Italian police catch five suspects in killing of politician

Italian police said Tuesday they have arrested five people suspected in the killing of a local politician who was shot last year at a polling station in southern Italy where he was voting in a nationwide primary. Police in Reggio Calabria said the five arrested in pre-dawn raids included the suspected gunman and alleged mobsters. Authorities have issued arrest warrants for four more people who are already in jail, they said.

Photo: Italian police catch five suspects in killing of politician

Police said that the suspects' conversations had been wiretapped and that an informant was used in the investigation. Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu praised the arrests, saying they were another success of the country's strategy against organized crime in the south.

Francesco Fortugno, a 54-year-old physician, was vice president of Calabria 's regional council and represented the center-left Margherita party in the regional legislature. He was killed Oct. 16 as he voted in Locri, a town in the heart of an area where the 'ndrangheta organized crime syndicate operates. Many killings and kidnappings blamed on the 'ndrangheta have occurred in the vicinity in recent decades, reports the AP.

N.U.