A massive trial into 'Ndrangheta mafia infiltration in the northern Emilia Romagna region opened Wednesday in Reggio Emilia.
The 147 defendants include businessmen, politicians, and two Chinese nationals arrested in the so-called Aemilia investigation, which led to the indictments in December 2015.
Among those indicted is former footballer Vincenzo Iaquinta, who played for Juventus and for the Azzurri when Italy won the World Cup in 2006. The ex-striker is charged with illegal weapons possession aggravated by intent to abet mafia links.
His father Giuseppe Iaquinto faces charges of belonging to a racketeering mafia ring.
In July last year, police arrested nine people on charges of fraudulent money transfers with intent to abet mafia activities as part of the Aemilia probe.
Assets, commercial property and businesses worth a total of 330 million euros were also seized in the bust.
In January 2015, the operation saw 117 arrests connected to Nicolino Grande Aracri, 'Ndrangheta boss of the Grande Aracri clan, who was already in prison at the time.
Of the remaining eight arrested, Alfonso Diletto, Michele Bolognino and Giovanni Vecchi were sent to jail, while Domenico Bolognino, Jessica Diletto, Francesco Spagnolo, Patrizia Patricelli and Ibrahim Ahmed Abdelgawad were placed under house arrest. Today the court heard testimony from defendant Giuseppe Giglio, a businessman investigators say is among the organizers of the 'Ndrangheta ring in Emilia Romagna and who faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Giglio has turned State's witness, and has identified defendant Giuseppe Pagliani, a Reggio Emilia city councillor from Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) party, as the political point man for the 'Ndrangheta mafia in the northern region.
Giglio has stated co-defendant Alfonso Diletto told him that the racketeering ring was going to be set up with help from Pagliani - who faces a possible 12 years in prison as an accessory.
"Diletto told me 'we made a pact with the politician Pagliani, who is going to give us jobs. In exchange, we have to find him some votes'," Giglio said in a statement ANSA has seen.
"There was let's say a political pact - one side promising votes and financing, the other promising jobs in the region, the province, the city (as well as) a hand in calming down the prefect, because the prefect was making a bit of a stink (over anti-mafia injunctions)".
Giglio alleged the pact "did not go forward" because media coverage had "ruffled a lot of feathers". Emilia Romagna Governor Stefano Bonaccini and several mayors attended today's hearing. The region as well as many Emilia Romagna towns and cities, unions, Legambiente environmentalist group, and several anti-mafia NGOs have joined the trial as civil plaintiffs, as did Premier Matteo Renzi's office, the interior and environment ministries, and the internal revenue service.
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