(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/120929_popebutler.photoblog600.jpg)Vincenzo Pinto/AFP - Getty Images This file picture taken on Oct. 10, 2006 shows Pope Benedict XVI with his then butler Paolo Gabriele (right) in St Peter's Square, Rome.By Claudio Lavanga, NBC NewsVATICAN CITY - One of the most sensational trials to be held in the Vatican for centuries got underway Saturday with Benedict XVI’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele, standing accused of leaking confidential documents from the pope’s apartments to the media.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (http://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) Some of the documents suggested the existence of a web of corruption, nepotism and cronyism linked to the awarding of contracts for the maintenance of the Vatican estate. Others showed signs of widespread infighting among cardinals.
Gabriele, who was in the courtroom on Saturday, could be given a sentence of up to four years in prison if found guilty of “aggravated theft.”
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