Berlusconi 'should be jailed for five years' over David Mills 'bribe'

Italian prosecutors have called for Silvio Berlusconi to be sent to prison for five years for allegedly bribing David Mills, his former tax advisor and the estranged husband of ex-Cabinet minister Tessa Jowell.

Italian prosecutors have called for Silvio Berlusconi to be sent to prison for five years for allegedly bribing David Mills, his former tax advisor and the estranged husband of ex-Cabinet minister Tessa Jowell.

Mr Berlusconi, 75, is accused of paying Mr Mills $600,000 in return for the British lawyer giving false testimony in court during two trials in the late 1990s.

The ex-prime minister, who was forced to resign last year amid sex scandals and accusations that he had failed to handle Italy's economic crisis, denies the charges, claiming that they are part of a politically-motivated witch hunt by a biased judiciary.

But Fabio De Pasquale, the chief prosecutor in the case, told a court in Milan: "There is certainty, beyond all reasonable doubt, of the guilt of the defendant."

He said Mr Berlusconi's defence, that the bribe was in fact paid by a Neapolitan shipping tycoon, had been "based on a fictitious series of false or fabricated documents".

He said Mr Mills had "put in place costly and complicated banking transactions to impede the ascertaining of the truth" about the affair.

Mr De Pasquale said that contrary to Mr Berlusconi's lawyers' calculations that the bribery case would time out in the next few days under Italy's statute of limitations, the case would not expire until May at the earliest.

Even if convicted, Mr Berlusconi is unlikely to serve time behind bars because he would automatically be entitled to an appeal, which would string the case out until it did expire.

But a conviction would be a huge blow to his reputation, at a time when he has said he wants to act as a "father figure" to his conservative People of Freedom party and help it return to power at elections which are expected next year.

In 2009 a court in Milan ruled that Mr Mills lied during two trials, in 1997 and 1998, in order to shield Mr Berlusconi and his Fininvest holding company from charges relating to the purchase of US film rights and to "protect Berlusconi's economic interests".

Mr Mills was given a four-and-a-half prison sentence but it was overturned in 2010 when Italy's highest court ruled the case had expired under the statute of limitations.

He initially admitted in a letter in 2004 that he had received the payment from Mr Berlusconi, telling his accountant that he had kept Mr Berlusconi "out of a great deal of trouble".

He wrote that while he had not lied in court, he had "turned some very tricky corners, to put it mildly" and had received money from "the 'B' people".

Prosecutors' call for a five year prison sentence was the second legal blow for the flamboyant former prime minister in 24 hours.

On Tuesday the Constitutional Court ruled that Mr Berlusconi's sex trial should continue to be heard by a court in Milan, rather than being referred to a special tribunal for ministers in Rome.

Even if convicted, Mr Berlusconi is unlikely to serve time behind bars because he would automatically be entitled to an appeal, which would string the case out until it did expire.

But a conviction would be a huge blow to his reputation, at a time when he has said he wants to act as a "father figure" to his conservative People of Freedom party and help it return to power at elections which are expected next year.

In 2009 a court in Milan ruled that Mr Mills lied during two trials, in 1997 and 1998, in order to shield Mr Berlusconi and his Fininvest holding company from charges relating to the purchase of US film rights and to "protect Berlusconi's economic interests".

Mr Mills was given a four-and-a-half prison sentence but it was overturned in 2010 when Italy's highest court ruled the case had expired under the statute of limitations.

He initially admitted in a letter in 2004 that he had received the payment from Mr Berlusconi, telling his accountant that he had kept Mr Berlusconi "out of a great deal of trouble".

He wrote that while he had not lied in court, he had "turned some very tricky corners, to put it mildly" and had received money from "the 'B' people".

Prosecutors' call for a five year prison sentence was the second legal blow for the flamboyant former prime minister in 24 hours.

On Tuesday the Constitutional Court ruled that Mr Berlusconi's sex trial should continue to be heard by a court in Milan, rather than being referred to a special tribunal for ministers in Rome.

Mr Berlusconi's lawyers had hoped that he would receive a more sympathetic hearing in the special ministerial tribunal.

In the sex trial, Mr Berlusconi is accused of abuse of office and of paying for sex with an alleged under-age prostitute, a Moroccan-born erotic dancer whose stage name is Ruby the Heart Stealer. He denies both charges.

At a hearing in the trial on Monday, a police officer who dealt with the young woman on the night she was arrested on a theft charge said she told him she had attended one of Mr Berlusconi's so-called "bunga bunga" parties.

The dancer, whose real name is Karima El Mahroug, said Mr Berlusconi had made "sexual advances" to women who undressed in front of him.

She told the officer, Ermes Cafaro, that after attending the party an associate of the then prime minister gave her an envelope stuffed with 15,000 euros in cash.

Mr Berlusconi is also due to go on trial on March 15 on charges of leaking confidential information in a case related to a 2005 banking scandal.

(Published by The Telegraph - February 15, 2012)