Taormina crackdown: confiscation in water service corruption case and demolition of illegal shantytowns

Mayor Cateno De Luca announced that a confiscation order has been executed against a person already sentenced for embezzlement and corruption linked to the municipal water service in Taormina. He said the operation, carried out by the Guardia di Finanza, confirms the administration’s long‑standing complaints about high levels of corruption and tax evasion, which he described as reaching "80%".

In nearby Messina, authorities completed the demolition of about 80 illegal shacks on Via Taormina, clearing roughly 5,600 m². The work, part of a broader clearance of more than 45,000 m² in the Taormina district, follows a series of evacuations and relocations of families to new housing.