Italian police on Wednesday
arrested Paolo Arata, former League party energy consultant and
former Forza Italia (FI) MP, and his son Francesco, on suspicion
of corruption.
The pair are accused of corruption, money laundering and
falsely claiming assets.
Arata and son are suspected of being silent partners of
Trapani wind farm entrepreneur Vito Nicastri, who prosecutors
say is one of the bankrollers of Cosa Nostra's No.1 fugitive
Matteo Messina Denaro.
The Aratas have been probed for months for a raft of
kickbacks at the Sicilian regional government which also
involves Nicastri, who was remanded in custody in another probe
in April after continuing to commit crimes under house arrest.
Nicastri was serve a fresh arrest warrant in the new probe
along with his son Manlio, who are facing the same charges as
the Aratas.
Former regional energy official Alberto Tinnirello was place
under house arrest on suspicion of corruption.
A branch of the probe earlier this year involved former
League party transport undersecretary Armando Siri, who was
accused of taking a 30,000 euro bribe from Arata to favour the
windfarm sector by filing an amendment that was never approved.
Arata had invested heavily in that sector.
Siri, while denying wrongdoing, was eventually forced out by
the League's ruling partner the 5-Star Movement (M5S).
After Arata's arrest, M5S bigwig Alessandro Di Battista said
"the M5S should denounce sleaze and graft and the government
should go on to respect its contract".
M5S Regional Affairs Undersecretary Stefano Buffagni said
Arata's arrest "shows we were right to push for Siri's
resignation".
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