MP forged his divorce certificate
A philandering former MP, ditched by conservative New Democracy four years ago when his mistress sued him for assault, was found guilty yesterday of forging a divorce certificate to convince the woman’s parents that his intentions were honorable. A Thessaloniki court gave Varsamis Yiovanoudas, a 48-year-old father of two, an 18-month suspended sentence for forgery, after finding that he had shown the document to the parents of Maria Katavati in January 1997. The married MP for Halkidiki, northern Greece, was struck off the ND party list in July 1998, a week after the 25-year-old Thessaloniki lawyer sued him for battery and verbal abuse. Katavati had claimed Yiovanoudas attacked her after she asked to break off their adulterous relationship. Yiovanoudas, who was not re-elected in the 2000 polls, later accused Katavati of perjury and slander, charges which he retracted in December. The case closed at the end of February, when Katavati also withdrew her charges.
