Sentences handed out to prison racketeers
The Piraeus Criminal Court of Appeal has imposed a 20-year prison sentence on Panagiotis Vlastos, the main ringleader of a criminal gang operating in the Korydallos maximum-security prison in Athens.
Out of a total of 26 defendants, the court on Tuesday acquitted 14, either because their involvement in the gang was not established or because the acts attributed to them were statute-barred.
The other defendants were sentenced to between 30 months and 20 years in prison, as they were found guilty of participating in a criminal organization, attempted murder, extortion and explosions.
The actions attributed to the gang included the attacks against Trikala prosecutor Sofia Petraki and appeals court judge Paraskevi Kalaitzi, as well as the explosions at the house of the former general secretary for defense procurements, Yiannis Sbokos, and his sister.
Vlastos’ co-defendant Yiannis Skaftouros was sentenced to 16 years in prison, while his cousin Litsa Vlastou received a slightly shorter sentence of 14 years, because she cooperated with the police investigation.
