Gianfranco Bona laced Luigi Fontana’s Crodino, a non-alcoholic bitter drink, in April last year in revenge for charging him “extortionate” interest rates on loans, Blitz Quotidiano reported.
He also attempted to kill Francesco Bruno, who worked for the pharmacist, by lacing his coffee with cyanide.
Bona, who ran a transport company, told the court the pharmacist had threatened him after he failed to repay the loans.
He was spared a life sentence after his lawyers argued that the murder was not pre-meditated but due to the "frustration" of being unable to pay the “loan-shark” interest rates.
Fontana was 64 years old and married with two daughters.
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