Lebanon is to extradite a one-time aide to Italy's former premier Silvio Berlusconi who has been convicted of consorting with the Sicilian Mafia, dpa cited a Lebanese official as saying Friday. "Marcello Dell'Utri will be in Italy by the end of next week," the official told dpa on condition of anonymity. "There are certain legal procedures that has to be done yet but Mr. Dell'Utri will be in Italy by Thursday." Italy's top appeals court issued a final guilty verdict against Dell'Utri earlier this month, which carries a seven-year jail term. He was convicted of abetting the Cosa Nostra from 1974 to 1992. For most of that time he worked for Berlusconi's properties and advertising companies. In 1993, he helped the media mogul enter politics, co-founded his conservative Forza Italia party, and served as a lawmaker in 1996-2013. Dell'Utri was first accused of consorting with Cosa Nostra in 1994, but it has taken the courts 20 years to reach a final verdict. Last month he was declared a fugitive after police acting on an arrest warrant failed to find him at his Milan home. The warrant was issued after prosecutors found out that he was planning to leave the country. Lebanese police apprehended Dell'Utri in Beirut on April 12. -- SPA 22:02 LOCAL TIME 19:02 GMT تغريد
