Five Italian judges uphold Berlusconi's conviction [UPDATE] ROME, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Italy's highest court Thursday upheld the tax-fraud conviction of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The Italian news agency ANSA said the court affirmed the four-year prison term, three years of which were nullified by of a 2006 amnesty. Berlusconi, a wealthy 70-year-old businessman, has fought numerous court battles through the years. Thursday's ruling represented the first time charges have stuck, ANSA said. The decision has much wider implications for Italy, with current Prime Minister Enrico Letta's left-right coalition government hanging in the balance, the news agency said. Berlusconi likely will service his sentence by doing public service or staying under house arrest rather than being remanded to prison. Berlusconi's conviction stems from the alleged purchase of inflated film rights at his Mediaset corporation and parking the money in offshore companies, avoiding millions of dollars in taxes in 2002 and 2003. Berlusconi contends he was unaware of the illegal financial maneuvering, saying that as prime minister at the time, he was focused on political matters. His lawyers also maintain any accounting malfeasance should result in a fine rather than incarceration. Berlusconi also is appealing against a seven-year sentence and a lifetime ban from public office for paying an underage prostitute for sex and a one-year term for in a wiretap case, ANSA said. He also has bribery allegations hanging over him.