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Laurent Dubrule / Reuters
Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi arrives for a meeting of the European People's Party (EPP) ahead of an informal EU leaders summit in Brussels on May 23.
ROME — Throughout his political career, Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi collected almost as many nicknames as he did gaffes and lawsuits.
Comedian Beppe Grillo once famously called him a "psycho dwarf," poking fun at his height — 5 feet, 5 inches, according to most sources.
An editorialist for the Italian daily La Repubblica once called him "The Caiman" — a term for crocodiles — to underline his predatory nature. That nickname was also used for the title of a film by Italian director Nanni Moretti, in which he skewered the former prime minister.
Then came "Papi" — Italian for "Daddy" — the nickname teenager Noemi Letizia used to call Berlusconi, who famously attended her 18th birthday party before his wife finally left him saying she could no longer be with a man who "consorts with minors."
In a court in Milan on Friday, testimony added another nickname to the roster: "Betty."
That is what Barbara Faggioli, one of the showgirls who attended Berlusconi’s controversial dinners accused of leading to wild after-parties in which prostitution was rife, said she used to call him.
Faggioli took the stand in the ongoing hearing in Milan in which prosecutors are trying to establish if Berlusconi paid for sex with an under-aged prostitute known as "Ruby The Heart Stealer" during one of the now infamous after-dinner parties known as "bunga bunga."
She defended the former prime minister and claimed that no sex was ever exchanged in return for the generous presents Berlusconi would hand out to the many girls attending his parties. But when Faggioli was called to clarify some of the wiretapped conversations in which she was featured, she explained she used "code names" when talking about Berlusconi with other girls.
Berlusconi, she explained, was "Betty." And money, often paid out by the former Italian prime minister to women as "gifts," were called "shoes."
Despite the fact that Faggioli tried to make things better for him by defending Berlusconi in court, she made it worse by claiming that she thought of him as a father, casting an immediate shadow over the whole category in Italy.
In all fairness to Italian fathers, most are not accused of showering their "girls" with money and gifts or of staging alleged shows with women dressed in skimpy clothes, sometimes dressed as sexy nuns.
Faggioli even wore an expensive necklace that she admitted was given to her by Berlusconi as a present. It was, apparently, her way to prove to judges, and Italy, that she had nothing to hide.
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I'll bet that's not all she revealed.
His face alone tells me he's a scumbag power hungry freak.. no trial necessary.
Short syndrome.
ahhhhh....would the be the same as Napoleon syndrome???????
Primo primo
Since when did it become unacceptable for wealthy and powerful men to use their riches and influence to score hot young tail?
Christ, the 1980s rock stars would be ashamed of us all. What happened to the days when it was expected for influential celebrities to do a line of coke off a hooker's stomach, followed by a tequila shot with body salt?
I mean, a celebrity can't even get a DUI these days without having to nail himself to a cross for public forgiveness..
Or women, like Madonna?
Unfortunately, Berlusconi is not a "rock star" or a "celebrity." He WAS a Prime Minister. One who put former show girls who had been his floozies into government positions, who changed the law in order to avoid prosecution, and who flouted the laws of his own country it when he invited underage prostitutes to his infamous sex parties. Never mind what it says to the little girls of a country when their elected leader awards jobs based on sexual availability and chastises female critics for being insufficiently young and sexy (like him, presumably) or what it does to diplomacy when he insults female leaders of other countries on the same grounds (Angela Merkel) makes nun-rape jokes, flaunts his extra-marital affairs and on and on. Ignore all of that. Minimally, I would hope that we don't accept as some simple fact of life that the rule of law itself doesn't apply to 'wealthy and powerful men;' otherwise there have been a whole lot of revolutions for nothing.
"Since when did it become unacceptable..."
When he got married
Even though he's a SEX PERVERT at least it beautiful young girls, and not men or young men. That's unceptable in ANY way. Besides BILLIONS can "BUY" innocence. He'll just pay the judge millions of Euro. He has billions, that's nothing to him.
Berlusconi is like something you get on your shoe after walking through a leash-free park. It would be nice to think that he fails to buy his way out of being convicted of 'porking' underage escorts.
WHAT? You mean it wasn't "True Love"? I guess everything I believed in has gone to Hell.
Until I hear that he actually physically hurt anyone...or that he forced himself on anyone....then this whole thing seems like a joke to me. Prudish people that can't mind their business because are jealous of another's prowess. So sad.....
Even the girls he was involved with don't want to besmirch the guy. That pretty much says it all.
Firemen need fires to put out....policemen need crimes to solve....and prostitutes need "papis"....who cares?
Well, it does seem that he degrades his office a bit, but to each his own. It is, after all, Italy.
"under-aged"
How long does this story need to be in the news before you finally read it?
he ia a italian stallion..Primo He love women of all ages. Make love not war
Many of you are posting as though he was "only" with prostitutes......they were UNDERAGED!!! As a mother of two girls (AND 2 boys) I find this repugnant!! Men who cant seem to keep their PENISES IN THEIR PANTS when little girls are around need to be taken out to the woods and taght a lesson no courts can teach. Power monger or not, its illegal/immoral/unethical and PROOF of an EVIL MIND.
sorry. i slipped and my d-ck fell into her p-ussy
Just as worrying as his predatory sexual practices are his views that ". . . it is the duty of the wealthy to avoid paying taxes." With his sexual history and political views he would be a superstar for the US Republican party!
martin go blow it out your barracks fan, just becuase you are jealous of him and envyious of his wealth. If you want to avid paying taxes then you actually have to earn some money. How did that OWS work or for you? Did your mommy still give your job back as head dish washer?