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CRIME

Florence: Body of woman found in bin bag

The body of a woman was found in a ditch in the outskirts of Florence, Italian media reported on Monday. Police suspect it could be the body of a 43-year-old woman reported missing two months ago.

Published: 30 March 2015 12:23 CEST
Florence: Body of woman found in bin bag
Photo: Shutterstock

The body was discovered in a black plastic bin-bag in a ditch filled with water in the neighbourhood of Piagge in the north-west outskirts of the Tuscan city.

According to Corriere della sera the body, which was in advanced stages of decomposition, was dressed in a top and jeans, the style of which enabled investigators to determine the body was that of a woman.

The alarm was raised by a passer-by who saw an arm protruding from the plastic bag, which was torn on one side.

Police suspect it could be the body of 43-year-old Irene Focardi, who disappeared on February 3rd in the same area where she lived with her mother.

During the investigation into Focardi’s disappearance, she was discovered to have had a violent argument with her ex-partner.

Around a year ago he was arrested and convicted for abuse and is currently serving a sentence under house arrest.

However, he has not escaped during this time and has shown no unusual behaviour. He also does not own a car. 

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POLITICS

Italy’s Liguria regional president arrested in corruption probe

The president of Italy's northwest Liguria region and the ex-head of Genoa's port were among 10 arrested on Tuesday in a sweeping anti-corruption investigation which also targeted officials for alleged mafia ties.

Published: 7 May 2024 12:52 CEST
Italy's Liguria regional president arrested in corruption probe

Liguria President Giovanni Toti, a right-wing former MEP who was close to late prime minister Silvio Berlusconi but is no longer party aligned, was placed under house arrest, Genoa prosecutors said in a statement.

The 55-year-old is accused of having accepted 74,100 euros in funds for his election campaign between December 2021 and March 2023 from prominent local businessmen, Aldo Spinelli and his son Roberto Spinelli, in return for various favours.

These allegedly included seeking to privatise a public beach and speeding up the renewal for 30 years of the lease of a Genoa port terminal to a Spinelli family-controlled company, which was approved in December 2021.

A total of 10 people were targeted in the probe, also including Paolo Emilio Signorini, who stepped down last year as head of the Genoa Port Authority, one of the largest in Italy. He was being held in jail on Tuesday.

He is accused of having accepted from Aldo Spinelli benefits including cash, 22 stays in a luxury hotel in Monte Carlo – complete with casino chips, massages and beauty treatments – and luxury items including a 7,200-euro Cartier bracelet.

The ex-port boss, who went on to lead energy group Iren, was also promised a 300,000-euro-a-year job when his tenure expires, prosecutors said.

In return, Signorini was said to have granted Aldo Spinelli favours including also working to speed up the renewal of the family’s port concession.

The Spinellis are themselves accused of corruption, with Aldo – an ex-president of the Genoa and Livorno football clubs – placed under house arrest and his son Roberto temporarily banned from conducting business dealings.

In a separate strand of the investigation, Toti’s chief of staff, Matteo Cozzani, was placed under house arrest accused of “electoral corruption” which facilitated the activities of Sicily’s Cosa Nostra Mafia.

As regional coordinator during local elections in 2020, he was accused of promising jobs and public housing in return for the votes of at least 400 Sicilian residents of Genoa.

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