Berlusconi faces new prostitution scandal as debt crisis mounts

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is facing new accusations over a prostitution scandal that has added a fresh distraction as Italy struggles to avert a debt crisis which could tear the eurozone apart.

Berlusconi is reported to have told Valter Lavitola, a shadowy consultant — now wanted by police — to stay out of Italy while an investigation continued into an alleged extortion plot against the premier, in which Lavitola was suspected to be involved.

Niccolo Ghedini, Berlusconi’s lawyer, said in a statement that the accusation, based on a police wiretap cited by the weekly L’Espresso, was “absurd and baseless”.