Esiodo – the joint-stock company of lawyers that gravitates around the magic circle of Coldiretti and grinds out millionaire profits – could perhaps incur one or more disciplinary offenses. #VanghePulite.
The National Council of Lawyers (CNF), with the ruling of 27 May 2024 n. 219, has in fact established that hosting the headquarters of law firms in trade associations constitutes a violation of the Forensic Code of Ethics. (1)
The activities conducted by the members and the composition of the board of auditors of the aforementioned company then raise further doubts, which appear to merit further investigation and verification by the competent professional orders.
1) Prohibition on establishing law firms in trade associations
The sentence of the National Council of Lawyers 219/24 definitively clarifies that the placement of law firms in trade associations:
– damages the image of the legal profession, since
– creates a potential conflict of interest as well as
– facilitates customer acquisition, even regardless of the existence of direct economic benefits.
The case from which the proceedings arose concerned a law firm that shared its premises with an association dedicated to compensation for damages caused by road traffic. The CNF considered the disciplinary sanction of censure appropriate. (1)
2) ESIODO Stapa, the law firm of Coldiretti. The headquarters
Company between lawyers for actions in abbreviated form Esiodo Stapa has its headquarters in Rome, via Nazionale 89/A. The entire building, according to rumors, belongs to Germina Campus SpA (of which Coldiretti is the sole shareholder) and has a secondary entrance in via Nazionale 271.
Combination, both civic numbers are home to a series of entities that belong to the Coldiretti galaxy. In addition to Germina Campus and its Agritel and SicurAgro, Fondazione Campagna Amica, UE Coop. As well as SIMEC SpA, the phoenix that rose again after the collapse of Credit Agri Italia, (3) and various others.
2.1) Hesiod, the members
Quotes of Hesiod Stapa are divided as follows:
– Germina Campus SpA, 33%. Ger.Cam., as we have seen, is the 'safe' of Coldiretti which is its sole shareholder, with a share capital of € 15,492 million. The President, Vice-President and Managing Director of Ger.Cam. are Ettore Prandini, Vincenzo Gesmundo, Raffaele Grandolini. Who are also – respectively – President, General Secretary and Head of the Administration, Finance and General Affairs Service (Manager) of Coldiretti; (2)
– Raffaele Grandolini, 26%. Also known as the 'King Midas' of Coldiretti, Grandolini sits on the boards of directors of 25 companies that gravitate towards his galaxy; (4)
– Fabrizio Di Marzio, 25%. Former Supreme Court Councillor, now head of the Legal and Corporate Service of Coldiretti, member of the board of directors of the Consortium Company Consorzi Agrari SCpA and of Esiodo StapA. As well as, at the same time, a Supreme Court lawyer (5,6);
– Giuseppina Ivone, 4%. Former member of the 'gang of liquidators' of Acqua Marcia SpA, together with Fabrizio Di Marzio, as well as president of the Board of Directors of Consorzi Agrari d'Italia alias Federconsorzi 2, from 12 March 2021 to 31 December 2022; (7)
– Marco Moretti, 4%. Historical lawyer of CAF and CAA of Coldiretti, as well as president of the respective supervisory bodies pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/01. (8) In addition to being president of the Board of Directors of Megg Invest Srl with headquarters in Dozza (BO), €11,5 million in turnover without employees apparently.
2.2) Esiodo, Board of Directors and Board of Auditors
The BoD (Board of Directors) of Esiodo StapA is composed of the president Raffaele Grandolini, as well as the directors Fabrizio Di Marzio, Giuseppina Ivone, Marco Moretti and lastly also Vincenzo Gesmundo, appointed on 26 June 2024.
