CORRUPTION TRIAL RESCHEDULED IN ITALY
MILAN — As expected, the corruption trial for five of Italy’s top designers that was supposed to begin on Tuesday has been postponed until May 10.
The trial was put off because the judge hearing the case, Romeo Simi DeBurgis, has been transferred to Italy’s highest court. His replacement has not yet been announced.
This is third time the trial has been put off since its original starting date of Sept. 20. The other postponements were due to a crowded court docket.
“The trial was put off because the judge can no longer devote his time to the case,” Alberto Moro Visconti, the lawyer for Santo Versace, told WWD.
“Although the judge still has to announce his replacement, there is no reason why the trial shouldn’t begin in May.”
As reported, Giorgio Armani, Krizia’s Mariuccia Mandelli, Gianfranco FerrA, Gerolamo Etro and Versace, brother of designer Gianni Versace and chief of the family business, have been ordered to stand trial for paying bribes ranging from $62,000 to $260,000 to tax authorities.
The designers, who are planning a joint defense strategy, say they were innocent victims of corrupt public officials who extorted money from them.