Italian police arrest dozens in mob investigation

ROME — Italian police have arrested 91 suspected mobsters in a probe of money-laundering and extortion in a bid to thwart Sicily’s Cosa Nostra from exploiting economic woes triggered by the pandemic.

Hundreds of Financial Guard police officers fanned out early Tuesday through Palermo, the alleged crime clans’ power base, as well as in several regions in northern Italy.

Investigators contend mobsters were laundering extortion and drug-trafficking revenue and were preparing to use ill-gained cash to buy struggling businesses that have been shuttered during the COVID-19 containment lockdown.

“‘Look, we pay cash’ ” for ailing businesses, Palermo Chief Prosecutor Lo Voi said suspects were heard saying in intercepted conversations.

Police also seized $16.5 million in suspected illgained assets.