Italian judge sentences AC Milan, Inter ultras in case linked to mafia infiltration

MILAN :An Italian judge on Tuesday sentenced 16 Inter and AC Milan hardline 'ultra' soccer fans to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years for crimes including murder, extortion and criminal association with links to the 'Ndrangheta mafia.

The verdicts followed a fast-track trial held behind closed doors in a high security court attached to Milan's San Vittore prison. The case resulted from the arrest of 19 people last September following an investigation by Milan prosecutors and the office of the national anti-mafia prosecutor.

A second trial, which involves three other AC Milan ultras, will deliver its verdict on June 19.

Prosecutors argued that the ultra groups acted as "private militias" with criminal influence far beyond the stadium, alleging infiltration by both the mafia and far-right extremist groups. 

Around 200 AC Milan fans demonstrated outside the court in solidarity with their fellow ultras before the verdicts were handed down.

Judge Rossana Mongiardo sentenced Andrea Beretta, former leader of Inter Milan's ultras, to 10 years in prison. He had confessed to the murder in September of Antonio Bellocco, a leading figure in the 'Ndrangheta and a fellow Inter ultra. 

After his arrest, Beretta became a state witness and cooperated with investigators, contributing to a lower sentence than might otherwise be applied in a murder case.

Luca Lucci, the historic leader of AC Milan's ultras, who is also under investigation in a parallel case for international drug trafficking, was sentenced to 10 years in prison plus four years of probation on charges of criminal association and attempted murder.

At the end of the trial, the defence lawyers had dismissed the prosecution's charges as "a house of cards".

In a fast-track trial,