Vittorio De Luca has been acquitted in the case concerning the intimidating "Bla bla bla" sign placed near the Church of San Paolo Apostolo in the Parco Verde area of Caivano, the parish of don Maurizio Patriciello.
According to Il Mattino, the court acquitted De Luca because he did not commit the alleged act. The available report does not provide the full written reasoning for the decision.
The prosecution concerned alleged aggravated threats connected to the sign and to an explosive device placed near the church's pedestrian gate. The research materials describe both as allegations in the same case; they do not establish who placed the sign or the device.
The case also included an allegation that De Luca threatened Bruno Mazza, described as a youth and school-sector representative of the association "Un'infanzia da vivere," with a knife.
The church in Parco Verde
The church at the center of the case is San Paolo Apostolo in Parco Verde, Caivano, where Patriciello serves as parish priest. RaiNews describes Patriciello as living under protection because of threats connected to his anti-Camorra activity.
That context helps explain why an intimidating sign and an explosive device near the church gate were treated as alleged aggravated threats, rather than as a minor act of vandalism.
An earlier public dispute
The case follows an earlier public dispute involving a different De Luca: Vincenzo De Luca.
Open reports that Vincenzo De Luca described don Patriciello as the "Pippo Baudo dell'area Nord di Napoli" and said that the priest did not have a monopoly on the fight against the Camorra. RaiNews reports that those remarks made Patriciello the subject of a wider political controversy, drawing criticism from Giorgia Meloni and a response from the priest.
That earlier dispute is background only. The defendant acquitted in the "Bla bla bla" sign case is Vittorio De Luca.
What the acquittal does not decide
The acquittal concerns the sign-and-threat case and should not be confused with a separate proceeding involving the delivery of a bullet to Patriciello.
Il Mattino reports that De Luca's lawyer said the acquittal could be relevant to an appeal concerning a separate conviction for stalking aggravated by the mafia method. The accessible materials do not give the full reasoning of either decision, so the precise legal effect of the acquittal on that appeal remains to be established in court.
