Divorce: Veronica and Silvio Berlusconi

[xxxLinda]

He looks awful, that boot polish cum hair transplant on his bald head is appalling.  But he owns the entire country, owns all the media, has done for many years.



An Italian Chef here in the UK on telly today or yesterday translated the meaning of bunga bunga.  
Apparently it means many girls and many places and/or positions.

Only in Italy !


xxx
Linda

[xxxLinda]

There's a thread on the GT board which has been moved to the Politics Place, it's about Berly nude...  click that, it goes into a 153 posted thread about having enough money to have sex with underage children


but this sad divorce and ongoing sex farce is a laughing matter, it's not political, the man is incorrigable.  He has no shame.


He actually thinks that by owning all the media and the entire country he is then entitled to make the best 100 14-year old virgin teenage Italian women be his sex slaves.  

It's an outrage, there were 1 million women protesting again him on the streets of Rome yet it got no international news coverage.




x

"Se non ora, quando" - "If not now, when" women rally in Florence
Millions of Italian women took to the streets in some 200 cities across the country in protest at Prime Minister's Silvio Berlusconi's alleged behavior toward women.


these pix below are "A moment of the rally that marched trough the streets of Florence".

[BayGBM]

Prosecutors: Berlusconi had sex with teen 13 times
(03-15) 12:49 PDT MILAN, (AP) --

Italian prosecutors say that the Italian leader paid for sex with an under-age Moroccan teen 13 times.

The accounting emerged in a seven-page document obtained by The Associated Press marking the closure of the investigation against three Berlusconi aides accused of procuring prostitutes for the premier.

Their case has been separated from Berlusconi's, who faces trial April 6 on charges of under-age prostitution and using his influence to cover it up.

Both Berlusconi and the Moroccan teen, Karima el-Mahroug, known by her nickname Ruby, have denied sex with each other.

The document filed Tuesday seeking the indictments against the aides on charges of soliciting prostitution detail how the sex-fueled parties were organized: dinner, followed by erotic dancing and finally Berlusconi's choice of a sex partner or partners.

[Playboy]

Berlusconi’s Wife Says She Wants a Divorce
By RACHEL DONADIO

ROME — Less than a week after writing an open letter criticizing her husband for cavorting with much younger women, the wife of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said she wants to file for divorce.

“I’d like to close the curtain on our married life,” Veronica Lario, 52, Mr. Berlusconi’s wife, told the center-left daily La Repubblica on Sunday. “I was forced to take this step,” she told the Turin daily La Stampa. “I don’t want to add anything else.”

An assistant to Ms. Lario, Paola Giponi, on Sunday confirmed the press reports, while Mr. Berlusconi released a brief statement to the ANSA news agency. “It’s a personal matter, and one that saddens me,” the prime minister said. “It’s a private issue that’s best not discussed.”

If Ms. Lario does file for divorce, it is unclear whether Mr. Berlusconi, 72, would be affected politically. Despite colorful gaffes that would sink a politician elsewhere, Mr. Berlusconi enjoys more power and popularity than ever before, thanks to the disarray of his left-wing opposition and his brilliant reading of Italian sensibilities.

In fact, part of Mr. Berlusconi’s success lies in his ability to present himself at once as a devoted family man and a consummate ladies’ man — a contradiction embodied in his marriage to Ms. Lario.

The two met in Milan in 1980, when she was an actress appearing nude in a play called “The Magnificent Cuckold,” and he a married, up-and-coming real estate tycoon. Mr. Berlusconi left his first wife for Ms. Lario. They had three children before marrying in a civil ceremony in 1990.

The news of the impending break-up came after days of soap-opera drama. On Tuesday, Ms. Lario wrote an open letter to the ANSA news agency complaining about her husband’s roving eye — her second such public declaration in recent years.

Ms. Lario criticized reports that Mr. Berlusconi’s center-right coalition planned to nominate a slate of attractive young women for the European Parliament, including the star of a reality television show.

Choosing candidates seemingly on the basis of their headshots more than their political experience was “shamelessly trashy,” Ms. Lario said.

Ms. Lario was also angered by press reports that Mr. Berlusconi had attended the 18th birthday party in Naples of Noemi Letizia, who has said in several recent interviews that she called the prime minister “daddy” and that he had given her a gold and diamond necklace.

“That surprised me,” Ms. Lario told ANSA. “Because he never attended the 18th birthday parties of his own children, even if he was invited.”

