Ex-MP among 24 'Ndrangheta arrests

(ANSA) - Catanzaro, November 12 - Former centre-right MP Giuseppe 'Pino' Galati was among 24 people arrested in a probe into the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta mafia on Monday.
    Galati was first elected with the Union of the Centre (UdC), then Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) and finally with the smaller breakaway ALA group.
    He stood for parliament in March with the WE With Italy group but was not elected. Monday's operation, codenamed Fifth Circle of Hell, also seized 10 million euros.
    Twelve of those arrested were placed under house arrest while the other 12 were taken to jail. Galati was already involve din an 'Ndrangheta probe in 2016 when prosecutors asked for him to be arrested for alleged corruption aggravated by mafia methods, but a preliminary investigations judge turned them down.
    In the latest probe he is accused of hiring staffers on "mere clientelist premises" to boost his electoral base.
    Also involved in the probe is the former general manager of the Catanzaro provincial health agency, Giuseppe Perri, for alleged abuse of office along with former administrative director Giuseppe Pugliese and former emergency service head Eliseo Ciccone.