Italy arrests mozzarella king in mafia probe
AFP - Italian police on Tuesday arrested the head of the biggest buffalo mozzarella maker in the country and seized assets worth 100 million euros ($123 million) on suspicion of links to organised crime.
The police said Giuseppe Mandara -- who once called himself the "Armani of Mozzarella" in an interview -- and his Mandara Group were controlled by the notorious Casalesi clan of the Camorra mafia based in the city of Naples.
The Mandara Group is also a major global exporter of buffalo mozzarella and is sold by large chains in Europe, Japan and the United States.
"Mandara and some of his staff have been arrested," the police said in a statement.
The investigation includes charges of misleading consumers after the company was found to have mixed in cow milk with more expensive buffalo milk and labelled batches of ordinary provolone as a more prestigious kind.
http://www.france24.com/en/20120717-italy-arrests-mozzarella-king-mafia-probe
