20 indicted in big Rome graft case

(ANSA) - Rome, May 21 - A Rome judge on Monday indicted 20 people in relation to one of several branches of the huge 'Mondo di Mezzo' (Middle World) corruption case in Rome and handed down a conviction at the end of a fast-track trial. Among those standing trial are Francesco D'Ausilio, the former caucus head for the Democratic Party (PD) in Rome, and Giovanni Fiscon, the former director general of Rome trash agency AMA. The case was first dubbed 'Capital Mafia' but then renamed when mafia charges were dropped, after ringleader Massimo Carminati's nickname for the demi-monde he operated in.
    The former gangster and ex-member of the NAR right-wing terrorist group was found guilty by a Rome court over allegations he was part of an organisation that muscled in on city contracts worth millions in the main branch of the case.
    He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
    Another ringleader of the so-called Capital Mafia, leftwing cooperatives chief Salvatore Buzzi, got 19 years.
    Monday's indictments regard alleged wrongdoing between 2011 and 2014.
    Charges include corruption, bid rigging, revealing confidential official information and illegal financing. The conviction regarded Emilio Gammuto, a former assistant to Buzzi who was handed a three-year term in the main tranche.