Police arrest regional politicians in southern Italy as a part of corruption probe

Italian police arrested several high-ranking politicians in the southern region of Basilicata on suspicion of embezzlement and abuse of office, state prosecutors in the regional capital Potenza said on Friday.

An investigation is under way against a regional councillor of the conservative Forza Italia party who ran in the September 25 parliamentary elections, as well as the mayor of the commune of Lagonegro, among others, the prosecutors said.

The police had established that the council had links to organized crime by means of surveillance and testimonies.

Ahead of the elections, the politician is believed to have used his Mafia connections to intimidate people who did not want to vote for him, according to a prosecution statement.

The mayor of Lagonegro is also thought to have unsuccessfully asked a local network operator to curb the mobile phone network in an area where opponents of the regional councillor lived.

The investigators seized evidence to obtain further information, in a move that also impacted Basilicata Governor Vito Bardi, the statement said.

"As always, I am available to work with the investigators to clarify every aspect," Bardi told the ANSA news agency.

The judiciary further accuses the suspects of arranging promotions in exchange for votes, it said.

They are also investigating claims that, during the first Covid-19 wave in 2020, high-ranking politicians used recently available Covid tests ahead of citizens who had requested them for several days.

Another aspect of the inquiry focuses on the €70 million ($68 million) construction of a hospital in Lagonegro.