Mr. Berlusconi countered that his wife has been subject to the “manipulations” of the left-wing press. “I’m afraid that the ‘signora’ believed what she read in the newspapers,” ANSA quoted him as saying last Wednesday.

In the ensuing days, Italian newspaper Web sites have carried pictures of Ms. Letizia posing in her underwear, and national conversation has been dominated by speculation about the nature of the relationship between the prime minister and the young woman.

On Sunday, La Repubblica said that Ms. Lario had been contemplating divorce for years. In hiring a lawyer and opening proceedings, “I would like to avoid conflict,” La Repubblica quoted her as saying.

Yet any divorce would inevitably cause inheritance battles between Mr. Berlusconi’s two children from his first marriage and the three from his second with Ms. Lario over control of his vast real estate and media empire, valued in the billions.

Mr. Berlusconi and Ms. Lario are rarely seen in public together and there has been palace intrigue for years.

In 2007, Ms. Lario published a letter on the front page of La Repubblica demanding an apology from Mr. Berlusconi after news reports quoted him praising the beauty of a showgirl whom he later named equal opportunities minister, saying: “If I weren’t already married, I would marry you right now.”

“These are statements I consider damaging to my dignity,” Ms. Lario said at the time.

The same day, Mr. Berlusconi, who was running for a third term as prime minister, quickly issued a public apology, which political analysts speculated was aimed at winning over women voters.

“Your dignity should not be an issue: I will guard it like a precious material in my heart even when thoughtless jokes come out of my mouth,” Mr. Berlusconi said then. “Forgive me, however, I beg of you, and take this public testimony of private pride that submits to your anger as an act of love. One among many. A huge kiss. Silvio.”

No surprise here, really. Berlusconi has about 20 women on the side if not more and his major links with the Italian mob.

[Migs]

modern day  Batiatus stuff right there!

[BayGBM]

Clooney called by Berlusconi's defense as witness
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, Associated Press

Silvio Berlusconi's defense lawyers on Tuesday named George Clooney, the Italian foreign minister and a bevy of showgirls as witnesses at the premier's upcoming prostitution trial, an attorney and news reports said.

Prosecutors, for their part, have asked to hear from 136 witnesses, including the Moroccan teenager at the center of the scandal and 32 other women who allegedly worked as prostitutes during parties at Berlusconi's villa, according to Italian news reports.

Both sides presented their lists of witnesses at the Milan tribunal where the trial opens next week. A judge must now decide which witnesses to admit.

The 74-year-old Berlusconi is accused of having paid for sex with the Moroccan, who is known as Ruby and was 17 at the time, and then using his influence to try to cover it up. The premier denies wrongdoing.

Clooney was listed because Ruby once said she had seen the Hollywood star and his Italian girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis at one of Berlusconi's parties, according to the law firm representing Berlusconi.

"We want to see if they confirm this fact or not," said attorney Piersilvio Cipollotti.

An email sent to Clooney's representative wasn't immediately answered.

Italian newspapers reported months ago that Ruby had said Clooney, who has a mansion on Lake Como north of Milan, and Canalis were guests at one of Berlusconi's parties. According to a Feb. 22 report in leading Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, prosecutors talked with Canalis last month and she denied that she and Clooney attended any of the premier's parties.

Berlusconi's defense also listed Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and other Cabinet officials amid the 78 people named as witnesses, Cipollotti said. Mariano Apicella, the Neapolitan composer who performs for Berlusconi, as well as showgirls and TV personalities who frequented Berlusconi's parties were also named, according to the ANSA and LaPresse news agencies.

Ruby, whose real name is Karima el-Mahroug, turned 18 in November.

Berlusconi is accused of having had several sexual encounters with her between Valentine's Day last year through May 2, 2010 in exchange for money. The premier is also accused of abusing his influence when he called police in May to get Ruby out of custody in Milan, where she had been held for an unrelated theft. She was eventually released.

Prosecutors say the premier wanted to keep his sexual relations with the girl secret. Berlusconi has said he intervened because he believed Ruby was the niece of now ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and wanted to prevent a diplomatic incident.

According to news reports, prosecutors have also cited as witnesses Milan police officials involved in Ruby's brief detention, as well as three Berlusconi associates also under investigation in the scandal: an ex-showgirl and Berlusconi's dental hygienist recently elected at a local post with the premier's party; a TV agent; and TV newscaster and longtime Berlusconi friend.

