Naples mayor blames mafia for trash crisis

The newly elected mayor of Naples blamed local mafia for the trash crisis that is provoking fresh protests, threatening health and choking the normal flow of city life. "Obviously I don't exclude organized crime," said Mayor Luigi De Magistris, referring to his unkept campaign promise to clean up the disaster in five days if he were elected. His June victory was largely seen as a call to end the relentless crisis. The local mafia, or Camorra, has long been accused of infiltrating waste management in Naples and dumping toxic waste on sites near residential areas, leading to perennial flareups. The previous public outcry occurred last November when weeks of clashes and rising trash piles brought Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi to the city. De Magistris went on to reaffirm his intention to rid the city of its waste problem amid rampant protests spanning the city, spilling into surrounding areas of the Campania province. Early Wednesday, protesters waived Italian flags and sang the Italian national anthem as they marched through the center of town along the rubbish-lined road leading to the Spanish district. One restaurant owner closed up shop, writing on a sign outside, "I'm ashamed to stay open in this havoc." Besieged by mounds of trash that have choked the flow of daily life for months, protesters resorted to turning over dumpsters, blocking traffic, and burning trash in the open as government incinerators have failed to resolve the problem. Firefighters struggled into the early morning to extinguish 30 separate rubbish fires. To diminish the stench, some resorted to pouring lime on countless trash heaps lining streets, passageways, and even in the middle of the road. Approximately 1,500 tons of trash remain scattered all over the city.