Another Day, Another Berlusconi Sex Scandal

(Nov. 4) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi seems to be on target to set a new world record for the most sex scandals ever racked up by a national leader. Just a few days after it was revealed that the aging Lothario had struck up an unusual friendship with a belly-dancing Moroccan teen -- who allegedly saw "bunga bunga" sex parties at his mansion -- another prostitute has now come forward with yet more sleazy tales involving the playboy politician.

Nadia Macri -- a 27-year-old call girl from the northern city of Reggio Emilia -- was allegedly paid $14,200 for two intimate encounters with Berlusconi, 74. The first took place at the prime minister's villa in Sardinia in April 2009, the daily Corriere della Sera quoted her as telling prosecutors. She traveled to the luxury house together with 25 other young women and claimed that the girls were offered marijuana "which was transported on the prime minister's private jet." Macri added that she never saw the prime minister smoke.

The women were reportedly brought to Berlusconi by his friends Lele Mora, a showbiz agent, and TV news executive Emilio Fede. The two are also suspected of introducing the billionaire leader to Moroccan teen Karima El Mahroug -- who goes by the name Ruby -- and are under investigation for allegedly procuring prostitutes for his parties.

Both men deny any wrongdoing.

Macri claims that she also attended a party at the prime minister's mansion in Acore, near Milan in May, where she and other girls took part in a post-dinner sex session with Berlusconi. "He would say 'next one please,' and sometimes we were all together in the swimming pool, where sex took place," she reportedly told prosecutors in Palermo, whose drug-trafficking investigation led them to a party scene involving members of Berlusconi's People of Freedom party.

The prime minister's lawyer, Niccolo Ghedini, has denied Macri's allegations and said that Berlusconi's parties are "always conducted with the utmost propriety," reported The Telegraph. And Berlusconi himself today railed against "baseless attacks" by media organizations intent on throwing him out of office.

But true or not, the new claims are sure to add to Berlusconi's ever-growing list of woes. Opposition politicians have called for him to quit after national newspapers reported that he used (and abused) his position to persuade Milan police to release then-17-year-old Mahroug from custody after she was arrested for theft in May. The two had previously met at parties at his Acore house, where the premier lavished her with cash and gifts. The illegal immigrant has insisted in interviews that she didn't sleep with Berlusconi, and that the presents were simply a sign of his generosity.

That scandal is also fueling already deep divisions within his center-right ruling coalition. On Wednesday, two members of Berlusconi's party announced that they were leaving to join a breakaway faction headed by his former ally Gianfranco Fini, who's tipped to be the next prime minister. Although Fini's Future and Freedom party is still a member of Berlusconi's cross-party alliance, it's set to hold talks about withdrawing support this weekend. If Berlusconi loses their backing, he'd have to call an election, three years before his term is due to end.

The premier has made it through similarly sticky situations before. Last year, he survived scandals involving escort Patrizia D'Addario -- who claimed she recorded their passionate encounter at his Rome mansion -- and 18-year-old underwear model Noemi Letizia. (That relationship led second wife Veronica Lario to file for divorce.) But back then the premier was still riding high in the polls. His approval ratings are now at their lowest point since his 2008 re-election, and the Italian public appears to be tiring of the endless scandals, political squabbles and his inability to revitalize the ailing economy. Berlusconi's charms may still work on some of the ladies, but they're no longer a turn-on for voters.