Da Silva convicted in second corruption case

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was convicted Wednesday for a second time on charges of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Judge Gabriela Hardt said she agreed with prosecutors that a country house was renovated for da Silva by construction companies involved in the mammoth corruption scandal centered on Brazil's state-run oil company, Petrobras.

Last April, da Silva began serving a sentence of 12 years and 11 months after being convicted on the same charges involving renovations at a beach-front apartment also allegedly paid for by construction companies.

Prosecutors argued that both cases involved the companies giving benefits to da Silva in return for political favors.

Da Silva has denied guilt in both cases and is expected to appeal the latest sentence, as he did the first.