First CONSIP case verdict arrives

(ANSA) - Rome, September 14 - The first verdict in a big corruption case regarding civil-service procurement agency CONSIP arrived on Thursday when a judge ratified a plea bargain.
    Former agency manager Marco Gasparri, who was accused of corruption in cahoots with Neapolitan businessman Alfredo Romeo, was sentenced to 20 months in jail.
    Terms of under two years are usually suspended in Italy.
    Prosecutors said Romeo paid Gasparri around 100,000 euros in bribes between 2012 and 2016.
    Romeo is set to go on trial on October 19.
    Sports Minister Luca Lotti and father of ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi, Tiziano, are under investigation in relation to the case.