Sicily man getting poverty aid actually owned 1.2 mln euros

Case may not be an isolated, other 80 beneficiaries being probed

(ANSA) - Palermo, March 14 - A man who received an 832 euros monthly subsidy from the region of Sicily saw his funding cut off when investigators found he earned 150,000 euros a year and possessed assets totalling 1.2 million euros, according to an state investigation.

The probe comes as part of a wider plan by Sicily regional Governor Rosario Crocetta to crack down on fraud.

Last year, 87 people saw their subsidies cut off because they didn't actually comply with the conditions for aid.

Some even received subsidies while serving time in jail for mafia-related crimes, investigators said.

They are now probing about 2,800 other subsidy recipients.