Back in 2013, there was a brief period of time when Massimo Cellino was in prison.
The Italian spent a couple of weeks behind bars on charges of fraud relating to stadium building during his time as Cagliari owner, before his purchase of Leeds United.
Back in 2015, we covered reports in Italy that witnesses ’were called regarding the original charges and people who had visited Cellino whilst he was in prison, or talked to him during that time, were hauled in front of the Cagliari courts’.
Well, according to La Nuova Sardegna, one of the men, Mauro Pili, deputy of Unidos, has been requested to serve one year in prison by prosecutor Gaetano Porcu for forgery and helping Gigi Riva and Sergio Zuncheduu visit Cellino in prison.
He has been accused of declaring the men were his ‘collaborators’ rather than just people accompanying him, which he denies, while Mr Porcu claims ‘neither person brought into prison had the right to enter on that occasion, there was no inspection.”
Mr Pili’s intent was apparently ‘clear’, according to Gaetano Porcu, while the deputy’s defence attorney, Pasqualino Federici, claims that while his client ‘had maybe made a mistake, he didn’t say anything false or committed other crimes’.
The trial has been adjourned until November 4th.
The Leeds United owner is still a major figure in the Sardinian news, and seems to be involved in a constant battle with authorities, which sometimes seems six of one and half a dozen of the other.
