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Venice mayor resigns amid corruption scandal

Other News Materials 13 June 2014 16:08 (UTC +04:00)
Venice's mayor resigned Friday, just a day after being released from house arrest and resuming work under a plea deal over illegal political financing
Venice mayor resigns amid corruption scandal

Venice's mayor resigned Friday, just a day after being released from house arrest and resuming work under a plea deal over illegal political financing, AP reported.

Mayor Giorgio Orsoni indicated a lack of support from the Democratic Party since his arrest last week in a wide-ranging corruption probe related to construction of underwater barriers to protect the lagoon city from flooding. Several city council members had called for his resignation overnight.

Orsoni told a news conference that there "had been opportunistic and hypocritical reactions" against him since his arrest, also from within the city administration.

Orsoni, who ran for the Democratic Party without ever officially joining its ranks, has said he was unaware that any donations to his 2010 election campaign were illegal. He was released from house arrest Thursday after accepting a four-month sentence in a plea agreement. Such short sentences are rarely served in Italy.

Orsoni was among more than 30 people arrested in an investigation into suspicions that the consortium building the underwater barriers amassed a 25-million-euro ($34 million) slush fund abroad to bribe officials.

A series of corruption scandals have increased pressure on Italy's premier to tackle endemic corruption. The government is expected to enact new measures, including enhancing the powers of a newly appointed anti-corruption czar, later Friday.

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