The Mayor’s denials on wall posters in Pomigliano D’Arco

In Pomigliano D’Arco (Naples). The Sugc (the united journalists union of Campania) expressed solidarity with the journalist Pino Neri (Il Mattino) who had published an article talking about an alleged burning of waste.

On October 7^th 2019 the journalist Pino Neri, correspondent of Il Mattino, found the walls of his city, Pomigliano d’Arco, carpeted with posters that displayed in giant letters the mayor’s denial of his article published on September 24^th .

The mayor of Pomigliano, Raffaele Russo, had sent the denial to the newspaper of the Caltagirone Group, pointing out that in his city there had not been any burning of waste, as Pino Neri had written, since – as shown even from the investigations – “that blaze was due to a fire in a refrigerator stored in a bus garage”. Il Mattino, on the 1^st of October, had published the denial that a week later was reproduced in posters throughout the city.

“In the text– wrote mayor Russo, referring to the article by Neri – there is talk of an alleged major conflagration , and there are statements that seem to suggest that the administration does not listen to the citizens and is talking about criticisms of the Municipality launched on social media about the matter “.

The article reported the complaints of citizens and civic committees who requested the intervention of the Municipality.

The posters provoked the reaction of the Campania Journalists’ Union, which found the decision to post them to be intimidating. The Sugc expressed its solidarity with Pino Neri, offered him legal assistance and asked the police to intervene in the matter.

It is not the first time that Mayor Russo has attacked Pino Neri. In July 2019, during a city council meeting, he had publicly called him “the enemy no. 1 of the administration”.

RDM