Irpinia Bus Massacre: 6-Year Sentence Finalized for Former ASPI CEO Castellucci
Avellino, Italy – April 11, 2025
Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, has upheld a six-year prison sentence for Giovanni Castellucci, former CEO of Autostrade per l’Italia (ASPI), cementing his conviction for the 2013 Irpinia bus disaster that claimed 40 lives. The ruling, announced today, marks the end of a 12-year legal saga over the catastrophic crash on the A16 Naples-Canosa highway near Monteforte Irpino, Avellino, where a tour bus plunged 40 meters off the Acqualonga viaduct. Castellucci, convicted of culpable homicide and negligent disaster, faces jail time—a rare outcome for a corporate titan in Italy’s infrastructure world.
The tragedy unfolded on July 28, 2013, when a bus carrying pilgrims from Pozzuoli, returning from a trip to Telese Terme and Pietrelcina, lost control on a downhill stretch. The vehicle, operated by Gennaro Lametta’s Mondo Travel agency, had a faulty brake system—later revealed to have a falsified inspection certificate. Swaying wildly, it struck a guardrail that collapsed under impact, sending the bus crashing into a ravine. All 40 passengers, including driver Ciro Lametta, perished in what remains Italy’s deadliest road accident.
Prosecutors pinned partial blame on ASPI, alleging shoddy maintenance of the viaduct’s safety barriers, which a court expert said could have prevented the catastrophe if properly maintained. Castellucci, who led ASPI from 2005 to 2019, was acquitted in the 2019 first-instance trial, with the judge citing his administrative role as too distant from operational oversight. But the Naples Court of Appeal reversed this in September 2023, sentencing him to six years, a decision now made definitive by the Cassation. The court also upheld a nine-year term for bus owner Gennaro Lametta and a four-year sentence for Antonietta Ceriola, a Naples Motorization official, alongside penalties for six other ASPI managers ranging from three to six years.
Castellucci, 65, has called himself a “scapegoat,” insisting the verdict defies evidence and common sense, particularly since ASPI’s central directives mandated maintenance that local branches failed to execute. His legal team, led by Paola Severino, signaled he’s prepared to surrender to authorities, though they’re exploring final appeals on technical grounds. Meanwhile, victims’ families, like Alba Lanuto, who lost her mother in the crash, expressed tearful relief to local media: “Justice took years, but it’s here.” Others, still scarred, voiced frustration on social platforms, noting Castellucci’s wealth and influence—tied to his Benetton-backed Atlantia tenure—kept him free until now.
The ruling lands as Italy wrestles with infrastructure accountability, a debate reignited by the 2018 Genoa bridge collapse, where Castellucci also faced charges but denied wrongdoing. For Irpinia’s survivors and bereaved, today’s decision closes a painful chapter, though many say no sentence can undo the loss of that summer night’s horror.