Stripper ‘nuns’ danced for Berlusconi

Strippers in nun costumes danced in front of Silvio Berlusconi at his villa, a witness told a Milan court where the former Italian prime minister is on trial for allegedly having sex with an underage prostitute.

Yesterday, model Imane Fadil said the first time she went to a party she was given €2,000 in cash by Mr Berlusconi, who told her: “Don’t be offended”.

That night she said she saw two young women in nun costumes with “black tunics, white veils and crosses” stripping in front of the then prime minister.

One of the two was Nicole Minetti, now a regional councillor for Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party in Milan, Ms Fadil said.

She said Ms Minetti and the other woman ended up staying the night at the villa near Milan and alleged that women who stayed were paid more for sex.

Ms Fadil said she had heard of Mr Berlusconi having sex for money with at least two of the women invited to his parties, Italian media reported.

Ms Fadil also said she had come under pressure from a mysterious man to go back to the villa last year when the Berlusconi trial had already started.

“A man stopped near my house and gave me an untraceable phone to organise a visit to Arcore. But I didn’t want to,” she told the court.

Mr Berlusconi is charged with having sex with an underage prostitute, Karima El-Mahroug, and then allegedly abusing his powers by getting police to release her when she was arrested for theft so that his crime would not be revealed.

Ms El-Mahroug, a dancer who was 17 when she allegedly had sex with the then prime minister, is better known by her stage name of “Ruby the Heart Stealer”.

Mr Berlusconi rejects all charges and Ms El-Mahroug denies having sex with him.

The Corriere della Sera daily last week reported that Mr Berlusconi last year paid €127,000 to three witnesses — Ms Minetti and two other girls — when the trial against him had already started.

Mr Berlusconi’s lawyer Niccolo Ghedini rejected accusations of an attempt to influence their testimony, saying that the payments were absolutely legal and were an example of the former prime minister’s “usual generosity”.

Speaking to the Il Giornale daily owned by his family, Mr Berlusconi himself said: “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.”

Italian media said Ms Minetti used the money to pay legal fees in a separate trial against her for allegedly procuring prostitutes for Mr Berlusconi.

The other two recipients were twins Eleonora and Imma De Vivo who are alleged by prosecutors to have performed strip shows for the then premier.