VENICE, Italy, June 4 (UPI) -- The mayor of Venice, Italy, was placed under house arrest Wednesday in an investigation of corruption in the construction of the city's anti-flood system.
Mayor Giorgio Orsoni was among 35 people arrested in a probe of contracts to build a flood-protection system for the city, which is built on lagoons adjacent to the Adriatic Sea. The development, which involves retractable dikes to prevent floods that routinely reach two feet in height, is called the MOSE Project; it has cost 5.5 billion euros ($7.48 billion) and is expected to be completed by 2016.
The suspected charges in the case include bribery, money laundering and extortion, and 40 million euros ($54.4 million) have already been seized by police.
The arrest of Giancarlo Galan, former Veneto province governor and senator representing former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, was requested by prosecutors. He is accused of receiving at least 800,000 euros ($1.1 million) in illicit funds from Consorzio Venezia Nuova, a syndicate of businesses and government agencies responsible for safeguarding Venice. The three-year investigation was prompted by a probe into alleged bribery in road construction. The head of the company involved, Lino Brentan, entered a plea bargain in the case, and was among those arrested in the Venice flood system investigation. Construction magnate Giovanni Mazzacurati, regarded as the "grand puppeteer" of the Venice case, was also placed under house arrest Wednesday. He was among 14 arrested in 2013 for alleged contract-rigging in the MOSE project.
