Beirut police detain Berlusconi ally ahead of mafia verdict

Defendant Marcello Dell'Utri looks on during the trial where Mafia informant Gaspare Spatuzza was due to give testimony in Turin December 4, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

ROME (Reuters) - Beirut police on Saturday picked up a long-time political ally and friend of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi after he was declared a fugitive earlier this week.

A Palermo court said on Friday that former senator Marcello Dell'Utri, who co-founded Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in 1994, was considered a fugitive ahead of a final verdict in a trial for mafia collusion, due on Tuesday.