Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi's Parties Shocked Strippers - La Dolce' Vita

Intercepted telephone conversations have lifted the lid for the first time on Silvio Berlusconi's "bunga bunga" parties, revealing even the women who took part in erotic games and stripteases were shocked by what they witnessed. Topless women dressed as nurses and police officers stripped for the Italian Prime Minister and his friends in his palatial villa outside Milan, which was described by one participant as "a whorehouse," according to calls intercepted by investigators. "It's unbelievable, you have no idea," one young woman was heard telling another showgirl. "All of them call him 'love' or 'darling.' You can't begin to imagine what goes on there. The papers don't tell the half of it even when they're massacring him. You're either ready to do anything or you take a taxi and leave." The evidence is contained in a 389-page dossier presented to Italy's parliament by prosecutors in Milan who want to bring Mr. Berlusconi to trial on charges of having sex with an under-age prostitute. Of all the claims levelled against him in the past two years, this is the most dangerous for his political survival. The woman concerned, Karima El Mahroug, says Mr. Berlusconi gave her €9,000 ($11,950) at the end of one of the parties, but that was not in exchange for sexual favours. She denies having worked as an escort. In another taped conversation, Carlo Ferrigno, a former head of police intelligence, described a party at Mr. Berlusconi's mansion at which the Prime Minister and two associates who are under investigation for complicity in prostitution mingled with 28 young women. "There were orgies in there, not with drugs as far as I know. But they were all drinking, half undressed. By the end -- the girls had no bras on and were wearing only those tight panties," said Mr. Ferrigno, a former anti-racketeering commissioner who is not under investigation. One of the women was Nicole Minetti, 25, an English-Italian former showgirl turned dental hygienist who was propelled into politics by the Prime Minister. "She had her breasts out and she was kissing Berlusconi continuously; what a whorehouse," Mr. Ferrigno said. During another intercepted call, Ms. El Mahroug said she started seeing Mr. Berlusconi when she was 16, contradicting her public statements she attended only one or two parties last year when she was 17. "I've been going to his home since I was 16, but I've always denied everything," she said. She related how "[Berlusconi] called me and said 'Ruby, I'll give you whatever amount you want. I'll pay you. I'll cover you in gold, but the important thing is to keep everything under wraps. Don't say a thing to anyone." The woman later allegedly demanded €5-million ($6.6-million) from him to keep quiet. Email [view link] Web [view link] Twitter [view link] Blog [view link]