Carabinieri police put Gianluca Festa, the former mayor of the southern city of Avellino, under house arrest in relation to a corruption probe. Festa recently resigned as mayor and was replaced by a commissioner after it emerged he was under investigation in two probes.
It is the last in a series of recent criminal cases regarding prominent local politicians in many parts of Italy, including Puglia, Sicily, and Piedmont. The former member of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), who was supported by local civic lists, was replaced as mayor by a commissioner. The case is being investigated by Italy's anti-corruption agency, the National Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (CNA). The investigation into Festa's resignation as mayor is being led by the CNA's chief prosecutor, Graziano Pellegrini. The CNA has been asked to provide a statement on the arrest of Festa by the Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta. The PM's office has been contacted for comment.