Silvio Berlusconi the former Prime Minister of Italy was ordered on Tuesday to complete a year of community service with member of the elderly community at his sentencing for committing tax fraud.
The judge’s decision in Milan spares the 77-year old Berlusconi house arrest, but the former Italian leader, has been a dominating figure in the political scene of Italy for over two decades, will have his movements restricted as his party from the center right gears up for next month’s European Parliament elections.
The media tycoon who is worth billions was convicted in 2013 in a complex case that involved overpayments to Mediaset his television company.
Last November, the Italian Senate expelled Berlusconi due to his pending legal problems, despite the vigorous campaign to persuade senators to allow him to remain.
For his fraud conviction, he received a four-year sentence, which was then lowered to one year as a way for Italy to relieve its overcrowding in jails.
Due to his age, community service or house arrest had been put forth as possible alternatives to spending time in jail.
Both defense attorneys and prosecutors reportedly urged the judge to that Berlusconi perform community services amongst either the elderly or the disabled.
Now, Berlusconi must spend four hours each week working in a center that caters to the elderly, amongst women and men who are his peers.
Berlusconi must spend most of his time in Lombardy, which is in Northern Italy, where he has his lavish residence.
However, he can spend Tuesday through Thursday in Rome each week, which could be important for his political ambitions.
Although being convicted bars Berlusconi from holding an elected office, he remains a strong force in public life in Italy, as he is the head of the Forza Italia party that is center-right.
The party has fallen out with some conservative groups that at one time, it had formed coalitions with, but Berlusconi has hoped for a strong showing in the European Parliament elections in late May.
The amount of campaigning he will accomplish due to constraints that have been imposed is unknown, but he has a reputation of a wily operator that is skilled at sidestepping rules.