Silvio Berlusconi: girls and marijuana on his private jet
Most Italians thought Silvio Berlusconi could not drag their country's reputation any lower. But on Wednesday the sleaze allegations against the Italian prime minister plumbed new depths when a call girl claimed that his private jet was used to supply marijuana to sex parties at his villa in Sardinia.
By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 10:10PM GMT 03 Nov 2010
Silvio Berlusconi allegedly paid Nadia Macri ?10,000 (£8,738) for intercourse when she visited him at Villa Certosa in Sardinia last year Photo: EPA
Nadia Macri
Nadia Macri', 28, has told investigators the billionaire premier paid her €10,000 (£8,738) for intercourse when she visited him at Villa Certosa in Sardinia last year and at Arcore, his private residence outside Milan in April.
Miss Macri', an aspiring model and television showgirl who dreamed of appearing on the Italian equivalent of Big Brother, claimed marijuana joints were provided for about 25 young women who had been invited to Villa Certosa, where Mr Berlusconi has entertained Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin.
"There was grass available in all the rooms, it had been brought in on the prime minister's private jet," she told investigators, according to transcripts published by several Italian newspapers. "I saw a number of guests smoking, but never the prime minister."
The claims surfaced in an unrelated investigation into a cocaine trafficking ring allegedly involving Perla Genovesi, a former official in Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party who is now a police whistle-blower. In 300 pages of testimony recorded last month, Miss Macri' said: "I've been to Berlusconi's homes three times, but we had sex on only on two occasions: once in Sardinia and once at Arcore.
He gave me €10,000 and other small presents. He personally gave me the money in an envelope." The allegations were denied by Niccolo Ghedini, Mr Berlusconi's lawyer. "This is about declarations which have already been dismissed by other witnesses … parties at Villa Certosa are always conducted with the utmost propriety."
Miss Macri' claimed she was introduced to the 74-year-old media mogul by Lele Mora, a celebrity agent who has been mentioned by other women connected to the prime minister, and who is being investigated on charges of aiding and abetting prostitution. Aspiring actresses and models were reportedly put through a kind of selection process by a 79-year-old close media friend of Mr Berlusconi.
Many of the details of her statement echoed claims made by an 18-year-old Moroccan belly dancer who says she too attended private parties at the prime minister's home. Karima El Mahroug, who called herself on her Facebook page Ruby Rubacuori or Ruby Stealer of Hearts, has denied that she slept with the prime minister.
The most damaging element of her reported relationship with the prime minister is that he allegedly ordered police in Milan to release her from custody when she was arrested on theft charges in May, claiming that she was the granddaughter of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president.
Miss El Mahroug also revealed that Mr Berlusconi has a marble statue of himself as Superman at his Sardinian villa. Talking of a party at the villa she said: “I was sat next to Silvio. We talked about everything except politics and he made fun of the opposition leader Pier Luigi Bersani. “Then he showed us a marble statue of Superman that had his (Berlusconi’s) face.”
