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Man arrested for bid to extort Berlusconi
September 2, 2011, Friday
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ITALIAN police have arrested a businessman on charges of extorting money from Premier Silvio Berlusconi in return for his supportive cooperation with an inquiry into recruiting prostitutes to attend wild parties at Berlusconi's home.
Giampaolo Tarantini and his wife Angela Devenuto were detained in Rome yesterday, police in Naples said. Berlusconi is not under investigation.
Tarantini has admitted he paid a prostitute, Patrizia D'Addario, and other women to attend parties at Berlusconi's residences but insists the premier did not know. He is currently under investigation in Bari for allegedly aiding and abetting prostitution.
Naples prosecutor Francesco Greco said Tarantini forced Berlusconi to pay his family legal and housing costs in exchange for his cooperation in the Bari prostitution investigation.
Specifically, Greco alleges Berlusconi's payment was designed to ensure Tarantini entered a plea bargain in the Bari case rather than letting it go to trial. Such a move would limit the publication of possibly embarassing telephone intercepts concerning the women who went to Berlusconi's parties.
Greco did not specify the amount paid, but Panorama magazine, which broke the news of the investigation last week, said Berlusconi paid Tarantini 500,000 euros (US$722,000) and made subsequent monthly payments.
Berlusconi is not under investigation and is considered the victim in the case, a Naples policewoman said. The premier has said he did not feel victimized by Tarantini, saying he was just helping a needy family.
Panorama quoted Berlusconi as saying: "I helped someone and a family with children who found themselves and continue to find themselves in very serious financial difficulty.
"I did not do anything illegal. I limited myself to helping a desperate man without asking for anything in exchange. That is how I am made and nothing will change that."
Berlusconi himself is on trial in Milan for allegedly paying a 17-year-old girl for sex at some of his parties. Both he and the girl deny the allegations.
Giampaolo Tarantini and his wife Angela Devenuto were detained in Rome yesterday, police in Naples said. Berlusconi is not under investigation.
Tarantini has admitted he paid a prostitute, Patrizia D'Addario, and other women to attend parties at Berlusconi's residences but insists the premier did not know. He is currently under investigation in Bari for allegedly aiding and abetting prostitution.
Naples prosecutor Francesco Greco said Tarantini forced Berlusconi to pay his family legal and housing costs in exchange for his cooperation in the Bari prostitution investigation.
Specifically, Greco alleges Berlusconi's payment was designed to ensure Tarantini entered a plea bargain in the Bari case rather than letting it go to trial. Such a move would limit the publication of possibly embarassing telephone intercepts concerning the women who went to Berlusconi's parties.
Greco did not specify the amount paid, but Panorama magazine, which broke the news of the investigation last week, said Berlusconi paid Tarantini 500,000 euros (US$722,000) and made subsequent monthly payments.
Berlusconi is not under investigation and is considered the victim in the case, a Naples policewoman said. The premier has said he did not feel victimized by Tarantini, saying he was just helping a needy family.
Panorama quoted Berlusconi as saying: "I helped someone and a family with children who found themselves and continue to find themselves in very serious financial difficulty.
"I did not do anything illegal. I limited myself to helping a desperate man without asking for anything in exchange. That is how I am made and nothing will change that."
Berlusconi himself is on trial in Milan for allegedly paying a 17-year-old girl for sex at some of his parties. Both he and the girl deny the allegations.
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