A haulier who is the former mayor was among seven people arrested in southern Italy on Thursday in an operation against the Calabrian mafia or 'Ndrangheta's Piromalli clan.
Rocco La Valle, ex-mayor of the coastal town of Villa San Giovanni, Giacchiono Piromalli, a lawyer and alleged clan boss, as well as fellow lawyer Giuseppe Luppino were among those held in the sting, police said.
Police seized a waste disposal and water purification company in Thursday's operation after a probe revealed how the Piromallis used extortion to rig bids for contracts related to Calabria's waste-to-energy incinerator and purifier in the port city of Gioia Tauro
The arrested suspects face charges including mafia association, extortion and property fraud.
La Valle, who served as mayor of Villa San Giovanni from 2010 to 2015, is accused of being a 'bribe collector' and intermediary between the Piromalli clan and companies that ran the Gioia Tauro incinerator.
Luppino is alleged to be the Piromalli clan's main political point-man for tenders connected to the Gioia Tauro incinerator. He is chairman of a local waste disposal company and a legal advisor to the Calabria region's waste emergency special commissioner.
