Palumbo father and son sentenced to six years in jail by Messina court

The owners of the Palumbo shipyard have been sentenced to six years in jail by a court in Sicily after they were found guilty of illegal dumping of waste.

Antonio Palumbo and his son Raffaele Palumbo were among seven men charged six years ago with facilitating the illegal dumping of waste between 2011 and 2013.

The Palumbos were each handed down a six-year jail term, while others received jail terms of between two and four years.

The companies Palumbo Spa, La Futura Sud and Stabia Yachting and Coating were ordered to pay any subsequent damages a future court may award.

The Palumbos are appealing the court judgment with their lawyer insisting that documents produced as part of the case had shown how all waste discarded by Palumbo was done through proper channels. 

A spokesperson for Palumbo said the company’s business interests in Malta and abroad “are unaffected by this ruling”.

The Neapolitan businesspeople took over the former shipbuilding yard in Malta in 2010 after it was privatised.