” More broadly, the Italian justice system is so badly run and corrupt that it tends to inspire wide-scale dishonesty”
Yep. Rossi thought that he could get away with fraud against the Italian government. I guess he didn’t pay the right people enough money!
A businessman friend of mine of some local standing once got a corrupt bankruptcy judge ousted. As the trustee in a major bankruptcy, he investigated some suspicious transactions and found evidence of gross misconduct by the judge, including perjury, the filing of false documents, and bribery, all with the purpose of looting the bankrupt company that he was administering.
When the judicial misconduct authorities did nothing, my friend put down $25,000 for a full page ad in the Sunday Atlanta Constitution detailing the matter and gave an advance copy to the senior local federal judge. The bankruptcy judge was off the bench within 48 hours and the ad never ran.
As my friend explained, the circumstances were such that he feared that if he did not act as he did, he would have been blamed and potentially prosecuted for permitting theft from the company, not the criminal associates of the bankruptcy judge.
I'll spare you other examples of my personal knowledge. You need not even rely on my word that such things happen. Take a look at Juan March's takeover of the the Barcelona Traction, Light, and Power Company (BTLP) using a corrupt bankruptcy proceeding. The unjust and illegal nature of March's predation was blatant and never remedied. The March family is today the wealthiest family in Spain.