Former centre-right MP
Giuseppe 'Pino' Galati was among 24 people arrested in a probe
into the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta mafia on Monday.
Galati was first elected with the Union of the Centre (UdC),
then Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) and finally with the
smaller breakaway ALA group.
He stood for parliament in March with the WE With Italy group
but was not elected.
Monday's operation, codenamed Fifth Circle of Hell, also
seized 10 million euros.
Twelve of those arrested were placed under house arrest while
the other 12 were taken to jail.
Galati was already involve din an 'Ndrangheta probe in 2016
when prosecutors asked for him to be arrested for alleged
corruption aggravated by mafia methods, but a preliminary
investigations judge turned them down.
In the latest probe he is accused of hiring staffers on "mere
clientelist premises" to boost his electoral base.
Also involved in the probe is the former general manager of
the Catanzaro provincial health agency, Giuseppe Perri, for
alleged abuse of office along with former administrative
director Giuseppe Pugliese and former emergency service head
Eliseo Ciccone.
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