4 outgoing Italian deputies arrested as immunity ends

Four outgoing lawmakers were arrested Friday, as their parliamentary immunity ended with the holding of inaugural sessions in the two chambers of the Italian parliament, following elections last month, dpa reported. Nicola Cosentino, a member of Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party, turned himself in to police in Naples and was detained in the Secondigliano prison. He is accused of being in cahoots withe Camorra, the Neapolitan branch of the mafia. Also in Naples, police placed former PDL senator Sergio De Gregorio on house arrest on charges of belonging to a criminal organization, fraud, money laundering and blackmail. Police also placed under house arrest another outgoing PDL senator, Vincenzo Nespoli, who is also the mayor of Afragola, a small town in the outskirts of Naples. He is accused of money laundering and bankruptcy fraud. Lastly, Alberto Tedesco, another former senator, was placed under house arrest on charges of taking bribes while leading the health department of the regional government on Apulia, in southern Italy, during his 2005-09 tenure.