A former Italian finance minister was sentenced Monday to almost 10 years in prison in a political corruption case related to his time in local government. Ottaviano Del Turco was jailed for a month and forced to resign as governor of the central region of Abruzzo in 2008, after a businessman told prosecutors that he had bribed him with over 6 million euros (8 million dollars).
A court in Pescara, Abruzzo's biggest city, found Del Turco guilty of corruption and several other crimes. He was handed a nine year and six months' jail term, ordered to pay more than 3 million euros in damages and given a lifetime ban on holding public office.