Word: berlusconi
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...signs of danger, however, are undeniable. Ever since his wife's request in April for divorce sparked questions about his personal life, Berlusconi has been noticeably edgy. Now he faces criticism even from some of his most trusted allies...
...latest brouhaha began two months ago, when Berlusconi's wife of 20 years, Veronica Lario, announced the end of their marriage and accused him of "frequenting underage females." The Prime Minister then spent weeks fending off questions about his relationship with an 18-year-old Neapolitan blonde named Noemi Letizia, after he arrived at her birthday party with a gift of a diamond necklace...
...Berlusconi largely quieted that episode with explicit denials of anything "spicy" in his relationship with Letizia. But a potentially more damaging turn came last week, when investigators in the southern city of Bari confirmed that they were probing accusations that a local businessman, Giampaolo Tarantini, paid for women to attend dinners and parties at Berlusconi's private Rome residence, Palazzo Grazioli, and his villa on the island of Sardinia. One of the women, Patrizia D'Addario, had told Milan daily Corriere della Sera that she was paid several thousand euros to attend two dinner parties at Palazzo Grazioli last fall...
...Montereale says she subsequently attended a party at the Sardinian villa, which was filled with a score of other young, attractive women, including several dressed as Santa Claus. She says that Berlusconi gave her an envelope of cash to help with the costs of raising her child alone but insists that she did not have any physical contact with...
...Tarantini told Italian news agency ANSA that he reimbursed the women only for their travel and expenses, adding that Berlusconi didn't know about the payments...