Schettino, who was the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship when it crashed into the rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio, in January 2012, is facing 26 years in prison for charges of causing a maritime disaster, abandoning ship and multiple counts of manslaughter for the 32 people who lost their lives in the accident.
A three-judge panel heard testimony from technical experts, passengers and crew members who were on the vessel at the time of the accident. During the 19-month trial, they also heard from the captain’s female guest on the cruise, Domnica Cermortan, a Moldovan dancer who testified under duress that she was in a romantic relationship with the captain and that she was with him on the bridge when the accident occurred.
Schettino’s lead lawyer Domenico Pepe began his closing arguments on Monday by referring to the fact that the champagne bottle used to christen the ill-fated vessel when it was put into service in 2006 did not break. “Everything about this ship and this process since then has been a mystery so far,” he said.
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Schettino was denied a plea bargain similar to that his five colleagues were granted. Pepe instead insisted that money was the motivation behind the Costa company trying to pin the blame on Schettino. “There is a lot of money at play here,” he told the court. “There is a lot of money at risk.”
Schettino’s third lawyer Donato Laino, who is handling the technical aspects of the defense, said that Schettino navigated the ship “with an organization” — not single-handedly. “He was annoying as a commander,” Laino said, referring to Schettino as someone whose attention to detail borders on perfectionism.
Lawyers for 16 civil parties, including the island of Giglio, which are included in criminal trials in Italy, will have a chance to offer final arguments along with the prosecutor. Then Schettino’s defense team will have one more chance at a brief final rebuttal before the three-judge panel retires to deliberate.
A verdict could come on Tuesday evening or, more likely, on Wednesday.
