The court sentenced six others up to 15 years in prison, while five were acquitted (Representational)
Nice, France:
A French court on Wednesday sentenced to 18 years in jail an Italian man accused of orchestrating the kidnapping of an ageing hotel heiress in the French city of Nice.
Giuseppe Serena, 67, was among 13 people on trial over the plot against Jacqueline Veyrac, owner of the five-star Grand Hotel in Cannes and the ritzy Mediterranean seafront restaurant La Reserve in Nice.
Prosecutors accused Serena of seeking revenge for Veyrac s 2009 decision to terminate his contract to rent and manage La Reserve, which had run into financial difficulties.