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Italian minister of justice resigns as wife is investigated

Italy's justice minister said yesterday he was resigning following a corruption probe involving his wife.

The resignation by Clemente Mastella, head of a small centrist party, was not expected to bring down Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's center-left government. But it added to the problems of an already shaky and divided coalition.

Mastella told lawmakers he was "throwing in the towel," addressing parliament hours after Italian reports said his wife had been put under house arrest.

love

"I am resigning because between the love of my family and power I choose the former," Mastella told parliament.

"I resign to be more free, from a political and personal point of view," he said.

The ANSA and Apcom news agencies said Sandra Lonardo Mastella was put under house arrest for suspected corruption. Lonardo Mastella, a top official for the southern Campania region, denies any wrongdoing.

mobsters

Meanwhile, Italian police yesterday arrested scores of suspected mobsters in Palermo, including some allegedly in charge of collecting the Mafia's extortion fee from Sicilian businesses, officials said.

The 36 people arrested in the Sicilian capital, were accused of Mafia association, illegal possession of weapons and extortion, among other charges, police in Palermo said.

The suspects were also believed to have helped hide Salvatore Lo Piccolo, a top boss vying to become Cosa Nostra's next "boss of bosses," who was arrested in November after years on the run.

Dozens of notes that Lo Piccolo used to give orders to his aides and run business were found in his hide-out. The information provided by the decrypted notes, as well as by Mafia turncoats, led to yesterday's arrests, police said.

boss' son

Among those apprehended yesterday was Calogero Lo Piccolo, the boss' son, who was believed to have risen up the ranks of the Mafia since his father's arrest.

"He certainly was a leading figure," said Virgilio Alberelli of the Palermo police.

Another Lo Piccolo son, Sandro, had already been arrested with his father.

The extortion fee, or pizzo, is one of the Mafia's most lucrative sources of income. But recently businesses in Sicily have been rebelling against the practice. The country's industrialists' lobby has threatened to expel members who pay the protection money.
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