Mayor reported for ‘usurious’ traffic ticket

(ANSA) – Turin, November 22 – A lawyer in the Northern Italian region of Piedmont on Friday reported a local mayor to police for for alleged usury after an unpaid traffic fine nearly doubled to 323 euros.

The man was fined after he was caught on camera running a red light last April in the town of Montalenghe, near Turin.

“The increase applies usurious rates,” the lawyer said when he filed the complaint with prosecutors. Mayor Valerio Grosso said the local authorities had simply applied the increases as required by the road norms in Italy.

In addition to demanding compensation for the fine, the lawyer was suing for an additional 10 euros in postage.