Ex-Constitutional Court chief convicted of insider trading

(ANSA) – Rome, December 12 – The former president of Italy’s Constitutional Court and of RAI public broadcaster Antonio Baldassarre was sentenced to two years in jail on Thursday for insider trading in a 2007 bid to take over Alitalia. Co-defendant Giancarlo Elia Valori, the former president of highways company Autostrade, was also found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison. In addition, each was fined 300,000 euros.

The court sentenced two more co-defendants, Claudio Prati and Danilo Dini, to one year and four months.

They were former financial consultants at Sviluppo del Mediterraneo, a company presided by Valori whose shareholders reportedly included insurance giants Allianz and Generali.

The company reportedly acted as economic adviser in the attempted takeover of Italy’s troubled flagship airline by a group of investors led by Baldassarre, prosecutors said.