"Man hired women for Italian leader; Some recruited as prostitutes, prosecutor says" by Alessandra Rizzo, Associated Press / September 17, 2011
ROME - An Italian businessman recruited more than 30 women to attend parties at Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s homes, selecting them for their looks and age and paying some of them to have sex with the leader, prosecutors investigating the man say.
They allege that between September 2008 and May 2009 Gianpaolo Tarantini recruited women of “young age, slender frame,’’ and told them what to wear and how to behave at the parties, according to a newly filed court document.
Prosecutors have wrapped up their investigation into Tarantini’s alleged activities. In the document summing up their conclusions, they charge that Tarantini was paying the women so he could win favor with Berlusconi and, through him, obtain jobs with state-run companies and state agencies.
Berlusconi is not under investigation in the case. But the disclosures are proving further embarrassment for the 74-year-old leader, already facing criticism over Italy’s financial crisis and engulfed in a sex scandal....
Berlusconi is on trial in separate cases in Milan on charges of corruption, tax fraud, and paying for sex with a minor.
He might face another one after a Milan judge said Thursday he should be indicted for his role in the publication about five years ago, in a family-owned newspaper, of wiretaps that damaged a political rival and were covered by the secrecy of an ongoing investigation. No decision on a possible indictment has been made.
The premier has always denied wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of politically driven magistrates intent on ousting him from power.
He has maintained that the parties at his villas - now known as “bunga bunga’’ and described as sex-filled bacchanalia - were decent and elegant soirees where nothing tawdry was going on....
The investigation in the southern city of Bari, where Tarantini was based, includes about 100,000 wiretapped conversations, according to Italian news reports. It targets eight people, including Tarantini, his brother, and a woman nicknamed “Queen Bee’’ in the Italian media for her alleged role in recruiting women for the premier....
The website of the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, whose editor served as minister in a former Berlusconi government, quoted the premier as saying, “I won’t throw in the towel.’’ It further quoted him as describing intercepted phone conversations that are at the heart of the probe as “systematic spying.’’
He's got some nerve after he used it against a rival.
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Berlusconi has also been criticized recently for his reported comments in two conversations wiretapped as part of the Naples investigation.
In one, Berlusconi reportedly gave a disparaging assessment of his own country - using a vulgar term - saying he was sickened by it and wanted to leave. The premier then said he was speaking in a moment of frustration.
Then WTF is stopping you?
In the other, Berlusconi reportedly advised a man involved in the Naples probe, who is now wanted by police, to stay out of the country. A lawyer for Berlusconi, Niccolo Ghedini, told the ANSA news agency that the report was “baseless.’’
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"Berlusconi scandal focuses on escorts; Opposition seeks inquiry into use of state aircraft" by Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press / September 18, 2011
ROME - In a separate inquiry, Tarantini is jailed for allegedly extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Berlusconi. The prime minister says he gave Tarantini and Tarantini’s wife, who was also arrested, money because he is a generous man who was trying to help a “family in need.’’
However, paying for sex with an underage person is a crime in Italy. In a separate case, Berlusconi is on trial in Milan for allegedly paying for sex with a Moroccan teenager....
See: Italian Love Stories
Reflected in many of the conversations Tarantini had with women he allegedly was recruiting for paid sex with Berlusconi is an entrenched national culture where sexy women become symbols and instruments of power, especially in the world of politics and television entertainment....
That sums up western societies.
“So, this way the girls will get the idea that they are in front of men who can decide their destiny,’’ Berlusconi is quoted as saying. He refers to the two “as little old men who, however, have much power.’’
I'm going to be sick.
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