Five politicians were arrested by Carabinieri police from the southern city of Cosenza and put under house arrest on Wednesday for alleged "vote buying" with Calabria's 'Ndrangheta mafia. Four jailed members of the Cosenza-based Lanzino-Ruà 'Ndrangheta clan were also issued arrest warrants in relation to the case. Among the politicians implicated is Sandro Principe, a member of Premier Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) and former labour ministry undersecretary. He was also the former mayor of the town of Rende and a former executive regional councillor. Principe was shot and seriously injured when Rende mayor in 2004 by a disgruntled former bank worker, Sergio Staino, and never fully recovered.
Former city councillor Giuseppe Gagliardi, 69, was also arrested.
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