Roberto Traversini and two co-defendants have been appearing since Monday before the seventh correctional chamber of the Luxembourg District Court, charged with illegal acquisition of interest, misappropriation of public funds, fraud and breach of trust.
An Afghan refugee family is now baking bread in Roberto Traversini’s infamous garden shed. This, he remarked, is perhaps the only positive outcome he still associates with the structure. The comment prompted a brief outburst in court. Beyond that moment, however, there was little room for levity. Six years after the so-called “abri de jardin” affair, the former Green mayor of Differdange still struggled at times to contain his emotions and to recall the details of the accusations against him. These charges are separate from the original garden shed case, which the court has since closed.
On Tuesday, Traversini was required to answer to the judges on 11 counts brought against him. The most serious allegations concern illegal conflict of interest and the embezzlement of public funds. “I want to take responsibility for my mistakes, if I have made them”, the defendant told the court. It was for this reason, he explained, that he refused a “jugement sur accord”, a plea agreement negotiated behind closed doors between the accused, their lawyer and the prosecution. Traversini said he wanted to explain himself publicly.
He offered explanations for many of the actions in question. Why, for instance, did a municipal intern draw up plans for a private house? According to Traversini, the building was intended to be converted into a socio-therapeutic centre at the request of the Ministry of Education, and the trainee had no other tasks at the time. Why did the CIGL employment initiative carry out work without payment? Traversini, who was then president of the CIGL, said he had been asked to set up training programmes for the initiative.
On several occasions, the former mayor acknowledged that mistakes had been made, particularly when viewed in hindsight. “We also have to look at the context”, he told the presiding judge at one point, adding: “I was wearing many hats. I realise that now”.
“You can do 100 things right, and it is the 10 you did wrong that people remember”, the public prosecutor said as he began his closing arguments on Tuesday. While not all of the charges are of equal gravity, the prosecution will later clarify which were considered more egregious. The garden shed affair itself, he noted, was by far the least significant, yet it was where everything began.
For Traversini, that case marked a turning point in his life. “No one believed me anymore. For a long time, nothing I said mattered”, he told the court. Rumours and allegations grew more serious by the day. The affair ultimately led to his resignation, as well as that of then Environment Minister, Carole Dieschbourg.
The trial continues on Wednesday with the remainder of the prosecution’s closing arguments, followed by submissions from the defence.
