Francesco Musotto

Francesco Musotto (born on 1 February 1947 in Palermo) is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Islands (elected for the first time in 1999). He is the son of Giovanni Musotto, a notable professor in criminal law at the University of Palermo and member Italian Socialist Party (Italian: Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI).

Francesco Musotto, a former member of the PSI like his father, is currently with Forza Italia (part of the European People's Party), sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development, is a substitute for the Committee on Fisheries, and of the Committee on Transport and Tourism. He is also the current President of the Province of Palermo.

Career

He graduated in law in 1969, worked as a lawyer from 1974, and as a farmer from 1996. Musotto earned a second diploma in agriculture in 1998.

Between 1972 and 1975, he served as Municipal Councillor for Cefalù, and is Chairman of the Palermo Provincial Council since 1998. He was a member of the Sicilian Regional Assembly in 1983-1986.

Francesco Musotto was arrested on November 8, 1995, for collusion with the Mafia. He was accused of providing housing to the mafioso Leoluca Bagarella and passing on confidential information from the police. He was forced to resign as president of the province of Palermo, but he was immediately re-elected after his acquittal in April 1998. Musotto said he knew mafiosi because he had been their lawyer and claimed he never had asked for votes from Cosa Nostra.

According to Francesco Di Carlo, a Mafia pentito, his father had been a "men of honour" – a member of Cosa Nostra.

External links

• European Parliament biography of Francesco Musotto (incl. Speeches, Questions and Motions)
• Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (Italian)

See also

• European Parliament election, 2004 (Italy)

References

• Jamieson, Alison (2000). The Antimafia: Italy’s fight against organized crime, London: Macmillan, ISBN 0-333-80158-X.