Sicily: in Sommatino, the mayor, the village fête and the building sites: racket and bribery suspicions

In the villages of inland Sicily, the sagra is sacred: food stalls, local produce, a band, and the whole town out in the street. In Sommatino, a small town in the province of Caltanissetta, the festival allegedly came with an extra ingredient: a “voluntary” contribution demanded from stallholders. On 7 July 2026, the Caltanissetta Carabinieri investigative unit carried out operation “Scacco” (as in “check”): outgoing mayor Salvatore Letizia and Diego Caramazza, a businessman from Favara, were placed under house arrest. Everyone involved is presumed innocent.

The investigation, run by the Caltanissetta prosecutor's office, targets eight people in all, on charges that variously include concussione (extortion by a public official), corruption and undue inducement. Two strands intertwine: an alleged festival racket in November 2024, and a string of municipal public works contracts that investigators believe came with kickbacks. Along the way, the judge ordered a preventive seizure of €15,000 from the former mayor.

A shooting, then fifteen months of wiretaps

It all reportedly began with something that had nothing obvious to do with procurement: on 9 May 2024, shots were fired at the mayor's car. The inquiry that followed widened and ran from July 2024 to October 2025, using wiretaps, video surveillance, stake-outs and documents seized at the town hall. What investigators think they found was no longer a score being settled, but the day-to-day running of the town.

Besides the two house arrests, the preliminary investigations judge imposed four twelve-month bans: suspension from office for council employee Roberto Alotta; a ban on practising and on contracting with the public sector for architect Calogero Vendra; a ban on construction activity for Luigi Pulci; and a ban on public contracts for Lorenzo Pulci. Deputy mayor Mariangela Castellano and councillor Alessandro Rumeo, also under investigation for concussione, faced no measures: they had already resigned.

The festival and its entry fee

The most colourful strand concerns the “3rd Sagra dell'Agricoltura – Sommatino sei Tu”, held in November 2024. Prosecutors allege that officials demanded between €40 and €150 a day in cash from traders and exhibitors, threatening to cut off their electricity or make them pay for refusing later. One restaurateur was allegedly asked to provide free meals. Local press report that the mayor himself did the rounds of the stalls to collect. Estimated takings: around €11,000.

These “voluntary contributions” lie at the heart of the concussione charge, which under Italian law punishes a public official who abuses their position to force someone to hand over money. The defence disputes all the allegations, which will have to be proven in court.

Mates' rates on public works… for whom?

The second strand concerns public works. According to investigators, a head of the technical department allegedly sought €50,000 on the side of a €981,000 job shoring up the Sant'Anna rock face; the contractor reportedly refused. In another file, €5,000 was allegedly requested around a nursery school project worth about €757,000. An official is also alleged to have received a phone worth around €1,800, a computer and more than €4,500 in cash in exchange for administrative favours.

The pièce de résistance is Villa Garibaldi, the town's public garden, along with work at the cemetery. Prosecutors claim the jobs were artificially split to stay below the €150,000 threshold and allow direct awards without real competition. In return, €45,000 in bribes was allegedly shared equally, €15,000 apiece, between the mayor, a council technician and an outside professional. A variation order then reportedly inflated the bill by some €30,000. The €15,000 seized is said to match Letizia's alleged share from Caramazza.

House arrest, then nothing at all

The legal aftermath moved fast. Prosecutors had sought prison custody for the former mayor; after his preliminary questioning, the judge opted for house arrest. In late July, the review court (Riesame) swapped this for an obligation to reside in Sommatino, while Caramazza stayed under house arrest, according to local press. Meanwhile the Sicilian Region (President Renato Schifani and regional minister Elisa Ingala) appointed Teresa Burgio as special commissioner, exercising the powers of mayor and executive until the next elections.

On 25 September 2026 came another twist: the Riesame, chaired by Gabriella Natale, upheld an appeal by lawyers Vincenzo Vitello and Adriana Vella and lifted the residence obligation, the arrival of a commissioner at the town hall having removed the risk previously cited. Letizia is therefore free to come and go. A Court of Cassation appeal by the defence, challenging the strength of the evidence, is still pending. The concussione (festival) and corruption (Villa Garibaldi) allegations remain, for now, investigative hypotheses.

Magouilles & Compagnie verdict

Magouille or calomnie? There are wiretaps, seizures and a cascade of resignations; there is no trial and no conviction, and the main suspect is free to move about again. Holding verdict: even the village fête had its envelope, and in Sommatino the chess game has only just begun.