Bunga-Bunga: The Life and Times of AC Milan Owner Silvio Berlusconi

He has composed music, sung on cruise ships, made billions from his media businesses, served multiple terms as Italian prime minister, been divorced twice, been granted official orders from eight countries—including the Vatican—and won five European Cups as owner of AC Milan.

Silvio Berlusconi might be the most interesting man in the world, but allegations of corruption, mafia links, soliciting underage prostitutes and various other sleaze make the 76-year-old compelling for all the wrong reasons.

On Monday, a Milan court found Berlusconi guilty of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and using his prime ministerial immunity to prevent prosecution. If he fails in a two-step appeals process that will begin shortly, he will serve a seven-year jail sentence and be banned from public office for life, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

He will most certainly appeal, beginning at a court in Milan and, if necessary, pursuing the case at the Court of Cassation in Rome. If we’ve learned anything from Berlusconi since his rise to prominence with the founding of Telemilano in 1973, it’s that he’s as slippery as they come and as adept at evading the consequences of his actions as he is at getting himself into trouble.

His latest misstep involves former call girl Karima El Mahroug, whom he is alleged to have solicited for sex in 2010 when she was 17 years old. Both Berlusconi and Ms. El Mahroug deny the incident, and shortly after being convicted, Berlusconi released the following statement, according to the BBC: “I intend to resist this persecution because I am absolutely innocent.”

Berlusconi is thought to have solicited Ms. El Mahroug during one of his famous “bunga-bunga” parties—erotic events that typically include games and burlesque dancing.

Because of his various terms in political office, he had largely avoided prosecution until 2011. But given the route of appeals open to him it’s unlikely he’ll serve a single day of jail time if the conviction is even upheld.

Chances are it won’t be.

Eight times the courts have acquitted Berlusconi of various allegations, including tax evasion and bribing judges, per the Telegraph. On another five occasions, the charges brought against him have been dropped entirely. Eight other cases, including drug trafficking charges and allegations he was involved in fatal mafia bombings in the early 1990s, according to the Huffington Post, have been archived as the courts seek legal clarification.

They will likely never be reopened.

When he begins the appeals process for his latest conviction, Berlusconi will set off the process that could take up to four years, by which time he will be 80 years of age and unlikely to see the inside of a prison, according to Sky.

And if history can be used as an indicator, it’s not impossible the conviction could be overturned entirely—leaving the bunga-bunga man to go scot free. The fish to wriggle back into the water.