Taranto prosecutors seek house arrest for ex Ilva's Lucia Morselli and two others

House arrest request

Prosecutors in Taranto have asked for house arrest for Lucia Morselli, a former executive of Acciaierie d'Italia, the company that ran the ex Ilva steelworks. The same request covers Alessandro Labile, the former director of the plant, and Francesco Astorri, who heads the Ispra inspection unit for plants of strategic national interest. The move was reported on 26 October 2026 and concerns alleged pollution from the plant's emissions between 2019 and 2024. Prosecutors have also sought interdictive measures against ten other managers and officials.

The preliminary hearings, known as interrogatori preventivi, are scheduled for 3 November 2026 before the judge for preliminary investigations, Francesco Maccagnano. He will rule on the requests after questioning the suspects. None of the requested measures has been ordered yet.

The allegations

Prosecutors contend that the plant was managed to cut costs to a minimum and to maximise profit and output, at the expense of environmental protection. According to the investigators, this led to significant and progressive rises in benzene from the emissions, polluting the air of the Tamburi district. Routine maintenance of the plant's installations is also under scrutiny.

Il Messaggero reports that prosecutors put the unlawful gain at 342 million euros, which they say was obtained at the expense of the European Union. The charges include environmental disaster, pollution and fraud against the state. Investigators also accuse the main suspects of steering the checks and results of Ispra inspections in the company's favour.

Open reports that the probe began with a complaint about peaks of benzene near the steelworks. In March 2024 Morselli received a notice extending the investigation. Four months later, searches and seizures followed over an alleged fraud against the state linked to CO2 emission allowances. AGI reports that Acciaierie d'Italia had been placed under extraordinary administration in February 2024, a regime that remains in force. Open also reports that Milan prosecutors have a separate fraudulent bankruptcy investigation involving Morselli, opened after a report from the extraordinary commissioners of ex Ilva.

Suspects and charges

In total 28 people and five companies are under investigation. Eight of them face allegations of criminal association aimed at environmental offences, public safety crimes and offences against public administration. The prosecutors leading the case are Mariano Buccoliero, Francesco Sansobrino and Francesco Ciardo, who now works at the Lecce prosecutor's office.

Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that Astorri is accused of having falsified the results of inspections at the plant to favour the company. The same outlet links the case to CO2 allowances and to maintenance work that was allegedly never carried out on the installations.

Persons under investigation28

Companies under investigation5

Accused of criminal association8

Persons facing requested interdictive measures10

Persons under investigation

28

Companies under investigation

5

Accused of criminal association

8

Persons facing requested interdictive measures

10

Data from the article text

What happens next

Notice of the preliminary hearings has been served on the suspects. For now the measures are only requested, and any decision will follow the questioning on 3 November. The plant itself remains under extraordinary administration, so the case concerns a company that has been run under that regime since February 2024.