Police arrest 26 in alleged bid-rigging, bribery case

(updates previous) (ANSA) – Monza, December 11 – Italian finance police on Wednesday arrested 26 people and seized 14 million euros in assets in a far-reaching fraud investigation involving city and provincial officials, businessmen and politicians.

A total of 41 suspects are under investigation in the operation dubbed ‘Clean City’ on charges of bribery, bid-rigging, corruption, aggravated fraud against public entities, and issuing false invoices.

Of those taken into custody, 14 are behind bars and 12 were placed under house arrest. They include a mayor and three city council members. Another 15 people have been ordered not to leave town, police said.

The operation began at dawn on Wednesday as more than 200 finance policemen went into action in the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Lazio, and Puglia, seizing bank accounts, securities, and real estate worth 14 million euros.

The Clean City investigation is an offshoot of the so-called Briantenopea probe, which in March resulted in 37 arrests including that of former Monza city council member Giovanni Antonicelli and alleged mobster Giuseppe Esposito, aka Peppe O’Curt.