Ex-mayor nabbed as fire sentence is upheld

The former mayor of Zacharo, a village in Ilia, in the Peloponnse, which was ravaged by fatal forest fires in 2007, has been arrested in Alimos, southern Athens, it emerged on Wednesday.

Pantazis Chronopoulos served as mayor of Zacharo from 2002 to late 2010, when the Interior Ministry ordered his suspension.

He subsequently stood trial in connection with the fires, was found guilty of failing to take the necessary measures to avert the disaster and was given a 10-year sentence.

On appeal, the term was commuted to community service but that decision was overturned by the Supreme Court.