ROME -- Paola Muraro has resigned from her Deputy post as Environment Councillor in the city council after receiving a notice of investigation in the middle of Monday night for alleged violations of the Consolidated Law on the environment, announced mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi Tuesday.

 On responding to the news, a lawyer said Tuesday on behalf of Muraro that the Public Prosecutor of Rome “has notified me of the investigation regarding Article 256 of the Consolidated Law on the environment. At the same time, I was informed that I will be heard by the Public Prosecutor on Dec. 21. I am quietly confident of being able to prove my complete innocence to the alleged facts.”

 “Nevertheless,” Muraro continued, “with a sense of institutional responsibility and out of respect for this administration, I decided to resign in awaiting clarification of my position.”

 Raggi said of the recent resignation, another loss for the Five Star Movement party, “We await with confidence that the councillor will be clarified in detail of her position, and in the meantime I shall assume her delegated powers.”

 Leader of the radical political party, Paolo Ferrara, said over Facebook, “The resignation of councillor Paola Muraro, and the decision of Virginia Raggi to accept this, represents a real choice of consistency. Another step in the logic of transparency which we as M5s have always pursued, especially with Romans above all others (…) We thank the Commissioner Muraro for the work done so far, confident that she shall be able to clarify her position, and we shall continue in the action of recovery regarding environmental issues, according to the guidelines of the Movement.”

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