Verdini gets 9 yrs in CCF bank case (4)

(ANSA) - Florence, March 2 - Former Berlusconi aide Denis Verdini was sentenced Thursday to nine years in jail for his part in the bankruptcy of the Credito Cooperativo Fiorentino (CCF) bank. The sentence also carried a life ban from holding public office.
    Verdini's lawyers said he would appeal.
    "We are ready to fight," they said.
    Prosecutors had asked 11 years for Verdini, who now leads an independent centre-right group, ALA, which backs the Democratic Party-led centre-left-centre-right government. ALA said the verdict was "the umpteenth political sentence seen in recent years".
    The premier's office was awarded a provisional 2.5 million euros in damages in the case.
    Verdini has also been named, but is not under investigation, in a new probe into graft at the civil service procurement agency CONSIP.