(see related)
A prosecutor in Venice on
Wednesday said a political corruption scandal unfolding there
included some of the same politicians involved in the
Bribesville probes of the 1990s that brought down the old party
system.
"(In some cases) we've found the same suspects from the
1990s," said Carlo Nordio, who played a role in the
investigations two decades ago.
The current alleged scheme involves the consortium building
the lagoon city's flood-prevention system, which is accused of
illicitly back-channeling 25 million euros to election campaigns
over several years.
High-profile names among the 35 arrested Wednesday include
Venice Mayor Giorgio Orsoni and Veneto Infrastructure Councillor
Renato Chisso, and investigators have requested the arrest of
former Veneto governor and ex-minister Giancarlo Galan,
currently a Senator.
According to Nordio, the web of bribery in Venice is much
more sophisticated than Bribesville, which was brought down by
the Clean Hands anti-corruption probes.
He and Chief Prosecutor Luigi Delpino said the case has
effectively been open since 2008.
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