Italian judge gets 4 years for mob hookups

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MILAN, Italy, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A judge in southern Italy was sentenced to four years in prison for receiving the services of prostitutes paid for by a Calabrian mob boss.

Giancarlo Giusti, a judge in Reggio Calabria, described what he later called in his journal a "dark period" in his life, The Daily Telegraph of London reported. This included "notte di amore" -- or nights of love-making -- with women like "Natasha," with whom he spent a "crazy Friday night full of women and wine."

A court in Milan convicted the judge of corruption and accepting bribes from organized crime. He apologized for his conduct as he was sentenced Thursday.

Giusti received hotel stays and other perks but, officials presented no evidence the payoffs influenced his judicial rulings.

Giusti and Giulio Lampada, a boss in the 'Ndrangheta, the powerful mob family in Calabria, were arrested in March last year. Giusti told investigators at the time he believed Lampada was a successful businessman with a legitimate slot machine enterprise.

While they are not as well known as the Cosa Nostra of Sicily or the Camorra of Naples, the 'Ndrangheta may be the most powerful of Italy's four major crime families, the report said.