Former health minister Girolamo Sirchia, the man behind Italy's smoking ban, was convicted Thursday of accepting kickbacks in a trial into graft at a well-known Milan hospital.
Sirchia, a minister in Silvio Berlusconi's last government, was sentenced to three years in jail but will serve no time because of an amnesty passed by the recent centre-left government which cut the statute of limitations on corruption offences.
The 74-year-old blood specialist and transplant expert was convicted of accepting $6,000 from the American company Healthcare while he was head of a blood-disorder ward at Milan's Policlinico hospital.
He was also found guilty of misappropriating 100,000 Swiss francs and 30,000 euros when he was treasurer of the foundation 'Il Sangue' (Blood).
As well as the jail term - three months more than requested by the prosecution - Sirchia was banned from holding public office for five years.
Before the case went to court last June, charges were dropped - again because of the statute of limitations - for cashing in three checks in 1999 of 11,000 German marks each from the Immucor multinational.
Sirchia, who has always protested his innocence, called the sentence ''unreal'' and said he would appeal to clear his name even though his offence was covered by the amnesty.
''Despite the evidence we presented, the prosecutors' theorem prevailed,'' he said.
His lawyer said he was ''sorry that the court went beyond the prosecutors' request''.
Aside from the ex-health minister, seven other people were convicted as well as the Haemonetics Italia company.
The longest term, three and a half years, was given to the commercial director of that company, Giuseppe Trudu.
Immucor Chairman Gioacchino De Chirico and Immucor sales rep Giuseppe Strazziota got two and a half years, the same term as Haemonetics manager Fabio De Rubeis.
Haemonetics Italia was fined 125,000 euros.
Sirchia was health minister from 2001 to April 2003 in the center-right government of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi.
As health minister, Sirchia was the driving force behind Italy's tough anti-smoking laws which banned smoking in all public places including bars and restaurants.
He was left out of the executive when Berlusconi reshuffled his cabinet and some observers believe this may have had to do with his legal woes.
Sirchia was replaced as health minister by former Lazio region president Francesco Storace, who resigned less than a year later for his alleged role in a dirty tricks operation during the regional elections.
