Italy’s Ex-Premier Berlusconi Given Suspended Jail Term

MILAN, Italy — An Italian court Wednesday sentenced former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to 16 months in prison for false accounting, but the media mogul will not have to serve any jail time.

A judge said Berlusconi was found guilty but will not have to serve the sentence, because under Italian law, sentences of under two years are rarely served. Berlusconi was also fined $35,000, but it was later reduced to $6,000.

Berlusconi, prime minister for seven months in 1994, heads Fininvest, a holding company with media, retail and insurance interests, and leads the opposition center-right Freedom Alliance.

It was the first time a conviction has been imposed on Berlusconi, who is currently facing three other trials on charges of establishing illegal slush funds, bribing tax inspectors and illegally channeling funds to politicians.

The false accounting charges were made in the so-called Medusa trial, in which Berlusconi and four associates were charged with falsifying accounts and embezzling funds when Fininvest bought the Medusa film distribution business in 1988. Fininvest denied the charges.

Prosecutors alleged that Medusa was actually bought for two-thirds of the amount registered as the purchase price and that the difference was kicked back to Fininvest and deposited in accounts to which Berlusconi had personal access.

There was no comment from Berlusconi or Fininvest.

Berlusconi will not have to spend time in prison because a 1990 presidential decree waives sentences under two years for certain crimes committed before October 1989.