Former Berlusconi minister defends self from MOSE arrest

(ANSA) - Rome, June 23 - A former minister under ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi on Monday submitted his written defence against a request to arrest him for alleged links to an unfolding political graft scandal tied to the multi-billion-euro MOSE flood-prevention system in Venice. Giancarlo Galan, an MP with Berlusconi's center-right Forza Italia (FI), is under investigation for taking millions in bribes and faces arrest, which must first be approved by the Lower House given his parliamentary immunity. He's among some 100 suspects accused of skimming a total of 25 million euros from MOSE and funneling them to political campaigns.
    "I've been hit by a cyclone of the media and the judiciary I could never have foreseen," said Galan, a former Veneto governor. "I'm guilty of none of the charges".