Caserta - An arrest that has ruined her political career and shaken the institutions. Veronica Biondo, deputy mayor of Santa Maria a Vico, was arrested this morning as part of an investigation by the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate into alleged political-mafia vote-rigging during the 2020 municipal elections.
The arrest immediately cost her her candidacy in the upcoming regional elections in Campania with Forza Italia.
News of the arrest sparked a political uproar. Fulvio Martusciello, regional secretary of Forza Italia, announced at a press conference in Naples: "Today the party will meet to approve the Caserta provincial list. We acknowledge what has happened and will identify a possible replacement for the candidate: Biondo will not be on the list."
A clear and immediate distancing, dictated by the seriousness of the accusations.
It might interest you
Castel Volturno: Five suspicious credit cards found; 43-year-old man reported
A 27-year-old Gambian man was arrested in San Nicola La Strada with hashish and cash.
Carabinieri raid in Castel Volturno: 4 young people in trouble
A 40-year-old woman stabs her partner out of jealousy: arrested in Santa Maria Capua Vetere
The District Anti-Mafia Directorate's operation focuses on the 2020 municipal elections in Santa Maria a Vico, a municipality in the Caserta hinterland. According to investigators, there was a veritable Camorra orchestration behind the election campaign, with a political-mafia electoral exchange system that guaranteed votes in exchange for favors.
Biondo's arrest represents a serious blow to Forza Italia in Campania, which was forced to revise its regional election lists at the last minute. But above all, it is yet another demonstration of how Camorra infiltration in local politics continues to pose a serious problem throughout the province of Caserta.
The case comes amidst an already heated debate following recent anti-mafia operations in the province, and it has refocused attention on the relationship between politics and organized crime in an area historically contested by local clans.
Leave a comment