Arrested mayor of Palermo

The carabinieri arrested the mayor of Casteldaccia Giovanni Di Giacinto, his deputy Giuseppe Montesanto, the councilor Marilena Tomasello, the official Rosalba Buglino and a surveyor, Salvatore Merlino, accused in various ways of corruption, abuse of office, false.

According to the Bagheria police, bribes were paid in the form of hiring relatives and friends, assignments to support the disabled, to collect waste or to issue building permits.
The practice had been consolidated for over two years, with work and contracts in exchange for hiring and in some cases even money. The carabinieri carried out the order of the magistrate, at the request of the prosecutor of Termini Imerese Ambrogio Cartosio and the prosecutor Daniele Di Maggio. The investigation had already begun when, last year, a flood in the Casteldaccia countryside caused the death of nine people in an abusive home. Businessmen and traders who have paid politicians and city officials are also being investigated.