Zingaretti to sue Buzzi over Rome Mafia allegations

(ANSA) - Rome, August 3 - Lazio Governor Nicola Zingaretti on Monday said he is suing Salvatore Buzzi, the jailed kingpin of an alleged crime syndicate made up of businessmen, gangsters and politicians that prosecutors say muscled in on lucrative city contracts. Addressing the regional assembly, Zingaretti said he was taking legal action against Buzzi for trying to implicate him in the so-called Rome Mafia case.
    "Those who are accused, are now accusing from jail," Zingaretti said of Buzzi, who is charged among other offences with racketeering and corruption.
    "I have given my lawyers a mandate to sue Buzzi for his statements," Zingaretti told the regional assembly.
    According to press reports, Buzzi told prosecutors that another suspect arrested in the case, Luca Odevaine, claimed that Zingaretti's former chief-of-staff Antonio Calicchia took bribes in connection with the construction of a new building to house the provincial government.
    According to the allegations, which were initially reported by independent broadcaster La7, Zingaretti was also cited in connection with a multi-billion-euro contract for regional services.
    "Nobody asks for money on my behalf," Zingaretti said.
    The crime syndicate, led by Buzzi and former rightwing terrorist and gangster Massimo Carminati, specialized in lucrative city contracts for Roma people camps and migrant reception centers, which the ringleaders said in published wiretaps were "more profitable than drugs".