Berlusconi says he plans to attend hearings of the trial, which opens April 6, as much as his official duties allow. He also faces two other trials and a possible indictment relating to his business dealings.

[BayGBM]

Italy's Berlusconi found guilty of tax fraud, sentenced to prison

LONDON -- Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was found guilty of tax fraud Friday and sentenced to four years in prison, a stunning setback for the media mogul-turned-politician who has dominated Italy's political landscape for the last 20 years.

But Berlusconi, 76, will almost certainly appeal the verdict and is not expected to go to prison anytime soon -- and possibly not at all because of Italian restrictions against putting someone his age behind bars, analysts say.

Still, the conviction is a blow for a man who only a few months ago floated the idea of a comeback as Italy’s leader after having been forced to step down last November. Earlier this week, Berlusconi ended speculation by announcing that he would not run for reelection after all but would focus on grooming younger leaders.

Whether the decision to retire from elected office was made in anticipation of a guilty verdict in the tax fraud trial is unclear. Besides the prison term, the sentence handed down Friday in Milan bars Berlusconi from holding public office for three years, the Italian news agency Ansa reported.

The case centered on purchases by Berlusconi’s company, Mediaset, of television rights for American movies. Prosecutors argued that Mediaset bought the rights through offshore entities and then falsely declared those payments in order to avoid paying taxes.

The trial began six years ago but made only spasmodic progress, partly because of delaying tactics by Berlusconi’s defense team and because of an on-again, off-again immunity law for certain elected officials. He has two levels of appeal open to him, meaning that the case could drag on for some years.

Many Italians believed that Berlusconi would never be convicted for his alleged offenses because of the way his government tried to manipulate the judicial system and because of his vast fortune and political connections.

Aside from the case decided Friday, Berlusconi is also on trial on charges of paying for sex with an underage girl whom he later allegedly tried to spring from police custody by using his political influence. That influence is likely to diminish significantly now, analysts say.

When the flamboyant and controversial former leader announced Wednesday that he would not stand for reelection, Berlusconi told Italian media that his decision to step back was motivated by the same patriotism that induced him to go into politics nearly 20 years ago.

“For love of Italy one can do crazy things and wise things,” he said. “Now I want to take a step back with the same love that moved me to act then.”

[BayGBM]

Italy's Berlusconi Told to Pay Nearly $50 Million Per Year in Alimony
By Eric J. Lyman

ROME – Francesca Pasquale, take note: apparently, it can pay to be the former Mrs. Silvio Berlusconi.

Just days after the 76-year-old Berlusconi, Italy’s billionaire media tycoon and three-time prime minister, announced he got engaged to Pasquale, 27, terms of divorce from Berlusconi’s second wife, Veronica Lario, were revealed.

He will pay her €36 million ($47.2 million) per year in alimony payments. That works out to be nearly €100,000 ($131,000) per day.

The final figure is below the €43 million ($56.3 million) per year Lario asked for, but ten times the €3.6 million ($4.7 million) per year Berlusconi offered.

The judge’s decision announced Friday is the culmination of a three-year divorce ordeal started in 2009 after Lario announced she was leaving Berlusconi because of his taste for young women, following the widely reported 18th birthday party of would-be Neapolitan showgirl Noemi Letizia, which Berlusconi attended, paparazzi in tow.

Berlusconi’s taste for young women did not abate after Lario’s comments. Even before his engagement to Pasquale, the former dancer nearly 50 years her fiancé’s junior, Berlusconi was linked to scores of young women through his famous “bunga bunga” sex parties. Berlusconi is under investigation for allegations of paying an under-age cabaret dancer named Karima el-Mahroug for sex.

But the case involving el-Mahroug -- who is best known by her stage name, Ruby the Heart Stealer -- is not the greatest of Berlusconi’s concerns at the moment. He is also under investigation for abuse of power, a more serious charge, and in October was sentenced to four years behind bars for tax fraud. Earlier this month, prosecutors asked a judge to sentence Berlusconi to at least a year in jail in connection to a wiretap case involving a political rival.

All the while, Berlusconi had time to orchestrate a political maneuver that triggered the resignation of Mario Monti, his successor as prime minister, and to start laying the groundwork for another run for prime minister in 2013.

Berlusconi is one of the richest people in Italy -- notwithstanding his divorce settlement with Lario -- mostly on the strength of the Mediaset television and cinema giant he founded. Mediaset includes three national television networks in Italy and one in Spain, plus Medusa, the film production and distribution house.