Judge Camillo Scarselli Denies Abuse of Office, Rebukes Police Commissioner

News of the complaint for abuse of office filed by the Riva Polizia di Stato station against him, Judge Camillo Scarselli, lawyer, took pen and paper and wrote to the Attorney General of Trento, the Police Chief, and the Government Commissioner, as well as to the Public Prosecutor of Rovereto, with a copy sent to our newspaper and the Riva Police Station. He firmly dismisses the accusation with indignation and, without mincing words, reiterates the highly negative opinion he has formed of the Riva police commissioner, whom he believes has falsely accused him, thus committing, in his view, the crime of calumny. He is ready to file a counter-claim and, for this reason, asks the commissioner—preferably without delay—to send him his full personal details.

The Riva Police Station director, Dr. Giuseppe Grasso, was left utterly stunned upon reading Lawyer Camillo Scarselli’s letter. For now, he states, he does not wish to add anything beyond what was made known to the press last Saturday, except to clarify that the complaint for abuse of office was not, as the judge of peace seems to think, a personal initiative of his, but a measure reviewed and formally authorized by the Rovereto Public Prosecutor’s Office, from which it was forwarded, per jurisdiction, to the Trieste Public Prosecutor’s Office, appointed by law to investigate magistrates operating in Trentino.

The case of the complaint and Scarselli’s allegations

Judge Camillo Scarselli allegedly abused his power when he passed a verdict in favor of a woman from Torbole, owner of a car lacking valid insurance (the policy had expired), who had been fined by police officers for this reason. The judge of peace (Scarselli, who is Milanese and currently still serves as a judge of peace in Rovereto, replaced the Riva judge for a few months in 2000), who was approached by the Torbole woman believing she had been wronged, overturned the proceeding based solely on the declarations of her insurer.

According to police, these statements were false, and the insurer was also charged with false testimony. But let’s examine some passages of Scarselli’s letter. He criticizes Dr. Grasso’s incompetence and explains why: «Even a law student knows: 1) that judgments, no matter how mistaken or superficial, can only be criticized through legal remedies, first and foremost via the Constitution and laws; 2) that to correct potential judicial errors, special and exclusive means of appeal are provided, which do not include a complaint for abuse of office; 3) that the judge is only subject to the law, not to the opinions or arrogance of Police Commissioners; 4) that the crime of “abuse of office” presupposes not an error (serious or minor) but that the public official acts to gain an unjust benefit or causes unjust harm to third parties, exploiting his or her position. For example, a police officer commits this crime if, abusing his uniform or badge, he goes to a restaurant, bar, greengrocer, butcher… uses his position but then refuses to pay, or tries to pay less than the usual price charged to others. If, on the other hand, he receives a small or large fee to “turn a blind eye,” he commits the most serious crimes outlined in Article 323 of the Penal Code (bribery, extortion).»