Former Juventus striker Fabrizio Miccoli has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for asking the son of an Italian mafia group boss to help him procure 20,000 EUR from a businessman.
The sentence comes from the First Penal Section of the Court of Appeals of Palermo, presided by Massimo Corleo, in the city of Palermo located in the region of Sicily in southern Italy.
The court’s decision comes after former Italian footballer Miccoli, 40, was found guilty of “extortion aggravated by method of the mafia”.
Miccoli reportedly asked the son of reported mobster Antonio Lauricella, Mauro Lauricella for his help to regain 20,000 EUR (16,973 GBP) from Italian businessman Andrea Graffagnini.
Local media report Miccoli made the request on behalf of his friend and former Palermo physical therapist Giorgio Gasparini after the sale of discotheque ‘Paparazzi’ in the Italian town of Isola Delle Femmine located in northwestern Sicily.
It is unclear why Miccoli and Gasparini tried to recuperate the money.
The incident reportedly took place in 2010 when Miccoli was still playing for Italian side Palermo where he gained recognition as one the club’s best strikers.
One of Miccoli’s lawyers told local media: “Today we have a sentence of a person completely external to incidents that are very serious and with which we cannot be connected to. We face a sentence that is not in line with the facts.”
Local media report the 40-year-old and his legal advisers plan on appealing the decision in order for Miccoli to avoid a prison sentence.
Mauro Lauricella himself was reportedly sentenced to seven years in prison in July of last year. It is unclear if he is in prison or if he appealed.
Miccoli spent most of his professional career playing for Italian clubs such as Juventus, Lecce and Fiorentina. He made a name for himself at now-Serie D side Palermo between the years 2007 and 2013 while they were still in Serie A
He retired from professional football in 2015 after making 519 career club appearances and scoring 211 goals.
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Story By: Juan Mayes , Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
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