Verdini gets 9 yrs in CCF bank case (3)

(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.
    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. Verdini has also been named, but is not under investigation, in a new probe into graft at the civil service procurement agency CONSIP.