Carabinieri paramilitary police on
Wednesday arrested five vote-rigging suspects in the southern
Calabria region, including former Calabria regional council
member Santi Zappala'.
Investigators say Zappala' paid the Pelle family clan of
the powerful 'Ndrangheta mob and other clans a total of 400,000
euros in exchange for votes in his successful run in the 2010
regional election on Silvio Berlusconi's now-defunct People of
Freedom (PdL) party ticket.
Zappala' was arrested in December that year, and was
sentenced to two years eight months in prison for election
rigging in collusion with the mafia.
The other four suspects arrested are members of the Pelle
clan, police sources said.
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