Italy's far-right interior minister and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini on Tuesday mocked his detractors including best-selling writer Roberto Saviano following the arrest of pro-migrant mayor Domenico Lucano on Tuesday.
"Good grief, who know what Saviano all the do-gooders who want to fill Italy with immigrants will say," Salvini tweeted.
The tweet came after prosecutors in Reggio Calabria said tax police had arrested Lucano early on Tuesday on charges of aiding illegal immigration and fraudulent management of waste disposal services in the Calabrian coastal town of Riace.
Accusations against Lucano included organising marriages of convenience with locals in Riace so immigrants could remain in Italy legally.
Lucano gained worldwide fame for welcoming migrants, hundreds of whom have settled in the small town of fewer than 2,000 inhabitants.