As Albanian authorities arrest Italian man on organized crime charges, opposition points out to ties with government, which minister says are not true.
Tirana Times
TIRANA, Oct. 5 – When Albino Prudentino was arrested in Albania last week, accused by Italian authorities as a top leader of the Sacra Corona Unita, a Mafia organization in the southern region of Puglia, it added to the political storm in Albania that has led to a series of corruption accusations among some of the country’s politicians. Prudentino is under arrest in Vlora where he was also taken to the hospital to be treated as a diabetes patient. His network of properties, ranging from ice cream shops to gambling establishments have been sequestered in Vlora and Tirana by Albanian authorities.
Prudentino was arrested on a warrant issued by a court in the southern Italian city of Lecce for mafia-type conspiracy, drug trafficking and robbery in aggravating circumstances.
The 59-year-old’s arrest had been part of a wider operation which led to the arrest of seven persons in Italy and one in Thailand.
Prudentino’s attorney Vito Felici said in Tirana that Prudentino was being exploited by the Albanian politics for their purposes. Felici said Prudentino has only been sentenced for cigarette smuggling and he has served the sentence for that.
Felici also turned down as speculation allegations that Prudentino’s son Angelo is part of the Mafia network, saying he has not been investigated for such allegations. It was Angelo’s business ties with the sister and brother in law of Integration Minister Majlinda Bregu that led to the accusations by the opposition. The prime minister’s niece also served as a consultant for one of the businesses in question, according to reporting by the daily newspaper Gazeta Shqiptare. It was investigative reporting by that daily newspaper, usually friendly to the opposition Socialists, that has fueled much of the story. Albanian prosecutors are now investigating the properties that Prudentino may have in Albania, but meanwhile the opposition is calling for Bregu’s resignation.
Bregu says she cannot be held liable for the business dealings of her brother in law and sister, but added the son of the alleged Mafioso had presented her family members with a clean record issued by Italian authorities before they went into business.
In Albania, where the political climate is charged among other things because of these accusations, Prosecutor General Ina Rama said that in any case where there will be enough information to do so, there will be investigations. Earlier the president Bamir Topi urged the judiciary not to do the role of spectator.
So far the prosecution has launched investigations into some of the issues reported by the political forces associated with building permits in the Municipality of Tirana or privatization made by the Ministry of Economy. It’s unknown at this time whether they will look into the affairs of the Bregu relatives.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has also called on the prosecutors to investigate with impartiality any accusation that the majority and opposition have exchanged. He said any immunity can be lifted if needed. In addition to the possible Mafia links, the opposition and ruling parties have also exchanged corruption charges over privatizations, concessions, construction permits, saying millions of euros have ended up in pockets of politicians.
