There's the Luck That There Is Work, for Everyone

Giovanni Toti, the governor of Liguria, repeatedly turned to his financier Aldo Spinelli to fund his personal political movement, which carried him to two election victories in the region. Politics is expensive, and when funds ran low, Toti called on Spinelli, who was always willing to help — provided he had secured the official document he needed. Over three years, while the Spinelli group's value reached "one billion, Toti and his committees collected just 74,000 euros, a sum that has now led to his arrest on corruption charges.

On May 3, 2020, Spinelli and Toti spoke by phone, as they often did. Spinelli complained that he could work more if the port authority freed up unused areas for logistics companies: "We are strangled, we don't know where to put the work! There's the luck that there is work, for everyone... It's shameful!

Toti countered, "But it's going well! The port is growing, and noted that a new breakwater would increase traffic volumes. "Let's hope.

You now, well, think about the elections, Spinelli replied, offering an opening Toti seized: "I'll come visit you! I'll come visit you, since I haven't come before the elections. On May 25, Spinelli transferred 15,000 euros.

Both Spinelli and Toti insisted that donations be declared legally. "Send Spinelli's secretariat the documents where we want him to make a payment, and he'll do it normally like everyone else, Toti ordered his assistant on September 1. As they discussed the crucial extension of the Rinfuse concession, neither seemed to realize that a regular donation in exchange for a measure is still a bribe. Months passed before Rinfuse reached its conclusion in early December, when Spinelli paid 40,000 euros to the Giovanni Toti-Liguria Committee, "repeatedly solicited by Giovanni Toti, according to the Guardia di Finanza.

Spinelli, however, admitted that his son Roberto (also under investigation) rebuked him: "He doesn't want me to fund parties, but I have. A manager of the fund holding 45% of Spinelli srl was also concerned. "It's a reputational problem because political parties are part of institutions and can always be seen as corruption, she told him bluntly.

Spinelli, "somewhat dejected, responded that it was important to "support at the local level. He later recalled her words when speaking with former minister Claudio Burlando, who knew of his ties to Toti. "I can't help you, I told him clearly... in past years we gave to everyone.

We can't, because the funds forbid it, damn it. Investigations document that he continued to fund Toti. "When will you show me that boat?

When do we meet, because I need to ask you for some stuff as usual these days? Toti said, hinting on the phone to Spinelli, who had just bought a new 9-million-euro yacht. which the center-right would win — the coffers were empty.

Days earlier, on August 10, 2022, while planning the campaign, an aide had told him they couldn't afford bus advertising in Genoa: "Later, otherwise we can't manage financially. On September 8, after visiting the boat, 15,000 euros arrived from the logistics king. For the Monte Carlo Masters tennis final on April 17, 2022, Spinelli wanted to impress Paolo Signorini, his valuable president of the port authority, for whom he would pay for 22 weekends in the Principality.

He arranged an apartment and suite for two couples at the luxurious Hotel de Paris, plus tickets to the party celebrating Tsitsipas's victory. "Where the Prince's table is, we've always sat beside it, he told the booking agent."