Italy Fires City's Entire Council Over Mafia Ties

Reggio Calabria will be run by 3 commissioners until elections
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 10, 2012 8:46 AM CDT
Italy Fires City's Entire Council Over Mafia Ties
In this photo taken on Oct. 5, 2010 an Italian Police officer stands by a bazooka that was found near a courthouse in Reggio Calabria, Southern Italy.   (AP Photo/Adriana Sapone)

Reggio Calabria has really cleaned house: The entire government—meaning the mayor and all 30 council members—have been fired in the southern Italy city after some were suspected of having mafia ties. Officials say that's a first for a provincial capital, although smaller cities have seen the same situation, the BBC reports. The 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate, now believed to be bigger than the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, has long been suspected of exerting influence over the council. Now three commissioners will run the city until elections are held in 18 months. (More 'ndrangheta stories.)

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