Police on Tuesday arrested 12 people, including a local town councillor, on suspicion of belonging to the southern Campania region's Camorra mafia.
Gianpaolo De Angelis, the town councillor responsible for transport and town planning in Nola near Naples, is believed to have acted as a frontman for business activities linked to the local Fabbrocino clan before assuming his administrative post.
Nola mayor Geremia Biancardi removed him from his position as a "precautionary measure" on Tuesday while also stressing that "the affair, dating to 2006, has nothing whatsoever to do with his post as council member".
The 12 suspects were arrested on various charges including mafia association, fraudulent transfer of goods, extortion and illegal competition with threats or violence, with mafia method as an aggravating circumstance. Police also carried out a preventive seizure of assets worth 5 million euros.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
