Balloon dedication to mafia family

(ANSA) - Bari, August 18 - A dedication to a mafia family on a hot-air balloon that flew during the feast of a Puglia town's patron saint was not illegal, local anti-mafia investigators said Thursday.
    But the flight of the balloon during the feast of San Rocco at Velanzano near Bari, bearing the name of mafia suspect Salvatore Buscemi's family, may not have been authorised and thus may incur a penalty, judicial sources said.
    The 'bowing down' of saints' statues as a sign of respect outside the homes of mafia bosses was quite common during southern Italian processions until recently, when the government banned the practice.