Brazilian officials arrested

The southern Brazilian city of Dourados has been left with a power vacuum by the arrests of all local top officials.



The police report that Mayor Ari Artuzi, his wife, deputy and 25 other people have been arrested on suspicion of fraud and corruption.



Prosecutors have accused the mayor of heading a complex corruption racket.

Artuzi's allies have rejected the charges.



A judge has been appointed to run the city of 200 thousand people in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.



Prosecutors say Artuzi and his collaborators took a 10 per cent cut of all public works contracts and used the money for election campaigns and to bribe other local politicians.



Among those arrested are the city's councillors for finance and administration and a hospital director.