The Superior Court yesterday examined two opposing appeals against the sentence of a tobacco wholesaler to four years in prison for smuggling and money laundering. The Prosecutor’s Office demanded that the penalty be increased to six years in prison and the fine increased to 1.4 million euros, while the defense requested the acquittal of the convictedaged 66, claiming he was unaware of the illegal destination of the goods. The public ministry defended that it was not an isolated sale, but an operation organized over months and with large quantities of tobacco. According to the prosecutor, there was a “clear distribution of functions” between the wholesaler, the transporter and the recipient of the goods. He maintained that the three were acting in a coordinated manner and that the convict was aware of the smuggling activity. It also noted that it prepared orders, allowed pick-up after business hours and handled cash payments. For this reason, the Prosecutor’s Office contested the acquittal for the crime of illicit association issued by Court of Courts and claimed a conviction for that offense as well. “These are not three independent actions”, he argued, insisting that the participation of the wholesaler was conscious and voluntary.
The lawyer says that the man will never be able to rehabilitate himself or face the penalty
The defense rejected this interpretation and charged Courts to have partially reproduced the initial story of the Prosecutor’s Office without properly assessing the evidence. He recalled that the other two involved they had disconnected their client from the organization and that one of them didn’t even know him. “My client has only sinned by overconfidence,” said the lawyer, who insisted that sales and cash payments were common and transparent. One of the central points of the defense’s appeal was the proportionality of the financial penalty. The lawyer asked to study the constitutionality of the rule that sets these fines, arguing that the convicted, retired and with a monthly income of 2,000 euros, could never face the payment. “It’s a life sentence. He can never be rehabilitated”he warned, in addition to considering that the fine was more harmful than the deprivation of liberty.
The lawyer also denounced violations of procedural guarantees during the police investigation, especially by follow-ups carried out without arresting the suspectsand requested the annulment of the actions. He held that selling tobacco to a person without a license to carry would in this case constitute one administrative offense and not a criminal offence. Alternatively, he considered reducing the sentence to three years in prison, with a maximum fine of 1,000 euros for money laundering, or to three years and three months, with 56,000 euros for smuggling and 1,000 for money laundering. The convict reiterated his innocence: “I never knew that sales were destined for a place other than the store. If I had known, I wouldn’t have done them.”
