Italy’s Berlusconi begins community service in tax case
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ITALY’S Silvio Berlusconi began his community service for tax fraud yesterday in a spectacular fall from grace for the flamboyant ex-premier, who will likely seek political gain from the symbolic punishment.
The billionaire tycoon, who was convicted last year and has been expelled from parliament, has been ordered to work four hours once a week for up to a year helping out in a hospice for Alzheimer’s patients near Milan.
“To prison!” a trade unionist protester in a clown hat shouted as Berlusconi arrived at the clinic with his security detail in a chauffeur-driven car.
The three-time former prime minister wore a navy blue suit with a badge from his Forza Italia party.
The Catholic Church-run hospice in Cesano Boscone has said it will not allow Berlusconi to use his stint for political grandstanding in front of the world’s media and will treat him like any other volunteer.
But Berlusconi’s presence was anything but normal.
Volunteers working at the hospice said relatives of patients have been requesting visits for yesterday to see Berlusconi and even staff from other departments have been asking for transfers to the Alzheimer’s section.
Massimo Restelli, head of the hospice’s care services, told the La Repubblica daily that Berlusconi’s introduction would be “gradual” so that he and the elderly patients can get used to each other.
Berlusconi himself has said that he has a “big surprise” in store and has hinted that this could involve a deeper commitment to Alzheimer’s sufferers. “I think in the end I will stay a lot longer than I have to. I have a big surprise prepared. It took me just 10 days to learn the different cure methods that can be used,” the 77-year-old told a radio show.
His 29-year-old girlfriend Francesca Pascale told the Il Mattino daily that he was “not afraid.”
But she added: “He does not deserve this.”
It was Berlusconi’s first definitive criminal conviction and could herald more legal troubles ahead as he appeals a sentence for abuse of power and having sex with an underage prostitute.
The tax fraud case has highlighted delays in Italy’s justice system since the investigation began back in 2001 with police raids on offices of his media empire Mediaset when he was prime minister.
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