Spinelli has reached a plea bargain with the prosecution in which he has admitted to the charges against him and accepted a sentence of three years and two months.

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Former president and former leader of Genoa and Livorno convicted for corruption

The world of football is once again at the centre of a corruption controversy. The former president of the Liguria region, Giovanni Toti, and the Italian businessman Paolo Spinelli, former head of the Genoa and Livorno football clubs, are at the centre of a corruption case that has shaken northern Italy. Both have reached plea deals that allow them to avoid a media trial, although convictions seem inevitable. What began as an investigation into the port of Genoa has ended up involving leading figures from the Italian political and business scene.

Paolo Spinelli has accepted a sentence of three years and two months in prison after reaching an agreement with the Genoa Prosecutor's Office. The deal also includes the forfeiture of 400,000 euros and a ban on participating in public administration contracts. This move, according to his lawyers, seeks to protect the businessman's family from the ‘media damage’ that a public trial would entail. Spinelli, once a respected figure in the Italian football world, has seen his reputation plummet after accepting charges of corruption and illicit financing.

The same legal proceedings involve Giovanni Toti, who was president of Liguria until he was forced to resign following his arrest in May this year. Toti has agreed to a sentence of two years and one month in prison, although his sentence will be commuted to 1,500 hours of community service. He will also have to pay 84,000 euros, which the courts believe he received in bribes from Spinelli and other companies in exchange for favours in concessions for the port of Genoa, local motorways and privatisation of public spaces.

The bribery scheme, which prosecutors say was in place between September 2021 and March 2023, allowed Toti and others involved to receive large sums of money in exchange for administrative and financial benefits. The investigation, which began following a series of suspicious concessions at the port of Genoa, uncovered a complex web of corruption that also extended to local motorways and other strategic sectors in the region.

Toti, who was one of Silvio Berlusconi's most trusted confidants during his time in Forza Italia, has seen his political career crumble as the investigation has deepened. In July, while under house arrest, he decided to resign as Liguria's president, opening the door to new elections in October to choose his successor. In his first statements after the plea deal, Toti admitted he had ‘mixed feelings’ about the resolution, feeling relieved to avoid a lengthy trial but ‘bitter’ that he had not been able to prove his innocence in full.

In addition to Toti and Spinelli, another key player in this case is Emilio Signorini, former president of the Genoa Port Authority, who has also reached a plea deal. Signorini, who was arrested along with Toti and Spinelli in May, accepted similar charges in relation to this system of favours and bribes.

The scheme was based on direct bribes in exchange for clear benefits for the businessmen involved. According to the prosecution, Toti received more than 74,000 euros in illicit payments, in addition to other compensations, such as advertising favours and the privatisation of key public spaces in the Liguria region. This corruption network not only affected the port of Genoa, but also extended to the management of motorways and other strategic infrastructure projects.

The case has had a major media impact in Italy, especially in the north of the country, where both Spinelli and Toti were influential figures. Spinelli, in addition to his business background, was known for his links to the world of football, having presided over historic clubs such as Genoa and Livorno. Toti, on the other hand, was seen for years as Berlusconi's ‘dolphin’, which allowed him to rise quickly in regional and national politics.

Now, both face an uncertain future. While Spinelli will spend several years in prison, Toti will try to rebuild his life after serving the hours of social work imposed by his court agreement. Despite his attempts to avoid a public trial, the stain of this corruption scandal is difficult to erase, and both his political career and reputation are likely to be seriously damaged.