Rome prosecutors open probe into Mayor Marino's expenses (3)

(ANSA) - Rome, October 6 - Rome prosecutors have opened a probe into the expenses of Mayor Ignazio Marino after the right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) filed petitions, ANSA sources said Tuesday. At the moment no one is under investigation in relation to the probe. On Monday the Rome city council said it will sue anyone who keeps up an "offensive campaign" against Marino regarding his travel expenses. The mayor's budget and spending are posted online in the interests of transparency, and "any other version of events is offensive, politically motivated, and baseless," the city statement said.
    A city council member from the FdI party announced Monday it is putting together a report on the mayor's spending with the city's credit card, alleging its credit limit was raised from 10,000 to 50,000 euros in September 2013. Another rightwing politician, Francesco Storace, alleged on Facebook that the mayor used the city's credit card to pay for "unbearable Saturday and Sunday lunches and dinners near his home". The opposition has vociferously criticized Marino's frequent missions abroad, from which he returned with 13 million euros in donations from foreign patrons to restore Rome's crumbling monuments. The mayor's office said in a statement later in the day that Marino spends an average of 1,789 euros a month on diplomacy and PR-related expenses, using the city's credit card.
    The mayor's office added that in 2014, the city spent a total of 128,028.10 euros on such expenses - which include items such as the mayor's missions abroad, but also the minting of commemorative medals, gifts for visiting international delegations, and the anointing oil the city traditionally buys to celebrate Saint Francis.