Southern Italian mayor has spoken of his disgust after he
was offered a tin of Christmas biscuits that turned out to be a €20,000 bribe. Franco
Metta, the mayor of Cerignola in Puglia, said an executive from a waste
management company came to his office with the apparent tin of biscuits and a
Christmas card.
“We had an appointment to meet in a week’s time and he came and
left me a Christmas package,” Mr Metta said.“I opened the box but instead of
biscuits there were €20,000 in banknotes. I immediately called the police.”A
former criminal lawyer, Mr Metta said he telephoned the businessman in front of
the police and attacking him with “insults in every language I know”.
He said the businessman, who has not been named, was captured
on video cameras entering the mayor’s office and carrying the package which was
covered in colourful Christmas wrapping.The money was handed over to the police
and inquiries are continuing.Asked by Italian media whether he was tempted to
keep the bribe, the mayor said: “Not for a moment. The arrogant behaviour of
those who think they can obtain everything with money really annoys me."
“I didn’t do anything exceptional,” Mr Metta added. “I acted
based on what my father taught me. I am not a hero.”Bribery and corruption are
common in Italian public works contracts, particularly waste management. The
latest bribe was believed to have been related to a bid for a landfill in the
Cerignola area.“I am a mayor who refuses a bunch of flowers,” Mr Metta said.
“Whoever gave me this bribe really didn’t know who I was.”Mr Metta made
headlines a few months ago after publicly berating a student for failing to
study enough. This week he was attracting plaudits from national commentators.“In
the big cities we fill our mouths with talk of “values”, perhaps so we don’t
let the smog in,” said Massimo Gramellini, from the national daily La Stampa.“But
in the provinces, or at least in Cerignola, “values” are surviving in a simpler
and less ethereal way.”
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