Italy’s supreme court has rejected former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s appeal against tax fraud convictions. The decision angered Berlusconi, prompting him to broadcast a message in which he maintained his innocence and accused magistrates of persecuting him. Berlusconi said:

No one can understand the real violence which has been directed against me. A genuine campaign of aggression that has no equal.

In exchange for the commitments I have made over almost 20 years in favour of my country and coming almost at the end of my public life, I have been rewarded with accusations and a verdict that is founded on absolutely nothing, that takes away my personal freedom and my political rights.

He is unlikely to serve any jail time due to his age, but will probably be sentenced to heavy community service or house arrest.

This is the first definitive conviction the billionaire gadabout has received.

[Source: Irish Times, YouTube, BBC News]