MILAN PUBLIC prosecutors investigating the Rubygate sex scandal involving Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi claim that Mr Berlusconi met teenage Moroccan dancer Karima “Ruby” El Mahroug on at least 13 different occasions in 2010.
They also allege that three figures close to the prime minister – TV news director Emilio Fede, film producer Lele Mora and Lombardy regional councillor Nicole Minetti – all combined to induce 33 girls to prostitute themselves in Mr Berlusconi’s private residence in Arcore, near Milan, between September 2009 and January 2011.
Following normal Italian juridical practice, the magistrates earlier this week announced the formal closure of the “Rubygate” investigation, in the process sending a weighty dossier of charges to those under investigation. The defendants now have 20 days in which to challenge the magistrates’ conclusions before the case goes before a preliminary court hearing which must rule on whether Mr Fede, Mr Mora and Ms Minetti should stand trial. The juridical positions of these three are separate from that of Mr Berlusconi who, in a fast-track process, is due in court in Milan on April 6th to face charges of exploitation of underage prostitution and abuse of office.
This week’s dossier, however, underlines the serious nature of the charges not just against Mr Fede, Mr Mora and Ms Minetti but also the prime minister. The magistrates claim that Mr Berlusconi’s three aides combined to select, groom and administer a virtual harem of girls for the prime minister.
Mr Mora is alleged to have found many of the girls from the ranks of wannabe TV starlets who frequented his agency, while Mr Fede is alleged to have assessed their suitability. Ms Minetti is charged with having fulfilled the role of maîtresse in that she not only instructed the girls on what to expect and how to behave in Arcore but also oversaw their material needs, handling their housing arrangements at Via Olgettina, outside Milan, where many girls were allegedly lodged at Mr Berlusconi’s expense.
Nor does this week’s dossier leave a lot to the imagination with regard to the nature of “services” provided by the girls.
The magistrates state that Ms Mahroug (who was 17 at the time) “committed sexual acts with Silvio Berlusconi in return for compensatory payment in money and in kind in the residence of Arcore”.
The magistrates also claim that Ms Mahroug was just one of 33 young women who participated at Arcore parties, involving food, music and a “bunga, bunga” strip-tease session between September 2009 and January this year.
The “abuse of office” charge against Mr Berlusconi relates to allegations that in May of last year he personally persuaded Milan police to release Ms Mahroug, then being held on theft charges, claiming that she was the granddaughter of the now deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and that to charge her could provoke a diplomatic incident.