MILAN — Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to four years in prison Friday in a verdict that could see him barred from public office for five years.
Berlusconi, after dominating Italian politics for nearly two decades, has seen his power weakening over the past year as a sex scandal tarnished his image. He was forced to resign as premier after failing to convince financial markets that he could come up with reforms to shield Italy from Europe’s debt woes.
The 76-year-old billionaire media mogul received the stiffest sentence among the four co-defendants convicted in a scheme that involved inflating the price that his media empire paid for TV rights to U.S. movies and pocketing the difference. The sentence was more than the three years and eight months sought by prosecutors.
Berlusconi denounced the conviction as “unreal” and said the case was politically motivated. His attorneys condemned the verdict as “absolutely incredible” and said they would appeal. Berlusconi is expected to remain free while two levels of appeal are exhausted.
