Berlusconi aides found guilty of procuring prostitutes for parties
A Milan court on Friday found three of Silvio Berlusconi’s associates guilty of procuring prostitutes – including the then underage Ruby – for racy parties held at the former Italian premier’s villas. Failed showbusiness agent Lele Mora and television host Emilio Fede were sentenced to seven years each in jail, while showgirl-turned-politician Nicole Minetti was given five years behind bars.
A Milan court on Friday found three of Silvio Berlusconi’s associates guilty of procuring prostitutes – including the then underage Ruby – for racy parties held at the former Italian premier’s villas.
Failed showbusiness agent Lele Mora and television host Emilio Fede were sentenced to seven years each in jail, while showgirl-turned-politician Nicole Minetti was given five years behind bars.
Among the girls allegedly recruited by the trio for parties at billionaire Berlusconi’s villas was Moroccan-born Karima El-Mahroug, a then 17-year-old exotic dancer nicknamed “Ruby the Heart Stealer”.
Berlusconi was sentenced in a separate trial in June to seven years in jail for paying for sex with Ruby and abusing his power to hide the liaison – though the punishment was suspended on appeal.
The Milan court on Friday banned Moro and Fede for life from holding public office and working with minors, while Minetti was given a five-year ban on holding public office. All three were ordered to pay court costs.
The judges also asked prosecutors to launch an investigation into Berlusconi, his lawyers Niccolo Ghedini and Piero Longo, and Ruby, for lying under oath while testifying in Mora, Fede and Minetti’s defence.