Sunday, 13 April 2014. The mystery around the disappearance of Berlusconi's aide Marcello Dell'Utri gets more and more mysterious, as the fugitive is backed up by the former prime minister (who - in turn - says the idea was Vladimir Putin's...).
The first news to hit the headlines was that in the run up to a definitive sentence regarding the accusations of links to the Sicilian Mafia, prosecutors weren't able to locate Berlusconi's long-time friend and aide Mr Dell'Utri, and therefore he was declared “fugitive” by the Italian magistrates.
Marcello Dell'Utri and Berlusconi:
Then Dell'Utri's mobile phone was traced in Beirut, even though his lawyers issued a statement (last Friday) saying that he never went to Lebanon, he was in France, and he never meant to escape, he was just being cured (underwent a angioplasty surgery).
Monday,
4 March, 2013. Silvio Berlusconi has been running a prostitution
ring, according to prosecutors' final arguments in the last episode
of the Rubygate sex scandal related proceedings.
Karima El-Mahroug, aka Ruby the Heart Stealer
Silvio
Berlusconi is on trial – he managed to postpone the proceeding, due
to the general elections, but now he is running out of excuses... -,
since he is accused of soliciting an under-age prostitute (the
Moroccan Karima el-Mahroug, also known as Ruby Rubacuori i.e. Ruby
Heart Stealer) and for abuse of power, for having managed to free the
aforementioned Ruby Heart Stealer from the strong arm of the law,
and ushered her into the hands of Milan's municipality's councillor (party-organizer and part-time bikini-model) Nicole Minetti, by illicit means (amongst them he apparently said to the police
that Karima-Ruby - apparently - was the granddaughter of Egypt's former dictator
Hosni Mubarak).
Silvio Berlusconi heading to the court
By
doing this, Silvio – who at the time was Italy's prime minister –
recruited the Moroccan belly-dancer (and alleged call girl) into the
bunga-bunga army, a bunch of young women - the bunga-bunga girls - to be used for entertainment
during parties in his villa in Arcore. The women used to get a bed
where to sleep, 2,500 euro a month ($3,250 or £2,160), plus gifts
and presents in case of birthdays or name days.
The
prosecutor – Antonio Sangermano – said that Karima El-Mahroug
(who was 17, when first attended a so-called bunga-bunga party) was
"an integral part" of a "complex prostitution ring".
In the next days the prosecutors will publish the requested sentence,
the defence will reply on 11 March, and on 18 March the trail will
end with a verdict.
All
this is hardly likely to help the difficult relationship between the
former premier of Italy and the Italian Judiciary, which – according
to Silvio Berlusconi – is «more dangerous than the Sicilian Mafia,».
Saturday,
February 23, 2013. Silvio Berlusconi breaches the electoral silence
just to declare that he reckons Sicilian Mafia is less dangerous than
Italian Judiciary. Or the other way around.
«The
Italian Judiciary is a Mafia, they are more dangerous than the
Sicilian Mafia,» says Silvio Berlusconi,
on a day when political issues are banned from the media by the
“Electoral Silence Rule”. Another quip destined to find a place amongst Berlusconi's quotes.
Berlusconi greets Galliani, as he arrives to Milanello on his helicopter, in order to spur AC Milan and slam Italian Judiciary
Actually
it looks like a “premeditated scoop”, as usual, since a friendly
journalist put the right question to the former Italian prime
minister, totally out of context (Silvio was in “Milanello”,
where he arrived on a helicopter, in order to greet AC Milan's
player, on the eve of the Milan's derby against FC Internazionale).
«And
I say it» will follow on the ineffable Silvio «knowing to say
something huge». Result: Silvio get headlines everywhere (starting from our blog, sigh! :-( ).
Some
might wonder about the ranking within Silvio Berlusconi's scales of
values, where Italian Judiciary seem to score less than Sicilian
Mafia, and dictator Benito Mussolini seems to enjoy quite some
credit, from the right-wing politician.
Here's
the script of the interview... pardon, the monologue of Silvio
Berlusconi in Milanello (you can find the video on our YouTube channel):
«...because
here in Italy, I have been attacked in connection with the
bunga-bunga, which is an operation of deception, defamation, which is
supported by nothing. In fact nothing came out of it. They made
150,000 telephone interceptions. Without discovering a single crime.
And continue with the proceedings, which have been reported by all
foreign newspapers, where the judiciary is a serious matter whereas
here in Italy it's a Mafia, more dangerous than the Sicilian Mafia.
And I say it knowing to say a big thing.». A big thing, and not really a funny one, Mr Berlusconi!
