Italy Jails Scores of Mafia Suspects in Crime Sweep

The biggest organized crime sweep in nearly a decade put scores of Mafia suspects in jails from Sicily to Milan on Tuesday as the state pushed its drive against mob activity throughout Italy.

The arrests coincided with the testimony of the Mafia’s most celebrated turncoat, Tommaso Buscetta. He was flown from the United States, where he lives secretly under a witness-protection program, to testify about alleged ties between organized crime figures and high political circles in Rome.

Police in Caltanissetta, Sicily, where “Operation Leopard” began, said that 206 arrest warrants had been issued on the island and the mainland and that 75 of the suspects were in custody late Tuesday. Eighty more warrants were served on suspects already jailed on other charges, and 51 suspects were being sought.

There were Italian news reports that two parliamentary deputies were among about 100 people formally notified that they were under investigation. Caltanissetta’s chief prosecutor, Giovanni Tinebra, said he would not comment on reports that politicians were implicated.

Among those hustled to jail in handcuffs was Giuseppe Greco, 38-year-old son of imprisoned mob chieftain Michele Greco, who was convicted in 1987 in the so-called maxi trial of hundreds of mobsters.