Police in Italy arrest five corrupt morticians

Italian police have arrested five morticians on charges of making tens of thousands of euros a month in bribes from funeral homes and profiting from grieving families of the dead.

The morticians would tip off a favoured funeral home when a corpse arrived and take kick-backs from the cost of the burial ceremony, Francesco Pastore, regional financial police chief in the central town of Pesaro, said by telephone.

They are thought to have made €10,000 a month each from the practice, said Pastore.