Italy vows to deter mafia presence in quake rebuilding projects

2009-04-16 15:57:53 GMT2009-04-16 23:57:53 (Beijing Time)

L'AQUILA, Italy, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said here on Thursday that the mafia would be kept out of the reconstruction of the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila and neighboring towns ravaged by the April 6 earthquake.

"There will be extremely strict controls against the mafia and against property speculators," the prime minister said when visiting the first school set up in three tents in one of the camps housing quake survivors.

"We will rebuild in six months, keeping out speculators and the mafia," he said.

Earlier in the day Abruzzo Governor Gianni Chiodi tried to dispel concerns over possible mafia infiltration into the reconstruction of the area, repeating that the region "is not mafioso."

On Tuesday L'Aquila public prosecutor Alfredo Rossini and National Anti-mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso warned that organized crime groups would be attracted to the region by the "rivers of money" pouring into the fund for rebuilding of the quake-damaged towns.

EMAIL | PRINT | RSS

Add Your Comments:

Please read our Terms of Service. Messages that harass, abuse or threaten others; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or links may be removed.