Silvio may face bribery charge

ITALY is investigating a reported attempt to alter the birth date of a young woman linked to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, prosecutors said.

The investigation follows a newspaper report that two “emissaries” acting for the prime minister visited the Moroccan hometown of belly dancer Karima el-Mahroug, known as Ruby Heartstealer, on February 7 to try to bribe an official to move her date of birth back two years.

The forgery would have indicated she was 19, not 17, between February and May of last year, when prosecutors say she had sex with Berlusconi, then 73.