Italian mafia 'rigged exams for prison guards with answers smuggled in to bracelets, mobile phone covers, radio transmitters and earpieces'
The Italian mafia may have rigged exams sat by thousands of people desperate for jobs amid a deep recession so they could install their cronies in the state's penal system.
Authorities are investigating widespread, organised cheating after 88 people were caught wearing bracelets or mobile phone covers carrying the answers, or radio transmitters and earpieces.
The tests were printed north of Naples, an area dominated by the Camorra mafia, from which 7,000 members including 700 bosses are currently serving jail time, prosecuters say.
The Italian mafia may have rigged exams sat by thousands of people desperate for jobs amid a deep recession so they could install their cronies in the state's penal system. File image
In a square near the Justice Ministry in Rome on Tuesday, dozens of people in their 20s who took the test in April, gathered to protest
It comes amid a deep recession in Italy causing mass employment, and 8,000 people sat the test hoping to get just 400 jobs in the penal system.
The mafia clan is also thought to have sold the answers toother applicants for as much as 25,000 euros (£19,000),according to posts on social media.
The Rome court would not give details of the investigationbut the Justice Ministry wants to nullify the exam results.
Donato Capece, general secretary of Italy'sbiggest union for penitentiary workers, Sappe, said the scam was 'shameful'.
He added: 'We were the first ones to ask theministry for clarity' after cheating was discovered, he said.
In Italy, youth unemployment has been about 40 per centfor three years and full-time staff jobs are nearly impossibleto find.
People who sat the test, as well as Sappe members, blew whistles, waved flags and sang the national anthem, demanding that the government immediately hire 1,000 new guards
The exam sheds light on some of woes that have long afflicted the economy: widespread corruption, pervasive mafia influence, a lack of meritocracy and a rigid labour market
The exam sheds light on some of woes that have longafflicted the economy: widespread corruption, pervasive mafiainfluence, a lack of meritocracy and a rigid labour market.
'Unfortunately, those who deserve jobs often are not theones who get them,' said 29-year-old Mina, one of the 1,400women to take the prison guard exam.
She added: 'We don't get to havedreams for the future.'
Cheating in exams for public jobs is not uncommon in Italy,and there have been recent criminal investigations into tests for a university professorship andto be a traffic policeman.
In a square near the Justice Ministry in Rome on Tuesday,dozens of people in their 20s who took the test in April, aswell as Sappe members, blew whistles, waved flags and sang thenational anthem, demanding that the government immediately hire1,000 new guards.
Mario,25, said. 'I would be proud to wear a uniform for the state. But it's also a question of finding a job becauseit's very difficult in Italy to find employment and have afuture.'
Protesting alongside him, Maurizio, 24, said: 'We're sick ofItaly's indifference and code of silence.'
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