Overview

• Manfredi Catella appeared before the Tribunale del Riesame on August 20 to seek annulment of his house arrest imposed on July 31 in the Milan urban-planning probe.
• Prosecutors urged the court to keep him confined, citing the “Pirellino” chat threads, the timing of a payment to architect Alessandro Scandurra, and risks of evidence tampering or reoffending.
• The decision is expected by Friday under legal time limits, with the wider anti-corruption investigation continuing.
• The defense denies any corrupt pact, argues the Scandurra payment concerned a separate student-housing consultancy, and notes Catella has relinquished operational delegations at Coima.
• The five other detainees have already been released, with one-year interdictions applied to Giancarlo Tancredi, Giuseppe Marinoni and Federico Pella, while Scandurra and Andrea Bezziccheri saw their custody annulled.