Italian court seeks data on Belgian prisons, in EU scandal

By COLLEEN BARRY and LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRESCIA, Italy (AP) — An Italian court had delayed a hearing on whether to hand over to Belgium a woman who is charged along with her parents in an influence-peddling scandal in the European Parliament. Belgian prosecutors are seeking Silvia Panzeri to face charges of participating in a criminal group, corruption and money laundering. Panzeri is the daughter of ex-EU lawmaker Antonio Panzeri, a key suspect in the cash for influence investigation. Italian judges have said that her mother, Maria Dolores Colleoni, should be turned over to Belgium on an arrest warrant that cited her role in managing gifts from Qatar and Morocco. Silvia Panzeri’s new hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3. Her lawyers want prison conditions in Belgium checked first.