14 arrested in Venice graft probe

ROME: Italian police placed 14 people under house arrest in an investigation into alleged corruption in contracts to build a giant water barrier to protect Venice from flooding.

They include Giovanni Mazzacurati, ex-director of the consortium that is building the long-delayed multibillion-euro project, along with several current members of the consortium and contractors.

Venice began building mobile barriers at the mouth of its lagoon in 2003 to protect the city from rising sea levels.