The affected towns were Laureana di Borrello, Bova Marina, and Gioia Taura, all located in Reggio Calabria at the toe of Italy's boot, as well as San Felice a Cancello in Caserta, Campania.
Italy's Interior Ministry said on Friday that Interior Minister Marco Minniti had ordered the move due to "confirmed conditioning of administrative institutions by organized crime groups".
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Government-appointed commissions will take over council duties, the ministry said, and locel elections scheduled for June 11th will no longer take place in two of the Sicilian towns.
According to media reports, the Naples-based Camorra mafia had infiltrated San Felice a Cancello's council, while in the three Reggio Calabria towns, the 'Ndrangheta mafia group had taken hold.
In 2016, the government disbanded the local council of Corleone because of suspected mafia infiltration of the Sicilian town which helped inspire Francis Coppola's "Godfather" series. It also dissolved a northern town council over suspected mafia links, for the first time ever.
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Photo: Mario Laporta/AFP