Italian mobsters could be freed due to faulty printer

Dozens of convicted Italian mobsters face early release thanks to an administrative error caused by a faulty printer.

In 2011 a Milan court sentenced 110 'Ndrangheta members and their associates to a total over 1,000 years in prison, in what was hailed as one of the biggest crackdowns on mob activity in the north of Italy.

But in preparing to present Judge Roberto Arnoldi’s reasoning behind the sentencing last year, court workers failed to include 120 of the 900 pages because they had not printed, according to La Repubblica. As a result, the Supreme Court of Cassation in Rome scrapped the judge’s reasoning this week, paving the way for a slew of appeals.

“You cannot submit reasoning with omissions in it,” said Manuela Caciuttolo, who represents the convicted brothers Francesco and Vincenzo Ioculano. The Milan prosecutor’s officer was said to be confident the blunder would not result in the immediate release of mobsters. But it is possible the whole sentencing process may have to be redone.