Police arrest 16 in 'Ndrangheta sting

(ANSA) - Reggio Calabria, June 4 - Italian police on Wednesday arrested 16 in a sting against the Crea clan of the 'Ndrangheta mafia, a gang based in the town of Rizziconi that is part of the powerful Calabrian organized crime group.
    The arrests included the clan's alleged crime boss and patriarch, Teodoro Crea, 65, as well as Crea's wife, children and daughter-in-law.
    One of Teodoro Crea's sons, Giuseppe, 36, remains a fugitive.
    Three former Rizziconi city councilors were among those stopped by police.
    Police also seized assets worth an estimated five million euros, including villas, land and bank accounts. Investigators are probing accusations of pressure against the public administration, extortion, corruption in public bids, and fraud against the European Union.
    Ex-mayor Antonino Bartuccio - elected March 2010 on a civic list - has played a "fundamental" role in the probe, collaborating with police and reporting irregularities from the beginning of his term. In April 2011, the mayor and his nine councilors resigned over the extent of clan infiltration in the city administration and interference in municipal affairs, allegedly to facilitate the Crea clan's illegal interests.
    Threats and intimidation ultimately led to the resignations and dissolution of the administration.
    The municipality of Rizziconi, located east of the major southern port of Gioia Tauro, has a long history of 'Ndrangheta mafia influence and control.
    The municipal administration was also dissolved in 1995 and 2000.