A Lombardy regional councillor and a
European election candidate for Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right
Forza Italia (FI) party were among those arrested in a kickbacks
probe by Milan anti-mafia prosecutors on Tuesday.
Councillor Fabio Altitonante, regional undersecretary for the
Expo area for the Lombardy regional government, was taken into
custody along with Milanese city councillor, deputy FI regional
coordinator and EP candidate Pietro Tatarella.
Also arrested was a businessman in the waste management and
environmental clean-up sector, Daniele D'Alfonso, who owns the
Ecol-Service company.
Prosecutors said Tatarella was on D'Alfonso's "pay book" and
received 5,000 euros a month for steering contracts of waste
company AMSA his way as well as other contracts in Varese and
Novara, where another FI MP, Diego Sozzari, was said to be
"active".
Tatarella was caught on a wiretap urging other suspects:
"let's try and get into the area of the former Expo".
Illicit funding to the nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI)
party was also unearthed, prosecutors said, a claim the party
denied.
Prosecutors said there was also an episode of "instigation to
corruption" regarding Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana, who is
the injured party and is not under investigation.
"I'm the injured party, I'll talk to the prosecutors,"
Fontana said.
Prosecutors said they were "evaluating the position" of
Fontana.
Overall, some 43 warrants were issued in the probe against
two criminal groups, operating between Milan and Varese and made
up of local politicians, civil servants and business people.
The governor is reported to have not reported the episode,
although he recently went to the Milan courthouse to clear up
the incident, sources said.
Those served warrants are accused of conspiracy to commit
crimes aggravated by setting up a mafia type organisation,
corruption and bid rigging, aimed at sharing out pubic
contracts.
photo: Tatarella (L) and Altitonante
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