Italian senators are to debate plans by the far-right government to decriminalise abuse of office, a decision that has sparked tension with the EU and raised fears over the potential for mafia infiltration in the public sector.
According to Carlo Nordio, the justice minister, the crime is too vague and discourages local politicians and civil servants from signing off on projects due to fears they will end up under investigation, thus causing “economic damage that affects citizens”.
“Very often, the causes that trigger the opening of an investigation against a public official for the crime of office abuse in Italy are of a political nature, and this happens especially in small towns,” he said.
At that point, the opposition party in the city could report to the authorities that the mayor wanted to favour his acquaintance by awarding the sewer construction to his company.
Last November, a court convicted and sentenced more than 200 people of crimes including criminal association, extortion and bribery in what was described as Italy’s largest mafia trial in three decades.
Investigators provided extensive evidence of the ruthless and oppressive tactics employed by the ’Ndrangheta in Calabria to control the local community, including violent attacks, extortion and corruption in public contracts.
The original article contains 671 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Italian senators are to debate plans by the far-right government to decriminalise abuse of office, a decision that has sparked tension with the EU and raised fears over the potential for mafia infiltration in the public sector.
According to Carlo Nordio, the justice minister, the crime is too vague and discourages local politicians and civil servants from signing off on projects due to fears they will end up under investigation, thus causing “economic damage that affects citizens”.
“Very often, the causes that trigger the opening of an investigation against a public official for the crime of office abuse in Italy are of a political nature, and this happens especially in small towns,” he said.
At that point, the opposition party in the city could report to the authorities that the mayor wanted to favour his acquaintance by awarding the sewer construction to his company.
Last November, a court convicted and sentenced more than 200 people of crimes including criminal association, extortion and bribery in what was described as Italy’s largest mafia trial in three decades.
Investigators provided extensive evidence of the ruthless and oppressive tactics employed by the ’Ndrangheta in Calabria to control the local community, including violent attacks, extortion and corruption in public contracts.
The original article contains 671 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!