Silvio Berlusconi starts one-year community sentence at elderly care home

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has reportedly begun his one year community sentence at a Catholic care home near Milan.Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud last year, commuted to four hours' work a week with elderly dementia patients, the BBC reported.

The care home said the 77-year-old would be treated like any other worker.Berlusconi's arrival at the care home did not go unnoticed as a trade unionist in a clown hat heckled him shouting "To prison!"

Before he was taken away by police, the unionist yelled that the Italian workers have one dream in their hearts: Berlusconi in San Vittore.Berlusconi, who was sentenced to four years in prison last year for buying TV rights at inflated prices via offshore companies to avoid paying taxes in Italy, was spared prison owing to his age.

Berlusconi chose community service rather than house arrest to serve out his commuted sentence, the report added.