Rome mayor's former aide indicted for abuse of office

ROME, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The former right-hand man of Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi from the populist Five Star Movement was on Tuesday indicted for abuse of office, local media reported.

Raffaele Marra must answer the charge in connection with the promotion of his brother, Renato Marra, from deputy municipal police commander to chief of the city's tourism department, with a hefty salary boost.

Raffaele Marra was Raggi's head of personnel at the time of his brother's promotion. The mayor, whose populist movement prides itself on its anti-corruption, anti-establishment platform, has also been sent to trial over the appointment.

Last week, Raggi, who is accused of making false statements to anti-corruption officials over Marra's brother's promotion, requested a fast-track trial.

This move was widely interpreted in the media as being made in order to delay her trial and avoid causing the Five Star Movement embarrassment during the campaign ahead of the next general election on March 4. Her trial has been postponed till June 21 as a result.

Rome prosecutors believe Raggi lied to the city's anti-corruption watchdog when she stated she personally promoted Marra's brother to a post for which he appeared to be unqualified and which came with a hefty salary increase of 20,000 euros (23,862 U.S. dollars), according to Il Sole 24 Ore business paper.

In its online ethics code, the Five Star Movement stipulates that its elected mayors and officials must not "nominate or appoint relatives of their own or of other administrators."

The city of Rome will not file as a civil plaintiff in the Marra case, ANSA news agency reported.

Raggi's former aide, Raffaele Marra, is also indicted for corruption conspiracy along with prominent Rome real estate mogul Sergio Scarpellini. Prosecutors say that in 2013, Scarpellini paid Marra a 370,000-euro bribe for the purchase of an apartment, in exchange for favors from the former city official. That trial has been postponed to April 13 because Scarpellini is in ill health, ANSA reported.

Marra's abuse of office trial kicks off on April 20, according to La Repubblica newspaper. Enditem