ATAC 'spent 2.5mn on outside lawyers' says Cantone (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, November 6 - Anti-graft czar Raffaele Cantone said Friday that Rome's ATAC public transport company spent 2.5 million euros on outside legal counsel in 2011-2015, in spite of the fact that it has 21 in-house lawyers. Cantone has sent Rome's accident-prone, financially troubled public transport operator a letter requesting board meeting transcripts and a detailed list of in-house lawyers currently on ATAC's books.
    The letter is addressed to current ATAC President Roberto Grappelli, Rome Commissioner Francesco Paolo Tronca and former transportation councillor Stefano Esposito, who brought the situation to Cantone's attention in the first place. Ex-mayor Ignazio Marino, who was recently forced to quit by his own Democratic Party (PD), raised hackles when he said last month that he would seek private partners for chronically troubled ATAC.
    Five of its former executives were indicted earlier this year on charges of nepotistic hiring and abuse of office.