ATHENS – While police are investigating whether there are ties to the murder of a surveyor in Athens to Mykonos where he worked, three former Culture Ministry officials reportedly were part of a corruption scheme on the island.

That’s said to be widespread, Kathimerini earlier reporting that mobsters have taken control of development to cash in on the island’s popularity – which is beginning to fall because of crime, crowds and gouging of tourists.

The newspaper said the three officials, who weren’t named, were earlier implicated in a bribery racket in Athens shaking down businesses for money in return for holding off inspections, including for health violations.

The report said they made thousands of euros by approving unlawful licenses for building or giving immunity for zoning and environmental regulations although the overtourism problem is straining the infrastructure, including water resources.

They were said linked to a case involving a clothing store on Mykonos where antiquities were also discovered during a renovation project in the summer of 2023, Greece trying to prevent the theft of ancient treasures.

The report said the ministry former officials, who were later dismissed from their jobs – but no report whether they are being prosecuted – let a grand opening go on for the store and to show part of a Medieval castle wall found during construction.

An entry dated July 7, 2023, in a notebook kept by the suspected ringleader of the gang, refers to a Mykonos business and a payment of 10,000 euros ($10,868) that would be distributed between two individuals.

It’s unsure whether the findings will lead to an expanded investigation of all the cases handled by the former officials, one of whom was said to have been a high-ranking official of the Department for the Protection of Modern Monuments.