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Prosecutors: Berlusconi Had Many Prostitutes

18 January 2011 20:59 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi had sex with a significant number of prostitutes, Milan prosecutors alleged Monday in documents seeking authorization to search some of his properties, APA reports quoting abcnews.go.com website.
The prosecutors are leading a probe aimed at determining if the 74-year-old media mogul paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby who attended parties at one of his villas last year. Prostitution isn’t a crime in Italy, but exploiting or aiding prostitution with minors is.
The prosecutors alleged in documents examined by a parliamentary committee Monday that Berlusconi had sex with a "significant" number of young female prostitutes and used apartments to compensate the women, along with cash payments.
Berlusconi has denied wrongdoing and Ruby has said she never had sex with him.
The scandal, which exploded Friday with word that Berlusconi was under investigation, gained momentum Monday with the arrival in parliament of a nearly 400-page dossier from prosecutors on the case.
And it was having political implications, with one of Berlusconi’s party leaders, Fabrizio Cicchitto, raising the prospect of early elections if the already weakened government can’t muster more parliamentary support.
The prosecutors asked the Chamber of Deputies to authorize a search of offices in a residential complex near Milan that belong to Berlusconi, who is both a member of the Chamber and premier. Members of the Chamber enjoy parliamentary immunity, including from arrest or searches in criminal probes, unless a Chamber committee decides otherwise on a case-by-case basis.
The Chamber posted the prosecutors’ request on its website Monday.
The teen, now 18, has said she was among a bevy of young women invited to parties at Berlusconi’s Arcore villa near Milan. She has said in a TV interview that the premier last year gave her â‚¬7,000 ($9,000) to help her financially.
Prosecutors want police to search an apartment complex in Segrate, near Milan, which includes the offices they alleged could contain documentation that young women were given money and rent-free apartments â€” in another residential complex â€” by Berlusconi in compensation for prostitution.