Mayor arrested on corruption charges

Police arrested the mayor of the village of Marianka near Bratislava, Radovan J., and have laid corruption charges against him, Dennik N reported on Monday. The daily wrote recently that the mayor repeatedly requested what was called a gift for the village in return for issuing a construction or occupancy permits to people seeking to relocate to the village. In the absence of such a gift, the mayor is said to have declined to have the permit issued. The police are looking into three cases of suspected corruption. One of them goes back to 2011, when Radovan J. reportedly asked for €1,700 in exchange for ensuring a smooth construction permit procedure. The man who wanted to build a house in the village eventually paid €700. A woman made a wire-transfer payment of an undisclosed amount of money to the mayor also for purportedly ensuring an easy passage for her construction permit. Meanwhile, another woman was reportedly asked - but refused - to pay a gift worth €2,000 for an occupancy permit to be issued for her house. If convicted, the mayor, who is now in his second term in office, may face up to 12 years in prison.