The oil scandal
(Abstract)
The "oil scandal", also known as the "2000 billions scandal" go back to the 1980, when magistrates from Treviso and a local newspaper exposed the existence of a tax fraud for 2000 billions Liras. Oil smuggling seemed to have caused a 20% difference between the oil actually consumed in Italy and the paid taxes, and having affected also the statistical data on which Italian energetic policies have been based.
This research investigates the events in great detail, describing, through the judiciary acts, the way in which the fraud was first organized and later brought to light. The research gives also an in-depth account of the main characters involved (Bruno Musselli; Mario Milani; Raffaele Giudice; Donato Lo Prete; Giuseppe Trisolini; Sereno Freato).
The second chapter of the research is devoted to a criminological analysis of the oil scandal, which is studied as an example of white-collar crime. A particular attention is paid to the motives of the persons involved and to the particular criminal opportunities they had because of their professional or social connections.
The research stresses the fact that this fraud was made possible by the laws then in force; by the strong links between the political and the economical system, and by the implied permission of those who where supposed to control and prevent similar crimes.