Theft of a Kalashnikov from prison, a prison officer on trial

The investigating judge of Catania, Carla Aurora Valenti, accepting the request of the prosecutor Rosaria Molè, ordered the immediate trial of Melania Nicotra, the prison police officer accused of embezzlement for the theft of a Kalashnikov from the Bicocca prison, where she served in 2024.

Together with her, Francesco Longo, Francesco Salvatore Longo, Maria Agata Palermo, Giuseppe Vecchio and Alessio Marco Gigante are accused - for various crimes of possession of weapons and drug dealing. The first hearing of the trial is set for January 14, 2027 before the Third Criminal Section of the Court of Catania. The proceeding is based on investigations by the flying squad into the prison police officer who is under house arrest in Rome. During a search the police recovered the weapon, which was hidden on the roof of a house at the disposal of Francesco Longo.

The theft of the Kalashnikov would be linked to a debt that Nicotra would have had with the Longo brothers, sons of Maria Palermo. The prison police officer is defended by the lawyer Giuseppe Lipera, who has already announced that he will proceed with the ordinary procedure.

"My client - states the criminal lawyer - is innocent and we will also prove it through numerous witnesses who we will ask to be summoned to court so that they can be heard. Moreover, shortly before the prosecutor asked for the judgement, Nicotra had requested to be interrogated, but the request was not accepted. We will therefore hold the trial in public hearing, hoping that the truth will triumph".

The lawyer Tommaso Manduca, who defends Maria Agata Palermo, the woman's two sons, Francesco and Salvatore Longo, and Alessio Marco Gigante, announces that he will "request the summary judgment", to be advanced before the opening of the trial. The lawyer Salvatore Leotta, who assists Giuseppe Vecchio, is still evaluating which rite to have access to.