Rome, 9 Nov. (LaPresse) – The investigation into alleged rigged recruitment procedures at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Milan, in which Professor Massimo Galli was today fully acquitted by the Milan Court of Appeal on the grounds that “the offence did not exist”, was “a strange affair, with two charges: one for something that did not exist – as it was not an auction, I could not be charged with bid-rigging – and the other concerning forgery, something I was absolutely convinced I had not done”. Professor Galli himself explained this to LaPresse, saying he feels relieved after “five terrible years” . Galli recalls that the competition at the centre of the investigation – for which he had also been sentenced in the first instance to one year and four months’ suspended imprisonment – “took place on 14 February 2020, when I was deeply distressed, being one of the very few Italians who might have been aware of what was about to happen”, with the arrival of the Covid pandemic just a few days later. This is how Galli recalls those moments: “It was a very tough day, when perhaps my primary concern was not that competition. Which, despite everything, I believe I conducted correctly. This blow came out of the blue; I bore it for five terrible years: the notice of investigation arrived on 5 October 2021, 26 days before my retirement, and it severely undermined my reputation. Nevertheless, it’s over”, with today’s acquittal. According to Galli, “the problem of university recruitment competitions remains, however; if the university cannot choose, sooner or later it will die or remain a public juggernaut with major limitations. The university must be able to choose, as happens in developed countries all over the world, but it must also pay the price if it makes a mistake. And I say this as someone who has no university professors in my family, going back as far as Adam and no further, so the fact that this happened to me is strange, and I want to call it a twist of fate. I repeat and emphasise that I am certain I did things as they should have been done, perhaps with a few delays during the day, due to the distressing situation I was going through. But this did not involve any significant alterations to anything. I am saddened that no one is compensating me for the stress of these five years. The stain has been washed away, but it was an attack on my integrity, and it weighed heavily on me.”
Milan: Professor Massimo Galli acquitted without reservation
Rome, 9 Nov. (LaPresse) – The investigation into alleged rigged recruitment procedures at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Milan, in which Professor Massimo Galli was today fully acquitted by the Milan Court of Appeal on the grounds that “the offence did not exist”, was “a strange affair, with two charges: one for something that did not exist – as it was not an auction, I could not be charged with bid-rigging – and the other concerning forgery, something I was absolutely convinced I had not done”. Professor Galli himself explained this to LaPresse, saying he feels relieved after “five terrible years” . Galli recalls that the competition at the centre of the investigation – for which he had also been sentenced in the first instance to one year and four months’ suspended imprisonment – “took place on 14 February 2020, when I was deeply distressed, being one of the very few Italians who might have been aware of what was about to happen”, with the arrival of the Covid pandemic just a few days later. This is how Galli recalls those moments: “It was a very tough day, when perhaps my primary concern was not that competition. Which, despite everything, I believe I conducted correctly. This blow came out of the blue; I bore it for five terrible years: the notice of investigation arrived on 5 October 2021, 26 days before my retirement, and it severely undermined my reputation. Nevertheless, it’s over”, with today’s acquittal. According to Galli, “the problem of university recruitment competitions remains, however; if the university cannot choose, sooner or later it will die or remain a public juggernaut with major limitations. The university must be able to choose, as happens in developed countries all over the world, but it must also pay the price if it makes a mistake. And I say this as someone who has no university professors in my family, going back as far as Adam and no further, so the fact that this happened to me is strange, and I want to call it a twist of fate. I repeat and emphasise that I am certain I did things as they should have been done, perhaps with a few delays during the day, due to the distressing situation I was going through. But this did not involve any significant alterations to anything. I am saddened that no one is compensating me for the stress of these five years. The stain has been washed away, but it was an attack on my integrity, and it weighed heavily on me.”