Story highlights
Italian court rules Berlusconi must carry out one year of community service
The former premier must spend at least four hours per week at a nursing home in Milan
The billionaire tycoon was convicted of charges relating to tax fraud
Berlusconi has dominated Italian political scene for two decades
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is to serve one year of community service at a nursing home for his conviction on tax fraud, a Milan court ruled on Tuesday.
The 77-year old billionaire tycoon must visit a center for the elderly near his hometown, Milan, at least once a week for a minimum four hours.
He will start the sentence “in coming days,” a member of his legal team told CNN.
The center-right politician was convicted of charges related to a vast tax fraud conspiracy at his Mediaset television empire.
He will be working in a home run by the Sacred Family Foundation, Fondazione Sacra Famiglia, in Cesano Boscone outside Milan.
Travel restrictions
The lawyers said the former premier was also subject to limitations on his movements.
This means he will not – except with specific authorization – be able to leave the northern Lombardy region, where he has his principal home, but is allowed to go to Rome from Tuesday to Thursday. He has to be back in Lombardy by 11 p.m. Thursday.
Berlusconi, who served on and off as prime minister between 1994 and 2011, has dominated the lively Italian political scene for the past two decades.
He received a sentence of four years for tax fraud. The sentence was commuted to a year.
It was not immediately clear from the court ruling whether Berlusconi would be able to campaign for his Forza Italia party ahead of European Parliament elections next month.
Berlusconi says he is innocent and that he has been persecuted by leftist magistrates.
