Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was found guilty of tax fraud Friday and sentenced to four years in prison, a major setback for the media mogul-turned-politician who has dominated Italy's political landscape for the last 20 years.
Berlusconi, 76, unleashed a furious retort, calling the court's decision an "incredible, intolerable, political verdict" and describing the charges as "completely false."
He will almost certainly appeal and is not expected to go to prison anytime soon - and possibly not at all, because the statute of limitations on the case runs out in 2014 and he has still to exhaust two levels of appeal.
There are also restrictions regarding putting someone his age behind bars.
Still, the conviction is a blow for a man who only a few months ago floated the idea of a comeback as Italy's leader after he was forced to step down last November. Earlier this week, Berlusconi ended the speculation by announcing he would not run but would focus on grooming younger leaders.
Berlusconi's angry reaction to Friday's verdict came in an interview on Italia 1, one of the three television stations he owns. He said there was "no connection" between his retreat from public life and the conviction because he and his lawyers had been sure of an acquittal.
Besides the prison term, the sentence handed down Friday in Milan bars Berlusconi from holding public office for five years.
He said there was "a lot of proof of my innocence" but the judges didn't take it into account because they "use the judicial system for political purposes."
"When we can't count on the impartiality of the judges, the country becomes uncivil and barbarous, and is no longer a democracy," Berlusconi said.
The case centered on purchases by Berlusconi's company, Mediaset, of television rights for U.S. movies. Prosecutors argued Mediaset bought the rights through offshore entities and then falsely declared those payments in order to avoid paying taxes. They said the operation allowed him to amass sums of cash in foreign banks that was subsequently used for bribes.
The trial began six years ago but made only spasmodic progress, partly because of delaying tactics by Berlusconi's defense team and because of an on-again, off-again immunity law for certain elected officials.
Many Italians believed Berlusconi would never be convicted because of his vast fortune, political connections and alleged efforts by his government to manipulate the judicial system.
