Naples mayor de Magistris gets suspension notice

(ANSA) - Naples, October 2 - Raimondo Pasquino, the president of the Naples city council assembly, on Thursday notified Naples Mayor Luigi de Magistris that an order suspending the latter from his duties and signed by the local prefect had been delivered. The order was signed on basis of a 2012 anti-corruption law suspending people convicted of certain crimes from public functions after the former magistrate was handed a suspended 15-month sentence for abuse of office while working on a corruption case. It takes immediate effect and de Magistris's functions have passed to deputy mayor Tommaso Sodano.
    De Magistris, who has called a press conference for 13:00 local time, will now be unable to take part in the meeting of the city executive scheduled for 15:00. The case concerns De Magistris's involvement in obtaining the telephone data of some MPs, including former premier Romano Prodi, without the proper authorisation. De Magistris refused to quit after the sentence, suggesting it was part of a plot to wrestle control of Naples from him, and said he would be city's mayor on the streets if he is suspended.
    But after receiving the suspension notification he cancelled his attendance at a ceremony in Naples's troubled Scampia district.