Did Silvio Berlusconi's notoriously wild parties also feature stripper nuns? According to the BBC, a witness in Berlusconi's trial alleged that dancers dressed in habits performed for the former Italian prime minster during a party in 2010. The witness, model Imane Fadil, identified one of the dancers as Nicole Minetti -- now a Lombardy regional councillor.
According to the BBC, Fadil said that she attended several parties at Berlusconi's villa outside Madrid. She claims she saw two women stripping in nun costumes during the first party she attended, and that the women spent the night at the villa.
CNN adds that Fadil wanted to leave the party, but Berlusconi cajoled her into staying by offering gifts.
AFP reports that Berlusconi came under fire last week when an Italian newspaper wrote that the former prime minister paid $165,000 to 3 witnesses, including Nicole Minetti, after his trial had started.
Berlusconi commented on the allegations in the Il Giornale, a daily owned by his family, saying: "Minetti asked me for help at a time of difficulty, and I happily gave it to her. When someone in difficulty asks for help, you don't ask what for," according to AFP. "Where could these people have found a job after having been so heavily dragged into a scandal built around me in which they were unwitting victims? When I am confronted with dramatic and touching cases, I don't hesitate to intervene whether it be for individuals or for charities," he said.
Berlusconi currently stands trial on charges of paying for sex with underage dancer Karima El-Mahrough, better known as 'Ruby the Heartbreaker.' He also is accused of abusing his power to get police to release the girl when she was arrested for theft.
According to the AP, prosecutors alleged in a 2011 document seeking indictments in the case that Ruby "committed sexual acts with Silvio Berlusconi, for payment in cash and other compensation." Ruby was 17-years-old at the time.
According to the document, the evenings proceeded in three phases. Dinner was followed by erotic dancing, dubbed "bunga, bunga." During this phase, the women were either masked, did a striptease or erotic dance "touching each other mutually, touching or being touched in their intimate areas by Silvio Berlusconi."
The evening ended when Berlusconi chose "one or more girls with whom to spend a night of intimate relations, people who were paid sums of cash, or other compensation beyond what was given to the other participants."
"A third phase, at the end of the evening, consisted of the choice, on the part of Silvio Berlusconi, of one or more girls with whom to spend a night of intimate relations," the document said.
Berlusconi has denied all the charges.
Related
Before You Go
