Rome prosecutors drop abuse of office accusation against mayor.
Prosecutors have requested that Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi, of the anti-establishment Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S), be indicted for alleged false public statements in relation to her approval of a candidate to head the capital’s tourism department.
The nomination – subsequently withdrawn – concerned the promotion of Renato Marra, the brother of the once-powerful Raffaele Marra, Raggi's former right-hand man and city personnel chief who was arrested in December over alleged corruption.
However prosecutors have asked for a separate abuse of office accusation to be dropped regarding Raggi's appointment of Salvatore Romeo as her top political secretary.

Writing on her Facebook page, Raggi welcomed the prosecutors' decision to shelve the abuse of office case but has repeated her claims that she has acted within the law in relation to Marra's nomination.