and taken to prison in Rebibbia . Amid allegations of international money laundering, violation of electoral law and the help of a Mafia organization, Di Girolamo has sought the assistance of lawyers Carlo Taormina and Pierpaolo Year. At a first hearing in Regina Coeli Prison on the allegations, he took the option to refuse to testify.