A court in Genoa, Italy, convicted 32 people on Thursday in connection with the 2018 Morandi Bridge collapse that killed 43 people.
Former Autostrade per l'Italia chief executive Giovanni Castellucci received a 12-year prison sentence, the highest among those convicted.
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The trial involved 57 defendants accused of negligence after a 50-meter section of the bridge collapsed during a summer storm, sending vehicles plunging into the riverbed and warehouses below.
Sentences ranged from one year and 11 months to 12 years for the 32 convicted individuals.
Others were acquitted or had charges dropped due to the statute of limitations.
Castellucci was found guilty of complicity in multiple counts of manslaughter through negligence.
His defense team immediately announced plans to appeal, calling the verdict "a defeat for the truth."
They argued that Castellucci relied on Italy's leading engineers and that the collapse was due to an original design flaw in stay cable No. 9, not poor maintenance.
"The suffering caused by the Genoa tragedy is immense and deserves respect.
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But the gravity of the event requires justice to remain based on individual responsibility, not the search for a scapegoat," Castellucci's lawyers stated.
The courtroom was silent as the verdicts were read, filled with about 400 journalists, lawyers, and relatives of the victims.
Many embraced and wept.
Egle Possetti, a spokesperson for victims' families who lost four relatives, said, "We need to better understand the ruling; there are a large number of defendants involved."
Prosecutors argued that the motorway operator postponed essential safety repairs and ignored warning signs to protect corporate profits.
The political fallout from the disaster forced the Benetton family to relinquish control of Autostrade per l'Italia.
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The collapsed bridge was replaced by the Renzo Piano-designed Genoa San Giorgio Bridge in August 2020.
