About year and a half after his tragic death in a hotel room in Rimini, Italy, the trial against three drug dealers has begun in that same town yesterday. Three of five persons incriminated for having sold the "Pirate" the deadly cocaine dose on the day of his death are risking imprisonment sentences. A jail sentence of four years and ten months has been requested for alleged dealer Fabio Miradossa (29), while Ciro Veneruso (31) may serve up to three years and ten months behind bars. The owner of a model agency, Fabio Carlino (27) is also accused of having provided the logistical support for the drug deal which led to Pantani's death on February 14, 2004.
A Peruvian barman, Alfonso Gerado Ramirez Cueva, and Pantani's girlfriend at the time, Russian Elena Korovina, are also being held responsible of complicity in the drug trafficking. The verdict is expected on November 28.
