Dodgy Italian Minister Let Off The Hook

Last week, Italian member of parliament Marco Milanese evaded arrest because his colleagues in Italy’s parliament voted against a request by magistrates to have him handcuffed and taken away.

Despite being indicted in relation to mafia related offences, this week, Italy’s Agriculture Minister Saversio Romano survived a no-confidence motion in Italy’s parliament yesterday.  After the results of the vote were in, Romano was duly hugged by Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Many, including this blogger, were disgusted by the outcome of the vote.

The appointment of Saverio Romano as Italy’s Agriculture Minister was controversial in view of allegations that he’d been working to assist organized crime in southern Italy.  Romano denies wrongdoing.

Romano had also been a close associate of one  Salvatore “Totò” Cuffaro, an ex-president of the mafia infested region of Sicily.  Cuffaro is currently doing time for colluding with the mafia.

While working with ex-president of Sicily Cuffaro, Romano attended a meeting with mafia boss Angelo Siino. Siino is nicknamed the mafia’s minister for public works, incidentally.  The meeting took place way back in the very early 90s and concerned support for the 1991 regional elections in Sicily.

Italy’s Agriculture Minister is also under investigation for bribery and a couple of mafia turncoats have mentioned Romano’s name too.  It has to be said that evidence provided by mafia turncoats is not always reliable and it can hardly be argued that ex-mafia members are men of good character.

Still, investigators, who were on the point of dropping the mafia collusion charges Romano faced at one point, would rather like to have a chat with Romano about his contacts and acquaintances.  Indeed they will.  In the meantime though, Italy keeps a minister of dubious integrity.

In normal times, a minister who is suspected of mafia connections could, possibly, be tolerated.  But these are not normal times.  The Berlusconi government is scandal ridden and Italy is suffering from a distinct lack of credibility at international level.  Not only this, but new Berlusconi party secretary and former justice minister Angelino Alfano recently claimed in a Berlusconi party re-launch speech that “honesty” would be one of the party’s watchwords.

Even more surprising is that Italy’s mafia busting interior minister Roberto Maroni lent his support to Romano. Hopefully he knows something we don’t.  If this is the case, perhaps he would not mind telling us.

Once again, as with the Milanese case I wrote about last week, Italy’s Berlusconi government is sending out the wrong messages to both Italians and to those who might have been considering investing in Italy.

When will Italy wake up?  Probably when it’s far too late.

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The 8 Best Italian Restaurants in New York City

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With the fall coming, a nice hearty Italian meal can warm your soul.

Head down to the annual San Gennaro festival in New York's Little Italy for some street foods and zeppole.

Or step up your game and check out one of the eight best Italian restaurants in New York City, based on Zagat's 2011 restaurant survey (via Zagat's Buzz Blog).

Restaurants on the list are ranked based on a combination of food, decór, and service.

Italian ranked among the favorite cuisine of the surveyors, with 30 percent claiming it's at the top of their list.

Zagat ranks restaurants on a 30-point scale based on food, decór, and service. Ratings of 26 to 30 are considered "extraordinary to perfection," according to the company.

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Actually That High Stakes Italian Bond Auction Went Pretty Well

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An auction of $11.2 billion in Italian bonds went off without a hitch this morning, with yields on 10-year government bonds remaining at a respectable 5.22%.

The auction was under heavy scrutiny from investors as it was widely regarded to be a test of the European Central Bank's bond-buying firepower.

Nonetheless European markets turned negative around the time of the auction.

Yields on 10-year Italian government bonds fell from a record 6.40% earlier this month after the ECB started buying up Italian and Spanish government bonds. Bond yields have remained generally under control since then.

The ECB is not permitted to purchase bonds directly from governments, so this morning's auction proved that ECB secondary market intervention was still having a strong impact on bond prices. Reuters reports that the ECB was seen purchasing a significant quantity of Italian bonds nearing maturity.

Shahid Ikram -- head of sovereigns at Aviva Investors -- told Bloomberg, "This is where the litmus test comes, the test to see whether the ECB’s buying power can hold yields where they are."

Despite the success of the sale, the FTSE MIB had fallen more than 1% by 6:15 AM ET, with Italian 10-year bonds to bunds spreads rising to 298bps.

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For $65 Million Dollars You Could Live In This Italian Castle

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Having 300 guests over for a soiree? This might be the place for you.

Sotheby's is selling this incredible castle in near the town of Ivrea, in the Italian province of Italy. Parts of the compound date to the 9th Century, and has been owned by King Arduino, of the Bishop of Ivrea, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I and the Savoia.

The castle has 30 bedrooms and 47 bathrooms for your guests. Check out more details over at Sotheby's.

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