Top Mafia prosecutor transferred

ROME (Reuter) - Italy's top judicial body yesterday ordered the transfer of Palermo's chief prosecutor, the target of widespread criticism after two leading judges were killed.

Eight Palermo magistrates had resigned, demanding the chief prosecutor, Pietro Giammanco, be replaced after the murders of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. They accused him of being soft on the Mafia, obstructing Falcone and Borsellino, and ignoring appeals for more protection after the killings.

Earlier yesterday, Giuseppe Di Gennaro, a former director of penal affairs at the justice ministry, was appointed head of a new national pool of anti- Mafia magistrates.