Cops smash migrant marriage scam gang

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 12 - Italian police on Wednesday smashed a gang that arranged 'fake' marriages of young Italian women to North African migrants so the latter could get Italian citizenship.
    The gang chose women under the age of 30 for their migrant clients, who allegedly paid thousands of euros for the bogus services.
    The gang was led by a 61-year-old Neapolitan woman, Matilde Macciocchi, whose nicknames included "the blonde", "Zia Maria", and "the sorceress of the betrothed", police said.
    Police said the woman filed fake marriage certificates for the migrants, many of them living in Castel Volturno north of Naples, which has a big immigrant population.
    If the migrants failed to make their payments Macciocchi allegedly blocked the issuance of their new residence permits, police said.
    The woman was caught on a phone tap saying to a migrant customer "if you can come now I'll keep the girl ready, don't worry we'll come to a deal, they all know me from Milan to Naples".
    Police made 18 arrests in connection with the probe. (ANSA).