A consultant involved in the planned Smart City hospital features in the conclusions of an Italian judicial inquiry into the collapse of a Roman hospital in 2012, the Times of Malta has confirmed.
Sources close to the Procura di Roma told this newspaper Giovanni Rusciano’s name appears several times in the report on the findings of the inquiry, together with those of another 39 people suspected of being involved in the collapse of the Istituto Dermatologico Italiano (IDI). “Mr Rusciano is named several times by the magistrate conducting the inquiry into various fraudulent activities, including the issue of false receipts for non-existent works,” the sources said.
The Capri consultant had been closely involved in the running of the failed hospital.
The consultant had been closely involved in the running of the failed hospital
The conclusions of the inquiry have now been sent to the Rome Tribunal, which will decide whether to issue formal charges against those named. Those found guilty of fraud could face up to six years in prison.
Mr Rusciano’s name surfaced following an investigative report on Italian State TV last Sunday. The report asked whether some of the funds that disappeared from IDI could end up in the Maltese project.
IDI, run by a Church order, had to be saved from collapse by the Vatican after some €800 million in State subsidies disappeared from its coffers. Many of the hospital’s staff had to be laid off as a result.
Steve Carter, a Maltese businessman who has a stake in the €100 million, 200-bed specialised hospital project planned for Smart City, said Mr Rusciano was the main consultant of the project, handling procurement and related tenders. Mr Rusciano had a similar role at IDI.
Francesco Rosi, an Italian lawyer who also used to give services to IDI and is now a shareholder in the Maltese project, denied the Times of Malta’s report on Tuesday that Mr Rusciano had been arrested on several occasions. In fact, this newspaper is informed that only three of the 40 people listed in the Italian judicial inquiry were arrested and Mr Rusciano was not among them.
Meanwhile, development plans for the new hospital have been presented to the Planning Authority by the chief executive of Smart City, Anthony Tabone.
However, no decisions are known to have been taken so far by the Planning Authority.
Although St John Paul II Hospital, as it will be known, was originally to open its doors next year, a spokesman said the building was now expected to be completed by late 2018.
ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com