Italy court upholds former Berlusconi lawyer bribery conviction

An Italian appeals court on Tuesday upheld the bribery conviction of David Mills, a British barrister and former lawyer to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Mills was sentenced in February to a four-and-a-half years in prison for allegedly accepting USD $600,000 in bribes for offering false testimony at two trials in 1997 and 1998 involving Berlusconi broadcasting company Mediaset. A lawyer for Mills said he plans to appeal to Italy's high court, the Court of Cassation.

Mills's testimonies at issue were given during trials accusing Berlusconi of giving kickbacks to the late Socialist premier Bettino Craxi. Berlusconi was acquitted of all those charges. The bribery and corruption trial against Berlusconi and Mills began in 2007, but Berlusconi was removed as a defendant after a new law granted top Italian lawmakers immunity from prosecution while in office. Earlier this month, the Italian Constitutional Court struck down that law, which means that the case could now be reopened.

(Published by Jurist - October 28, 2009)