Members of the board of auditors of Esiodo are instead:
– Benedetta Ficco, deputy mayor. In addition to being mayor and deputy mayor of seven companies belonging to the Coldiretti power system, Benedetta Ficco is said to work in the Administration, Finance and General Affairs Service of Coldiretti, under Raffaele Grandolini;
– Fabio Marella, president as well as mayor, substitute mayor or liquidator of 19 other companies in the large Coldiretti galaxy. Fabio Marella also appears to work in the Administration, Finance and General Affairs Service of Coldiretti, reporting directly to Raffaele Grandolini;
– Stefania Marongiu. Mayor of Esiodo where Raffaele Grandolini chairs the Board of Directors and, according to news to be confirmed, employee of the Administration, Finance and General Affairs Service of Coldiretti, under the responsibility of Raffaele Grandolini himself;
– Monica Rispoli, deputy mayor, formerly known as the goddess Kālī of surveillance. (9) Mayor of the latest conquest of CAI SpA alias Federconsorzi 2, the Siena Agricultural Consortium, as well as an employee of Raffaele Grandolini in the Administration, Finance and General Affairs Service of Coldiretti;
– Gianluca Turchetta. Mayor among others of the CAA (Agricultural Assistance Center) Coldiretti Srl, the General Agency Agrifides Srl, the Proximity Center Srl (Campagna Amica markets).
2.3) What independence of mayors?
The civil code – in art. 2399, entitled 'Causes of ineligibility and forfeiture' – provides that 'They cannot be elected to the office of mayor and, if elected, they lose their office: (…)
c) those who are linked to the company or to the companies controlled by it or to the companies that control it or to those subject to joint control by an employment relationship or by a continuous consultancy or paid work relationship, or by other relationships of a patrimonial nature that compromise their independence'. (9)
2.4) Business is booming
The business of Esiodo are proceeding at full speed. €4,663 million in turnover, in 2023, with only three employees. From the beginning, it is recalled, Esiodo invoiced CAI SpA a good 2 million euros for a few months of consultancy. (10) The CEO of Federconsorzi 2, after all, was and is the simple company of Gianluca Lelli, the former dolphin of Vincenzo Gesmundo.
3) Provisional conclusions
The Hesiod affair raises some doubts that would deserve an analysis both by the Bar Association and by the Association of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Experts. In order to verify the possible validity of the above information, informally collected from various sources, and to evaluate the correctness of the cases of:
– possible location of the law firm in a reference building for a trade association;
– participation in the professional company, as a relative majority shareholder, of a company entirely owned by a trade association;
– registration in the Bar Association by individuals linked to employment relationships or presidents of a commercial company, (11) as the case may be;
– independence of the mayors Ficco, Marella, Rispoli and Marongiu.
#VanghePulite
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) National Council of Lawyers. Sentence 27.5.24 n. 219 https://tinyurl.com/rpm92va6
(2) Dario Dongo. Germina Campus, the Coldiretti holding company that speculates on farmers. #Clean shovels. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 13.6.21
(3) Dario Dongo. Vincenzo Gesmundo, Coldiretti and the Confidi disaster. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(4) Dario Dongo. PNRR and tender on supply chain contracts, Coldiretti 'ace take it all'. #Clean spades. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(5) See the reference to Fabrizio Di Marzio in the article 'Friday 24/11 the second day of the Coldiretti Forum'. Il Punto Coldiretti. 23.11.23 https://tinyurl.com/pr6jukkr
(6) Fabrizio Di Marzio, Zitiello associates law firm https://tinyurl.com/3c85epzx
(7) Dario Dongo. Federconsorzi 2, AgriRevi, AIPO (Unaprol). Gold business for Coldiretti's magic circle. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(8) Marco Moretti, lawyer. 24 Hours Business School https://tinyurl.com/nmtdt5s2
(9) Reference is made to the civil code, article 2399
(10) See the paragraph 'Federconsorzi 2, Esiodo Srl and the magic circle' in the previous article by Dario Dongo. Subsidized insurance in agriculture, the great deals of Coldiretti's magic circle. #Clean shovels. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(11) The National Council of Lawyers, with ruling no. 11 of 2022 October 170, stated that a situation of incompatibility does not exist only in the case in which the lawyer – in his role as chairman of the Board of Directors – «has been deprived, by the company statute or by subsequent resolution, of the powers of management of the commercial activity through the appointment of a managing director» (also the Supreme Court, United Sections, 37/2007)
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
