FILE - In this Thursday, June 29, 2017 file photo, Turin's Mayor Chiara Appendino speaks to guests at the Italian embassy in London. Turin’s mayor from the populist 5-Star Movement says she has been put under investigation in connection with the city’s budget. But Mayor Chiara Appendino told reporters Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 night that she cleared up the matter in a three-hour-long ‘’chat’’ with prosecutors in that northern city’s courthouse. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
October 17, 2017 - 2:18 PM
ROME - A mayor from Italy's populist 5-Star Movement says she is under investigation over a debt that wasn't properly noted in the city's budget.
Turin Mayor Chiara Appendino told reporters on Tuesday that she cleared up the matter during a three-hour-long "chat" with prosecutors at the northern city's courthouse.
The 5-Star Movement is hoping a top-notch performance by its mayors in Turin and Rome will impress Italians when it comes time to vote in national elections next year when the populist force hopes to gain its first premiership.
Italian news reports say prosecutors are investigating the improper listing of a 5 million euro ($5.8 million) debt in the city budget.
Appendino says she went to prosecutors on her own initiative to explain, adding "I have nothing to hide."
News from © The Associated Press, 2017