Berlusconi is accused of paying Senator Sergio De Gregorio three million euros to join his People of Freedom (PDL) party in 2006 and help bring down the government of former Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
The defection of the left-wing senator weakened the Prodi government, which finally collapsed in 2008, causing new elections and returning Berlusconi to power.
The senator himself has been given a 20-month sentence under a plea bargain by a hearing in Naples.
De Gregorio said on Wednesday, “I urge Silvio Berlusconi to leave the political scene, which would free Italy from a lot of dirt.”
He added, “I now believe I behaved in an absolutely reprehensible way and was aiming to bring down the Prodi government as part of a sort of holy war being waged by Berlusconi.”
Berlusconi, who served as the country’s prime minister from 1994 to 2011, resigned in November 2011 after coming under immense pressure to step down for mishandling the Italian economy.
GJH/AS/MHB
Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/24/330991/berlusconi-to-face-bribery-trial/
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