Sicily court convicts ex-judge for Mafia links
( 2001-06-30 14:31 ) (7 )

A Sicilian court on Friday convicted a former high court judge to six years in jail on charges of colluding with the Mafia, overturning a previous court verdict which cleared him.

Corrado Carnevale, who was convicted by a court of appeal, was accused of helping Mafia bosses escape justice by annulling sentences passed on them on dubious procedural grounds.

A lower court acquitted Carnevale of the charges in June last year but the prosecution, armed with evidence from several Mafia turncoats, sought a retrial by the court of appeal.

Carnevale is himself a former judge of the Corte di Cassazione, Italy's highest appeals court.

Carnevale has always said that his rulings involving Mafia figures were founded solely on correct application of the law.

The former judge will remain at liberty pending a final appeal.