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MADRID (AP) — A Spanish court has sentenced a former electrician for Spain's famed Santiago de Compostela cathedral to 10 years in prison after convicting him of stealing a priceless 12th-century Codex Calixtinus, considered the first guide for Christians making the pilgrimage to venerate St. James.
In a ruling Wednesday, the court in A Coruna city convicted Jose Manuel Fernandez Castineiras of theft and money laundering.
Authorities found the richly-decorated Codex, which went missing in 2011, in his garage.
During the January trial, Castineiras, who is in his 60s, insisted he couldn't remember confessing to the theft.
Authorities who searched his home in 2012 also found other valuable religious works and recovered more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million).
Tens of thousands make the pilgrimage to Santiago each year.
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