Silvio Berlusconi, three-time Italian Prime Minister, has been sentenced to seven years in prison and has been banned from politics for life. A Milan court convicted Berlusconi of paying for sex with an under-age erotic dancer, Karima el-Mahroug, at one of his infamous “bunga bunga” parties. He was also convicted of abuse-of-power for trying to use his political influence to cover up the party’s digressions at his villa.
The latest verdict for Berlusconi, now 76, could mean the end of his two-decade political career. However, the billionaire media tycoon is sure to appeal the ruling. This latest conviction is Berlusconi’s third in nine months, but is the most severe of his legal woes in the 20 years since he entered politics.
According to CBS News, in October 2012, Berlusconi was sentenced to 4 years behind bars for evading taxes in connection to the media giant he controls, Mediaset. Also, he was sentenced to another year in jail by a different judge in December for a wiretap incident in connection with Milan’s daily Il Giornale (run by his younger brother, Paolo Berlusconi). Both cases are already under appeal.
In this case, Berlusconi was convicted of paying el-Mahroug, best know by her stage name “Ruby the Heart Stealer,” for sex and lying to Italian police about a minor shoplifting offense so she would not get charged. Prosecutors at the trial claimed that Berlusconi paid el-Mahroug at least €2,000 ($2,560) at each of their encounters, and an additional “bonus” gift of up to €5 million ($6.4 million) in cash. Berlusconi’s lawyer, Niccolo Ghedini, argued that those gifts showed the billionaire’s “humane” side by helping a young girl with financial difficulties.
In Italy, convictions are not considered conclusive until every appeal has been exhausted. It is anticipated that Berlusconi’s lawyers will appeal to the nation’s highest court, Court of Cassation. Berlusconi has notoriously gotten sentenced for some crime and then managed to escape his sentence through appeal and the Statute of Limitations, so we will see whether Berlusconi ends up behind bars this time around.
