Italy yanks license of helicopter pilot at mafia funeral

ROME (AP) — Italy's civil aviation authority on Friday suspended the license of the helicopter pilot who flew low over Rome to drop flower petals during the over-the-top funeral of a purported local crime boss, the first head to roll in a scandal that has outraged city residents.

In addition to the flower petals, the funeral Thursday of Vittorio Casamonica featured a gilded, horse-drawn carriage carrying his casket and a band playing "The Godfather" theme outside the church.

The level of ostentation prompted Italy's interior minister to demand an explanation from city officials — especially after reports that police and Carabinieri patrols accompanied the funeral procession.

Police identified Casamonica as a leader of the eponymous clan active in the southwest part of the capital but said he was "on the margins" of organized crime and hadn't emerged as a suspect in recent mafia investigations.

In an interview with the Catholic publication Famiglia Cristiana, Gabrielli blamed a breakdown in communications caused partly by August holiday absences, saying neither he nor the police chief learned about the police escort in time to do anything about it.