A tabloid tidal wave washed over Italy as newspapers published eye-popping wiretapped conversations from a nightclub dancer who said she had dallied with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as a minor. Wiretaps emerged days after a probe was launched against Berlusconi on charges he paid Moroccan-born Karima el-Mahroug,called Ruby Rubacuori for sex at his villa when she was a minor. Berlusconi,74,is also accused of helping to get her released from custody when she was held for theft. Now 18,she said she had asked Berlusconi for $6.7 million to keep quiet,according to wiretaps. Prosecutors said this week that a significant number of young women had prostituted themselves to the Prime Minister,obtaining cash or rent-free housing in exchange for sex. In one wiretapped conversation,published in La Repubblica,Mahroug said the Prime Minister had offered to pay her to keep quiet. He called me,telling me,Ruby,Ill give you as much money as you want,Ill cover you in gold,but the important thing is you hide everything. Also under investigation are Emilio Fede,79,one of Berlusconis oldest friends; and Lele Mora,55,an agent for TV personalities. The authorities are also investigating Nicole Minetti,25,a former dental hygienist and now a politician for Berlusconis party in Lombardy,who is accused of helping manage the young women in Berlusconis orbit. In a conversation published in Corriere della Sera,one young woman complained about the Prime Ministers looks,saying: Hes more dead than alive. Hes even become ugly. He should just give up. I hope hes more generous. In another transcript,Mahroug compared herself to Noemi Letizia,a woman whose 18th birthday party Berlusconi attended,who said she called him Daddy. I call him Daddy,too,but she was his little darling. Some conversations told of parties in which Berlusconi,Fede and Mora would spend evenings with women,who would strip to their underwear while they watched.RACHEL DONADIO
