A one-eyed former far-right extremist who led Rome's criminal underworld until his arrest in late 2014 was on Tuesday sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.
Massimo Carminati, 62, was the man at the heart of a giant corruption scandal in Italy's capital, dubbed "Mafia Capitale."
Tuesday's ruling, issued by the Court of Appeals in Rome, also saw Carminati's main associate, Salvatore Buzzi, sentenced to 12 years and 10 months in jail.
The pair were accused of running a "mafia-style" network that used extortion, fraud and theft to control tenders of public works and services in Rome.
Seven years ago, they were arrested with dozens of others, including local politicians from across the political spectrum, businessmen and city hall officials.
The scandal hugely discredited Rome's political elites, and paved the way for a historic mayoral election win by the then anti-establishment Five Star Movement in 2016.
After several legal twists and turns, court rulings confirmed that Carminati and Buzzi were the kingpins of a criminal group that bribed and intimidated its way through the Italian capital.
However, judges said this did not reach the level of a mafia organisation .
In 2019, Italy's top appeals court ordered a new trial for the pair, just to recalculate the time they had to serve under lesser, non-mafia related charges.
Both men were released from prison during the course of 2020, as they had served the maximum time allowed for inmates waiting for a final ruling on their case.
It was not immediately clear if Carminati and Buzzi would return to custody following the latest ruling, which may be subject to more appeals.
AFP