UGL trade union leader implicated in embezzlement probe

(ANSA) - Rome, April 15 - Finance police searched the Rome headquarters of Italy's General Labour Union (UGL) on Tuesday as part of an embezzlement probe involving Secretary-General Giovanni Centrella and his coordinator Laura De Rosa.
    Centrella, his wife Patrizia Lepore and De Rosa are accused of criminal association for aggravated misappropriation in relation to the alleged embezzlement of around half a million euros from UGL coffers.
    Starting in 2010, the money was allegedly siphoned off from the trade union through a combination of bank transfers, cash withdrawals and cash-card top-ups, ending up on bank accounts linked to Centrella and his spouse. Investigators are also probing allegedly 'anomalous' expenses. The private homes of Centrella and De Rosa were also searched.
    UGL is one of the smaller trade union centres in Italy and has historic ties with the political right.