MSR EXCLUSIVE: Charges Against Schettino

Maritime Security Review has obtained an English language translation of the Magistrate in Charge of Preliminary Inquiries’ charges against Francesco Schettino, the Captain of the Costa Concordia.

No. 12/285 N.R. and No. 12/117 Magistrate in Charge of Preliminary Inquiries

REPUBLIC OF ITALY
COURT OF GROSSETO
OFFICE OF THE MAGISTRATE IN CHARGE OF PRELIMINARY INQUIRIES
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The magistrate in charge of preliminary inquiries, Dr. Valeria MONTESARCHIO, having seen the request of the Public Prosecutor, received on 16/01/2012 at 1:55 PM, for validation of the detention of:
· SCHETTINO, Francesco, born in Naples on 14 November 1960,
with counsel for the defence of choice Bruno LEPORATTI, attorney of law of the Bar of Grosseto, for the following violation:
a) 113, in conjunction with Ciro Ambrosio, 449(2) in reference to Art. 428, 589(3) of the Penal Code, for having, in co-operation with one another, Schettino as captain of the ship Costa Concordia, Ambrosio as first deck officer (responsible for the watch) – owing to culpable behaviour consisting of imprudence, negligence and incompetence and in violation of the regulations of the sector (and in particular of Art. 6 of Law No. 1085 of 27 December 1977, for having maintained a speed over 15 knots, even though in the proximity of obstacles, in a way such as not to be able to act in an appropriate and efficient manner so as to avoid collisions and to halt the craft within a distance appropriate to the circumstances and to the conditions of the moment), caused the shipwreck of the said Costa Concordia, at the same time thus causing the death of Tomas Alberto Costilla Mendoza, Jean Pierre Micheaud and Francis Servel, who, fallen overboard, perished due to drowning or due to hypothermia.
On Isola del Giglio, on 13 January 2012.

b) 81(1) and 591 of the Penal Code, for having abandoned about three hundred persons (passengers on the cruise ship Costa Concordia), unable to fend for themselves (in particular, since still aboard the said motor ship, in the process of shipwreck and in the night-time, who he was supposed to take care of inasmuch as captain of the said motor ship.
On Isola del Giglio, on 13 January 2012.

c) 1097 of the Code of Navigation, for not having been the last to leave the motor ship Costa Concordia of which he was captain, during the abandonment of the same (in danger, being in the process of shipwreck)

On Isola del Giglio, on 13 January 2012.

Having heard at the validation hearing of 17/01/2012 the Public Prosecutor, the detainee and his counsel for the defence, pronounced the following

ORDER

As concerns the presuppositions for the decree of detention pursuant to Art. 384 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the magistrate observes the following:
Substantial circumstantial evidence exists with regard to the offences hypothesized by the Public Prosecutor’s Office……….[click here to view full document]