DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Dubai police said they arrested a former member of the Italian Parliament Thursday who has been on the run after being sentenced for mafia association.
Amedeo Matacena has been on the run since June, when he received a five-year prison sentence, ANSA reported.
He was initially arrested in 2004 for seeking to intimidate a judicial body through violence or threats and associating with the 'Ndrangheta mafia.
He was accused of having sought the electoral support of the Rosmini crime family, and he was spotted at events that had ties to organized crime.
Matacena was an MP for Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, which later became the People of Freedom Party.
Local authorities in Dubai arrested him Thursday, ANSA reported.
