Venice Mayor Giorgio Orsoni was
among 35 people arrested on Wednesday in relation to a probe
into alleged corruption in contracts for the Lagoon city's MOSE
flood-protection system.
Veneto Infrastructure Councillor Renato Chisso was
arrested too, while around 100 people are under investigation,
judicial sources said.
Prosecutors also requested the arrest of former Veneto
governor and ex minister Giancarlo Galan, a Senator for
ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) party.
The Upper House will have to decide whether to authorise
the arrest.
Galan was at the helm of the region around Venice from
1995 to 2010 before short stints as agriculture and then culture
minister between 2010 and 2011 in Berlusconi's third and final
executive.
The probe is the latest in a series of investigations into
alleged corruption to have hit parties from many parts of
Italy's political spectrum and contributed to growing
disenchantment with the ruling class.
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