Basilicata governor freed from house arrest

(ANSA) - Potenza, September 24 - The governor of Basilicata, Marcello Pittella of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), was released from house arrest on Monday.
    Pittella had been under house arrest since July 6 in a probe into the southern Italian regions' health sector.
    He has been barred from living in the regional capital, Potenza.
    Pittella was put under house arrest in relation to a probe into alleged corruption in the southern region's health system.
    Pittella was among 30 people put under restrictive measures by finance police in relation to the investigation.
    He was under house arrest at his home in Lauria, near Potenza.
    Pittella is accused of abuse of office and of making false declarations, friendly sources said, describing his arrest as "surreal".
    The probe regards allegations of manipulation of public contract competitions and nepotism in the regional health sector.
    The investigation started two years ago following a report by an employee for a service contractor company who had not received his share of money set aside for the TFR severance package.
    Prosecutors said Pittella was the "deus ex machina" of "institutional distortion".
    He and the others were able to enforce "a total political conditioning of the public health service on the part of private interests and clientist political logic", police said.