He also took issue with the extent to which Italy's agenda has been set by the magistrates who have led the corruption inquiry.

That followed a long-running corruption inquiry earlier in the 1990's.

Earlier this year, the energy minister resigned in the face of a corruption inquiry.

Those arrests were made without publicity to avoid compromising the corruption inquiry, officials said.

He is also at the center of a sprawling federal corruption inquiry.

Too often, as recent corruption inquiries suggest, they buy much more.

Some longtime critics of government here, however, see something positive growing out of the corruption inquiry.

The corruption inquiry will also put pressure on the Mayor to choose an outsider.

The accusations were first made by unidentified sources several years ago during a political corruption inquiry in the Newark area, law enforcement officials said.

But he was forced into the public eye in November when federal agents raided his business as part of a corruption inquiry.