Berlusconi is reported to have told Valter Lavitola, a
shadowy consultant now wanted by police, to stay out of Italy during an
investigation 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.”
The story was reported on the front pages of major Italian
dailies on Friday, bringing renewed calls from the opposition for Berlusconi to
resign.
“This telephone call is the cherry on the cake,” Enrico
Letta, a senior member of the opposition Democratic Party told La Repubblica
daily. “The prime minister is not leading the country, which in fact has no
leader.” he said, adding that Berlusconi should step aside.
Naples magistrates have issued a warrant for Lavitola’s
arrest but his whereabouts are unknown and he is believed to be outside Italy.
Berlusconi is due to be questioned by magistrates next week as a witness in the
case.
The latest accusations add to the chaos surrounding the
center-right government’s efforts to handle a financial crisis that has left
Italy dependent on support from the European Central Bank to keep funding its
1.9 trillion euro public debt.
On Tuesday, magistrates are due to question Berlusconi over
the case, linked to a 2009 scandal in which a prostitute named Patrizia
D’Addario claimed to have been paid to attend parties at Berlusconi’s private
residence in Rome.
Naples magistrates are investigating allegations that
Berlusconi paid as much as 750,000 euros to a southern Italian businessman
connected to Lavitola who introduced D’Addario and other escorts to the
parties.
They believe Lavitola and businessman Giampaolo Tarantini
extorted the payments from Berlusconi in return for an agreement not to tell investigators
that the premier was aware the women were prostitutes.
Berlusconi, who has always denied ever paying for sex, has
strongly denied making any illicit payments, saying that he had only offered
help to Tarantini, now under arrest, because he and his family were in
financial difficulties.
