Prosecutors open corruption probe into Sicily bridge plan

By Angelo Amante and Marco Roberti

ROME, June 9 (Reuters) - Prosecutors said on Tuesday they had opened a corruption investigation into a retired judge and two associates over plans to build a bridge between Sicily and mainland Italy, a new blow to a troubled project backed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Rome prosecutors said the judge - then sitting on the powerful Court of Auditors that assessed the bridge project - had given support including confidential information to a businessman and a lawyer, in return for a promise of help finding a lucrative public-sector retirement job.

Longstanding plans to build the 3.7-km (2.3-mile) suspension bridge between Sicily and Calabria have repeatedly been shelved over decades.

Meloni revived the scheme, making it a top priority of her government, but the €13.5 billion ($15.6 billion) project ran aground again last October when the Court of Auditors refused to authorise it.

"The lawyer and the businessman … allegedly approached the judge... promising their support in securing positions in public-law bodies after his retirement," prosecutors said.

The judge, who retired in February, had been looking for help getting a job as head of Italy's antitrust authority or a state-controlled company, the statement said. It identified the three suspects only by initials and ages.

Prosecutors have ordered searches of documents and electronic devices belonging to the suspects to gather further evidence.

HIGHLY CONTESTED PROJECT

Pietro Ciucci, the head of the Stretto di Messina company overseeing the project, said in a statement he had learned of the investigation with "surprise", and the company was not involved.

The Sicily bridge project has been championed by Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right League party, who says it is crucial to build a fast road and rail link to Italy's largest island.

Critics say it is unnecessary and environmentally harmful in an area that has suffered devastating earthquakes.

After the Court of Auditors blocked the project, the government vowed to press ahead and address the objections, but no significant progress has been made since.

Nicola Fratoianni, a lawmaker with the opposition Green-Left Alliance, said in a statement that if prosecutors found evidence, it would confirm concerns about "an unnecessary and costly project and the serious risk of infiltration by illicit interests".

The infrastructure ministry declined to comment.

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(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Marco Roberti)