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Mafia busted in theatre scam

ROME, Italy -- Sicilian police arrested 14 people in connection to a Mafia ring, which ran an ancient Greek theatre scam in the city of Syracuse, police said Wednesday.

"Four of those arrested have been charged with abuse of office, distorting tenders for public works projects and fraud," the police spokesperson said.

The remaining ten people have been charged with Mafia association, while a 15th suspect is believed to be on the run, the spokesperson said.

The Mafia clan allegedly ran the famous 2,500-year-old outdoor theatre between 1996 and 1998, profiting on everything from organising public parking to hiring masks and seat cushions.

The theatre at Syracuse is the largest of its kind in Italy and one of the finest monuments from the ancient Greek colonisation of Sicily.

Greek dramatist Aeschylus is thought to have staged plays there and the names of Greek rulers are carved into the huge stone blocks, which make up the seating area.

The theatre was restored in 1914 and has been used regularly since then. Some 100,000 spectators flocked to the site for performances of Sophocles' masterpiece Oedipus Rex last year and many of Italy's leading actors have performed there.

Police said they were alerted to the alleged mismanagement of the theatre by a sharp drop in its accounts.

The theatre made a modest profit until 1994 but recorded a loss of 1.7 billion lire ($819,900) in 1996, which grew to 5.1 billion lire ($2.46 million) by 1998.

The theatre's current managers are not under investigation.

Reuters contributed to this report.



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