NEW YORK (AP) - A smooth-talking Italian businessman who dated actress Anne Hathaway and claimed to have friends in high places at the Vatican has pleaded guilty in a Manhattan real estate fraud case.

Raffaello Follieri (foh-lee-AYR'-ee) agreed Wednesday to serve more than four years in prison. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.

Prosecutors have said the 30-year-old Follieri posed as the Vatican's representative to the U.S., telling investors that the Roman Catholic church would sell him property at a steep discount.

Authorities said he took their money and spent up to $6 million — much of it on his jet-set lifestyle.

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By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press Writer

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