Judge accepts plea deal from ex-Veneto governor

(ANSA) - Venice, October 16 - A preliminary hearing judge Thursday accepted a plea-bargain deal from the legal team representing former Veneto governor Giancarlo Galan for his alleged role in corruption linked to the MOSE flood-protection system.
    The deal sees Galan sentenced to 34 months imprisonment and a fine of 2.6 million euros.
    However, Galan's lawyers say they are considering an appeal to Italy's highest court in an effort to have charges against him abolished because they said he is not guilty.
    First, they want to "carefully read the judge's comments," said Niccolo Ghedini and Antonio Franchini, lawyers for Galan who has been under house arrest.
    "We are not satisfied," the lawyers said.
    "We are convinced of the innocence of our client, but this (settlement) choice was made for reasons of health on the one hand and family on the other," they said.
    Prosecutor Carlo Nordio said that he and investigators in the MOSE affair were satisfied with the deal.
    Galan, a center-right Forza Italia (FI) MP and former two-time Berlusconi government minister, was arrested in July on suspicion of corruption in the multi-billion-euro MOSE flood-prevention system in Venice.
    Ghedini said the issue of whether Galan must forfeit his parliamentary seat will not be decided until any appeals have been completed.
    A House committee has been preparing for a review of the immunity protecting Galan, gathering more than 160,000 pages of documents.
    Some 35 people were initially under investigation for allegedly funneling 25 million euros in taxpayer money to political campaigns and away from MOSE, a system of retractable dikes set to be operable in 2016 after decades of delays.