Italy's anti-corruption czar to join Rome bid team

ROME (AP) Italy's anti-corruption czar will join Rome's bid team for the 2024 Olympics, a response to the widening mafia scandal in the capital.

Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago made the announcement during a board meeting Thursday. Raffaele Cantone is slated to join the bid when his government mandate ends in October.

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi announced Rome's candidacy on Monday.

The corruption scandal in Rome has resulted in nearly 40 arrests in recent weeks, with former Mayor Gianni Alemanno being placed under investigation.

Phone conversations intercepted by police and published in the media have described how local criminal bosses managed to cement ties with city politicians over lucrative public contracts.

Cantone tells the Gazzetta dello Sport ''you can't give up an Olympics for fears of criminal infiltration.''