Albanian prosecutors order arrest of tourist town mayor for alleged corruption

TIRANA, Albania — Albanian prosecutors said Saturday they ordered the arrest of the mayor of a seaside tourist town in the country's south on corruption charges.

The Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime, which handles cases involving senior officials, ordered the arrest of Jorgo Goro, the mayor of Himare. He was charged with abuse of power for allegedly creating fake documents to obtain government land for a former member of parliament who planned to build a private tourist resort there.

Another person was arrested and three other officials with the Himare and Vlore municipalities were placed under house arrest. The five face up to seven years in prison if found guilty.

There was no immediate comment from Goro or his lawyer Saturday.

Goro had been accused by imprisoned politician Dhionisios Alfred Beleri of producing the fake documents regarding the 5,512 square-meter (6,592 square-yard) property for the resort.

Himare, 220 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of the capital Tirana, is a main tourist attraction in Albania’s Riviera.

Some 10 million tourists visited the tiny Western Balkan country last year, their spending accounting for about a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product.