Cabinet has dissolved the town
council of Brescello in Reggio Emilia province on grounds it was
infiltrated by the mafia, the rightwing Northern League party
announced Wednesday.
"This is a victory for the League, which has been fighting
for lawfulness for years," Brescello League Councillor Catia
Silva said.
"We are ready to cooperate with the commissioner".
Reggio Emilia regional League chief Gianluca Vinci said
Silva "paid a high price for shedding light on the underground
system in Brescello".
Vinci said Silva suffered arson, property damages, and
aggravated threats "on the part of five characters" including
Calabria native and Brescello resident Alfonso Diletto, who is
in prison and currently a defendant in a massive trial into
'Ndrangheta mafia infiltration in the northern Emilia Romagna
region that kicked off in March this year.
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 - including
Diletto - 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.
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