A very good friend of mine in the Italian Mafia told me that his uncle had once told him that a politician can steal more with one sentence than 50 men with guns. For this, he didn?t want to venture into politics. But I tried very hard and managed to convince him to take to politics and enjoy the thrill of pretending to do something to help our HIPC counterparts in Sicily.

Just a few moons after winning the seat to become something like a ?powerful assemblyman? in his hometown, this son-of-a-gun was arrested and jailed for using the people?s money to take care of himself. In fact, he used public funds to buy anything he needed ? from toilet rolls to ketchup for his kitchen. When I was told about his arrest and conviction I successfully pretended I didn?t know him from Adam.