Argentine VP Cristina Fernandez guilty, 6 years for fraud

Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernandez was convicted and sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office for a fraud scheme that embezzled $1 billion through public works projects during her presidency.
A three-judge panel found the Peronist leader guilty of fraud, but rejected a charge of running a criminal organization, for which the sentence could have been 12 years in prison. It’s the first time an Argentine vice president has been convicted of a crime while in office.
The sentence isn’t firm until appeals are decided, a process that could take years. She remains immune from arrest meanwhile, as long as she can keep getting elected.
Speaking after the verdict, she described herself as the victim of a “judicial mafia.”
Her supporters vowed to paralyze the country with a nationwide strike. They clogged downtown Buenos Aires and marched on the federal court building, beating drums and shouting as they pressed against police barriers.