Sicily senator Salvatore Cuffaro jailed in mafia case
ITALY – The ex-governor of Sicily, Senator Salvatore Cuffaro, has been jailed for seven years after losing a final appeal against a mafia conviction.
He was found guilty in 2008 of divulging information about anti-mafia investigations.
He had denied the charges in the past, though he was quoted on Saturday as saying he respected the decision.
He was taken to a Rome’s Rebbibia prison after praying with his family and turning himself in, reports said.
Cuffaro, a Christian Democrat, said the case had reinforced his trust in the judicial system, as well as his religious faith.
“I will face up to my punishment as I ought to, this is a lesson that I will leave as an example to my children,” Mr Cuffaro said, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Cuffaro was convicted for revealing to a mafia boss that his house had been bugged. He is also accused of mafia links in a second, ongoing trial.
