Italy mayor arrested in sign of mob’s northern infiltration

ROME – Police have arrested the mayor of a city near Milan on corruption charges as part of an investigation into the infiltration of the ‘ndrangheta organized crime clan of southern Italy in the north’s business and political establishment.

Prosecutors on Tuesday accused Seregno Mayor Edoardo Mazza of being in cahoots with a mafia-linked builder who allegedly got him votes in exchange for the rights to build a supermarket.

The arrest of Mazza, elected in 2015 on the ticket of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, was announced as part of a multi-pronged investigation into the ‘ndrangheta’s infiltration in Lombardy, the economic engine of Italy.

In all, police issued 27 arrest warrants Tuesday, many accused in the ‘ndrangheta’s cocaine trafficking operations and hailing from the mob’s Calabrian hub in San Luca.