Once praised for his pro-migrant welcoming policies, former Riace mayor Domenico “Mimmo” Lucano has been sentenced to 13 years and two months in prison on several charges including aiding illegal migration into Italy.
Lucano was once hailed by many, such as the BBC in 2016, for his welcoming of migrants into the town of Riace and was even named in the top 50 world leaders by Fortune magazine that same year.
This week, however, the Italian court of Locri found Lucano guilty of aiding illegal migration, being a member of a criminal association, state fraud, embezzlement, and abuse of office, receiving a 13 year and two-month sentence, well above the seven years and 11 months requested by the prosecution, according to newspaper Il Giornale.
Lucano had been under investigation by Italian authorities since 2018 for alleged irregularities in the management of the reception of migrants, including allegations that he had arranged marriages between Italian men and foreign women to help them remain in the country. However, the latter charge was struck down by Italy’s highest appeals court.
The court has also ordered Lucano to pay back €500,000 (£427,588/$579,698) worth of funding that had been given by the European Union and the Italian government, funding which was misused by the former mayor.
Prosecutors also accused Lucano of funnelling as much as €5 million (£4.28 million/$5.8 million) worth of government funds meant for migrants into the hands of other parties, according to Euronews.
Populist Senator Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League, commented on the sentence, saying: “He illicitly made money from the management of immigrants… Mimmo Lucano, champion of radical chic.”
“I dedicated my life to my ideals. I was against the mafia. I was mayor. I sided with the oppressed, with the refugees who arrived. I imagined myself contributing to the redemption of my land. It was an unforgettable experience, fantastic, but today I have to acknowledge that everything ends for me,” Lucano said after the sentence was given.
Mr Lucano’s lawyers are appealing the verdict and he will remain under house arrest until the process is complete and if unsuccessful, will be sent to prison.
NGOs reacted angrily to the sentence, with migrant taxi NGO Sea-Watch stating: “The former mayor of Riace has restored life and a future to his city through hospitality and solidarity. We are alongside Mimmo Lucano and those who practice solidarity every day.”
Migrant taxi NGOs continue to operate in the central Mediterranean, with some dropping off hundreds of migrants at a time in Italy over the last several months.