Trotta 22 Times Satisfied

Milan-based promoter Claudio Trotta said it was “22 times rather satisfactory” that an appeal court confirmed he was not guilty of breaching the peace after his 2009 Bruce Springsteen show at Milan’s San Siro Stadium overran by 22 minutes.

The decision set down April 19 upheld the one made by the Milan court on July 1 of last year, which was then disputed by the city’s public prosecutor and the San Siro Living Committee, a local community group representing people who live near the stadium.

Although the Milan court agreed that a venue curfew was broken, it said it didn’t constitute a breach of the peace.

Under Italian law, Trotta, who pleaded not guilty at the original hearing, could have been jailed for a month.

At the time he said the fact the case was brought showed “a serious lack of respect” to both Springsteen and himself.

He particularly resented Milan chief prosecutor Giulio Benedetti’s suggestion that Springsteen was paid extra to play longer.

This should be the end of the matter for Trotta and his lawyer Massimo Zorzoli, unless Benedetti or the residents’ group want to take the case to the Corte di Cassazione, which is the country’s major court of last resort.

It can’t overrule the trial court or the appeal court’s interpretation of the evidence, but it can correct a lower court’s interpretation or application of the law.

Trotta’s original acquittal came shortly after Vittorio Quattrone was cleared of a similar charge relating to a Lenny Kravitz concert at the city’s Subsonica Civic Arena.