Pescara's centre-left city council will be dissolved on January 5 in the wake of the arrest of its mayor, Luciano D'Alfonso, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Thursday.
D'Alfonso, who was also the opposition Democratic Party (PD) regional secretary in Abruzzo, was arrested on Monday in connection with an alleged kickback scandal.
Maroni said a commissioner would be appointed prior to a new mayor being voted in the next local elections.
D'Alfonso's arrest came five months after Abruzzo's PD governor, Ottaviano Del Turco, stepped down after being arrested in connection with a separate public health scam.
Del Turco, who denies any wrongdoing, is suspected of taking a bribe of almost six million euros.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party candidate, Gianni Chiodi, swept to victory as the new governor after regional elections on Monday.
