ROME - Six people have been arrested in Operation Anaconda – a police investigation targeting corruption in Ater Roma’s allocation of housing and commercial premises, police sources said on Tuesday.

 Among the accusations levelled at the Roman institute, which manages social housing, are corruption for acts contrary to official duties and unauthorized access to the information system.

 Those under house arrest include an Ater official and employee along with an employee of the Municipality of Rome.

 Investigators say a corrupt system emerged in the allocation of housing and commercial premises, which enabled the creation of a parallel, illegal network involving the production of false documentation for the rankings, and illegal access to IT systems and telecommunications.

 There was a price tag on information on each house to be occupied allowing one to illegally jump the queue in the wait-list. Deputy prosecutor Paolo Ielo and Francesco Dall’Olio coordinated the investigation, which began in 2015 and involved more than 50 homes in the areas of Montesacro, Tufello and Ostiense.

 “A story of ordinary corruption,” investigators told La Repubblica. 

 In exchange for 1,000 euro, public officials accessed Ater’s database and checked the houses available to be occupied and reported them to the applicants. With 1,500 euro you could get the clearance but you could also pay up to 17,000 euro for authorization to carry out renovations or garner other favours such as the subsidized purchase of a car, boat engines as well as pay for the renovation of the homes of corrupt officials.

 The anti-corruption operation, underway from the early hours of the morning, involved investigators from Fidene and Nomentano. 

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