Tuscany official nabbed for corruption (2)

(ANSA) - Florence, November 9 - The managing director of a Tuscany waste treatment authority was arrested Wednesday for corruption and bid-tampering over a 3.5-billion-euro, 20-year public contract covering Arezzo, Grosseto and Siena provinces. Investigators say Andrea Corti, 50, conspired with other suspects to steer the bid to a six-company consortium led by Sienambiente SpA, while also discouraging potential competitors with "unfair clauses". The tender offer was made in 2010 and Sienambiente won the contract in 2013. Investigators say Corti - an engineer who is also a Siena University professor - made over 380,000 euros in kickbacks from the deal.
    Corti's "unscrupulousness and greed for money are...embarrassing," wrote the judge who signed the bench warrant for his arrest. He was "the driver and the promoter of the illicit activity" and "sold off his powers as a public official, bending them to private needs for reasons of personal prestige and most importantly, for profit".
    The investigation was sparked in 2014 by an anonymous tip to finance police, prosecutors, and the Audit Court.