On Tuesday, Rome prosecutors began investigating claims that Marino had allegedly used an official credit card to discharge personal expenses.
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But as pressure mounted Wednesday, he promised to pay the entire 20,000-euro (USD 22,600) credit card bill, including uncontested legitimate expenses, back to the city.
Ignazio Marino announced his resignation after a scandal over alleged expense account irregularities, stripping Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s party of control of the Italian capital. Romans fear this does not bode well for their city’s ability to cope with the millions of pilgrims expected for the Holy Year, which starts in December.
His resignation followed a heated meeting of the city government when it became clear he no longer had Renzi’s confidence and had lost his majority on the town council.
Marino has been increasingly isolated by his own party following a series of scandals and corruption probes.
It has been a bad year for Marino, a former liver transplant surgeon turned centre-left politician.
Marino, who took office in 2013, has also been accused of failing to respond to the general decline of the rubbish-strewn city, with public transport falling apart at the seams.
The Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic group based in Rome, denied in a statement that its members had been Marino’s dinner guests.
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Marino said in a letter addressed to Romans that his resignation was not an admission of guilt and he cited Italian law that says he could rescind it within 20 days. However, considering his political isolation there appears virtually no prospect of him being able to carry on.
