A self-styled lawyer who counted former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the daughter of Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic among his friends has been found guilty of fraud.
Giovanni di Stefano, who became known as the Devil's Advocate for taking on unwinnable cases, claimed to be a bona fide lawyer despite having no legal qualifications.
The 57-year-old was convicted on 25 charges, including deception, fraud and money laundering after conning clients out of millions of pounds.
He used the Italian word "avvocato" on business cards, letterheads and identification documents to give clients - and the judiciary - the impression he was an advocate.
But he was not registered to work as a lawyer in Italy or the UK, London's Southwark Crown Court heard.
During the trial, di Stefano told the court about his links to Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and Osama Bin Laden.
Questioned over the nature of his relationship with Mr Mugabe, he said there were money transfers made to Zimbabwe.
He also said that Milosevic gave him a honorary doctorate of law from Belgrade's university simply because he had asked, looked after him at his home and introduced him to Saddam Hussein, who he thought was "a nice guy".
Di Stefano added that he was in Iraq when UN inspectors were there searching for weapons of mass destruction.
He campaigned for the International Criminal Court to investigate the trials of Saddam Hussein's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al Tikriti and Iraq's judiciary head Awad Hamed al Bandar over the al Dujail massacre and appealed for a pardon for Ali Hassan al Majid, known as Chemical Ali.
In the UK, the self-styled defender of the indefensible counted among his clients the property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten, who had a conviction for the manslaughter of a business rival overturned, and John 'Goldfinger' Palmer, who was convicted of operating the world's biggest timeshare fraud.
Di Stefano, who now faces sentencing, also said he represented mass murderer Dr Harold Shipman, a claim challenged by his family and other lawyers.
During the trial, prosecutor David Aaronberg QC told the jury that di Stefano developed "something of a reputation" among convicted criminals, lawyers, the media and the wider community.
"It was this that has gained him the fame, or the notoriety, that he enjoys," he said.
"He was a man who was willing to provide legal services to clients whose cases others considered unwinnable or too difficult to defend.
"He was willing to argue for unpopular causes."
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