A southern Italian ex-mayor who won
worldwide plaudits for the way he helped migrants integrate and
revive his small town on Thursday got over 13 years in jail for
irregularities in managing asylum seekers.
Domenico Lucano, 63, settled 450 refugees in Riace, a town of
1,800 inhabitants, revitalising it and preventing the closure of
the local school.
He came second in the 2010 World Mayor competition and was named
40th in a Fortune poll of the world's greatest leaders in 2016.
Lucano was sentenced to 13 years and two months in jail, a
sentence he will appeal while staying out of jail.
In Italy sentences only become definitive after two appeals, the
second to the supreme court.
The sentence was almost double the seven years and 11 months
requested by prosecutors.
Lucano has initially been charged with arranging marriages for
citizenship but that charge was struck down by the supreme
Cassation Court.
However, he faced other charges of abuse of office and
irregularities in managing migrants and asylum seekers.
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