ROME, Sept. 23 -- Italy's bribery investigations reached the world of high fashion Friday as police arrested Luigi Monti, the former chairman of the fashion house Basile. Magistrates issued six arrest warrants in connection with the bribes- for-tax-concessions scandal -- five to tax inspectors and one to the chairman of the liquidated clothing company.
The Basile fashion house allegedly paid bribes worth 400 million lire ($255,000) to tax officials in exchange for a favorable audit of the company's books. Police arrested Monti and magistrates questioned the former president of the defunct Basile fashion house, Nicola Di Luccio. According to his defense counsel, Luccio told magistrates he did not pay bribes but was a victim of extorting tax officials. Graft-busting magistrate Antonio Di Pietro has called in for questioning several big names from the world of Milanese high fashion over the past few days including Santo Versace, head of the fashion house Gianni Versace, fashion designer Krizia and jewellery designer Gianmaria Buccellati. None of those questioned has yet been told they are under investigation by magistrates. Di Pietro -- one of the best known and most charismatic of the Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) pool of magistrates -- has recently turned the bribery investigation toward tax cheats in Italian big business. The Mani Pulite team headed investigations which incriminated an entire political generation of Italian lawmakers in a bribes-for- contracts scandal which led to the collapse of the country's traditional parties.
