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Speedboat Captain Sentenced to 4 Years 9 Months in Death of Bloomsbury U.S. CEO Adrienne Vaughan

What happened: Elio Persico, 32, received a 4-year, 9-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter for a speedboat crash off the Amalfi Coast in August 2023.

Victim: Adrienne Vaughan, 45, CEO of Bloomsbury’s U.S. arm, was thrown from a 9-meter boat that collided with the 45-meter Tortuga and was fatally struck by a propeller.

Key facts: Persico tested positive for cocaine and alcohol; the larger vessel’s captain tested negative and its passengers were unharmed. Vaughan’s daughter survived and her husband sustained a shoulder injury.

10:46 PM, 11/21/2025Society
Speedboat Captain Sentenced to 4 Years 9 Months in Death of Bloomsbury U.S. CEO Adrienne Vaughan

A captain has been sentenced to prison after a 2023 speedboat crash off Italy’s Amalfi Coast that killed Adrienne Vaughan, the chief executive of Bloomsbury’s U.S. operations.

On Nov. 21, 32-year-old Elio Persico accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Persico’s attorney, Liberato Mazzola, confirmed the sentence. The crash occurred in August 2023 when a 9-meter speedboat carrying Vaughan, her husband and their two children collided with a much larger 45-meter vessel named the Tortuga while en route to Positano.

Authorities said Persico tested positive for both cocaine and alcohol following the collision. The captain of the larger vessel, according to Salerno public prosecutor Marinella Guglielmotti, tested negative for substances and was not under investigation. About 80 passengers aboard the larger boat were reportedly unharmed.

"The vessel was going straight, and so was the hull. Then suddenly it turned 180 degrees: there was a collision, and I heard a very loud bang. I saw the woman in the water, supported by her children and husband ... It was terrible," said bartender Pietro Iuzzolino, who was working on the larger boat.

After Vaughan fell into the water she was struck by the speedboat's propeller and was later pronounced dead at the scene. Her daughter was also thrown into the sea but miraculously sustained no injuries; Vaughan’s husband was treated for a shoulder injury.

Bloomsbury’s board chair Julia Reidhead and the company’s president and CEO Maria A. Pallante released a joint statement after Vaughan’s death, calling her "a leader of dazzling talent and infectious passion" and praising her deep commitment to authors and readers.

This sentence follows Persico’s guilty plea and closes a tragic chapter in an accident that drew international attention and renewed calls for strict safety and sobriety regulations for operators of recreational vessels.

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