17-Year-Old Model Claims Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Paid Her for Sex

(Oct. 28) -- Just five months after Silvio Berlusconi's wife divorced him over his alleged affair with an aspiring teenage model, Italy's prime minister has been accused of getting intimate with yet another young catwalk wannabe.

According to reports in the Italian press, a Moroccan model known only as "Ruby" has told police that she had sex with Berlusconi at his villa in Arcore, near Milan, in return for a "cash gift." The 17-year-old, notes Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano, has alleged that she was present at several private parties held by the prime minister last year and this spring.

Salvatore Laporta, AP

Lawyers for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have said that the allegations against the billionaire leader are "completely unfounded."

Ruby said that she was part of a group of aspiring models and TV presenters supposedly introduced to the prime minister -- who owns much of the Italian media -- by prominent show business agent Lele Mora, who has denied all knowledge of the case.

Prostitution isn't illegal in Italy as long as it's not organized and the sex worker in question is over 18. However, while prosecutors have opened a dossier on the allegations, they haven't started a formal investigation. Magistrates have also cautioned that Ruby's accusations are full of contradictions and could be part of an attempt to blackmail the billionaire leader, reports The Telegraph.

The prime minister's lawyers said in a statement that the "alleged statements made by 'Ruby' in relation to events at the home of Berlusconi are completely unfounded."

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But even if the claims are false, they could still dent Berlusconi's already faltering approval ratings, which are at their lowest level since his May 2008 re-election. The political showman's popularity has been damaged by the country's sluggish economic performance and an ongoing battle with former ally Gianfranco Fini, head of the Northern League party, who quit the ruling coalition in July together with 33 parliamentarians.

The sleazy accusations also come hot on the heels of two other separate Berlusconi scandals involving escort Patrizia D'Addario, who last year claimed she slept with Berlusconi at one of his villas in Rome in exchange for help with a stalled building project, and 18-year-old underwear model Noemi Letizia.

Berlusconi gave Letizia -- who calls the leader "Papi" - an $8,000 gold and diamond necklace for her 18th birthday last year. It later emerged that the bra-and-panties model had attended New Year's celebrations at his villa in Sardinia with a girlfriend, but without her parents, when she was 17. The prime minister denied any wrongdoing, but his second wife Veronica filed for divorce saying she could "not stay with a man who consorts with minors."