Italian court tosses bribery case

ROME, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Italy's highest court dismissed a case against a British lawyer convicted of accepting a bribe from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The nine-judge Court of Cassation, Italy's court of last resort, dismissed the case against British lawyer David Mills after a prosecutor had told the court charges should be dropped under Italy's statute of limitations because too much time had elapsed since the alleged bribe was paid, The Times of London reported Friday

The court did order Mills to pay approximately $335,000 to Italy for "damaging" its image.

The court's ruling also could clear the way for charges against Berlusconi in a related corruption case to be dropped, The Times said.

A lower court last year found Mills, 65, guilty of accepting $600,000 Berlusconi allegedly paid for false testimony on Berlusconi's behalf in corruption trials in the 1990s, the Times said. Both men denied the charges.

"I am very relieved that this saga has finally now come to an end and happy to be able to get back to a normal life again," said Mills, who The Times said used to provide advice to Berlusconi about off-shore tax havens.