(see related)House Deputy
Speaker Luigi Di Maio of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement
(M5S) knew as far back as August 5 that M5S Rome Mayor Virginia
Raggi's newly appointed cabinet member Paola Muraro was under
criminal investigation, according to an exclusive published
Wednesday on the website of Il Messaggero daily paper.
The paper posted an emailed letter dated August 5 by M5S
Senator Paola Taverna to Di Maio, in which she told him that
Muraro was reportedly under investigation and that she may face
fraud charges. This made her incompatible with office and
therefore she should be removed at once.
Di Maio, who belongs to a so-called M5S directorate which
is supposed to oversee Raggi's doings in Rome, has strenuously
denied knowing anything about the Muraro investigation.
Taverna in the letter also called for the removal of
Raggi's deputy cabinet chief Raffaele Marra for incompatibility
with public office, and urged Di Maio to share the information
with the rest of the directorate. Its members have so far denied
having been apprised of the situation.
"We must assess what action we must take to safeguard the
image of the mayor and of the entire Movement," Taverna wrote,
according to Messaggero.it.
Di Maio earlier today said the media is conspiring against
him and the M5S.
Marra has been criticised for having worked for the hard
right former mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno during his 2008-2013
term at the helm of the Italian capital.
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