NOVEMBER 29, 2004

Ferrari "spies" to go to trial

Two former employees of Ferrari are to be tried in Italy on charges of industrial espionage. A third man who was being investigated has been cleared. The first hearings are expected to take place next spring.

Two former employees of Ferrari are to be tried in Italy on charges of industrial espionage. A third man who was being investigated has been cleared. The first hearings are expected to take place next spring. Angelo Santini and Mauro Iacconi are accused of having stolen data from Ferrari and disclosed it to Toyota in Cologne. Toyota says that no file allegedly stolen from Ferrari was used in the design of its cars.

The Modena public prosecutor Fausto Casari alleges that investigations have indicated that foul play was involved and claims that this involved the firm Aerolab, which is based in the town of Nonantola, 15 miles from the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello. Iacconi, a Ferrari engineer who left the team in 1999, was manager of this establishment but later worked as a consultant to Toyota.