Multiple news sources are reporting that the Italian prosecutors have agreed to drop all criminal charges against Costa Cruises arising out of the Concordia disaster in exchange for a fine of only one million Euro’s.  

Just one million Euro’s (around $1.31million) for killing 32 people, including children? What a pittance.

I’m sure Carnival-owned Costa is happy to write that check.  All of the big shot cruise executives and senior management officers who knew about the dangerous fly-by salutes can rest assured that they will remain in their luxurious villas and not spend a second behind bars. 

The fine turns out to be less than $41,000 per dead passenger and dead crew member. Not much of a punishment. 

The deal does not release Captain Schettino of the criminal charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship. And the civil lawsuits in Italy, for what they are worth, are unaffected. 

Newspapers are saying that the the prosecution is satisfied with the fine because it was "close to the maximum allowed by law." So why wasn’t it the maximum fine?  And what difference is a million Euro fine to a multi billion Euro corporation?  Isn’t the ongoing publicity of a criminal trial and potential jail time against the real decision makers a better deterrent?

Photo Credit Giglio News.