Former Berlusconi cabinet minister arrested by antimafia police
Source: Reuters
Former Berlusconi cabinet minister arrested by antimafia police
Reuters
4:15 a.m. EDT, May 8, 2014
ROME (Reuters) - Italian police have arrested Claudio Scajola, industry minister in the last government of ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in an investigation into a former party colleague convicted of mafia association, authorities said on Thursday.
Scajola was forced to resign in 2010 over accusations that he bought a luxury flat with the help of a businessman arrested over corruption charges, but was cleared of wrongdoing by a court earlier this year.
Antimafia police in the southern city of Reggio Calabria said Scajola had been arrested over his links with Amedeo Matacena, a Calabrian businessman and former lawmaker from Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia party.
Matacena, convicted over links to 'Ndrangheta, the powerful Calabrian mafia, is currently a fugitive from justice, the DIA antimafia unit said in a statement that did not elaborate on the specific accusations against Scajola.
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