In shock ruling, Italy court overturns mafia verdicts

FILE PHOTO: Mafia boss Leoluca Bagarella stand behinds bars at Florence's Santa Verdiana courthouse November 12, during his trial for a string of bombings that rocked Rome, Florence and Milan in 1993. Bagarella, with Godfather Salvatore-Riina and Giovanni-Brusca are the three jailed bosses suspected along with wanted mob leader Bernardo-Provenzano of masterminding the bombings, which killed 10 peoples and damaged several cultural sites

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian appeals court on Thursday overturned convictions in a major mafia trial, dismantling accusations that the state had colluded with Sicilian mobsters after a deadly wave of bombings in the 1990s.

In a ruling read out in the Sicilian capital Palermo, Judge Angelo Pellino said three former police investigators and a close associate of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had not committed any crime in the case which had captivated Italy.