Affidavit Marco Consonni [USADA vs Lance Armstrong October 10, 2012] October 4, 2012
Mr. Marco Consonni is an Italian lawyer who provided legal assistance in Italy to the World Antidoping Agency (WADA) in relation to the investigative proceedings by the office of the Public Prosecutor of Padua, Italy. The proceedings relates to Mr Michele Ferrari, an Italian doctor, and other people, including Dr Ferrari's clients and relatives involved in potential violation of anti-doping rules.
Mr. Consonni stated that working on this case, he found evidence of a previous criminal proceedings related to potential violations of anti-doping rules committed by Dr. Ferrari and other people in Italy in the period from 1995 to 1998. These proceedings included doping treatments to Mr Filippo Simeoni, an Italian professional cyclist, in the period 1995 - 1997 by Dr Ferrari. Mr Simeoni was a witness in this case. The proceedings resulted in a decision of the Criminal Tribunal of Bologna dated 1 October 2004 which condemned Dr Ferrari for sporting fraud and abuse of the medical profession while he was acquitted of other crimes' indictments, mainly for statue of limitation.
The decision was appealed before the Court of Appeal of Bologna and then before the Italian Supreme Court ("Corte di Cassazione"). With its above mentioned decision, the Italian Supreme Court analyses the previous decisions of the case made by the Tribunal and by the Court of Appeal of Bologna and states that, while the statute of limitation operates in relation to the indictments contested to Dr Ferrari, there were clear "objective" evidences of Dr Ferrari liability for sporting fraud and violation of anti-doping rules with specific reference of prescription of doping medications to athletes.
