Italian prosecutors today formally requested a fast-track trial of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for alleged abuse of power and sex with an underage prostitute.

Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, said in a statement that Berlusconi should head to the dock straight away and not be granted a preliminary hearing because of the "obviousness of the evidence" against him, Britain's Guardian reported.

Berlusconi responded to the filing at a press conference in Rome this afternoon, calling the prosecutors' move "shameful and disgusting," according to The Associated Press. He added that the case "offended the dignity of the country" and was intended to undermine his government.

Prosecutors allege that Berlusconi paid an underage prostitute and then used his political power to cover up the crime. Over the past eight months, investigators have reportedly collected hundreds of pages of evidence allegedly detailing how the prime minister invited dozens of women -- including numerous call girls and exotic dancers -- to dinners at his villa near Milan.

The prime minister's supporters say these were "peaceful, elegant" dinners, filled with intelligent banter and beautiful music. But prosecutors say they have testimony proving that these meals descended into bacchanalian sex- and alcohol-fueled "bunga bunga" orgies.

A former glamor model, whose telephone calls were tapped by the police, reportedly described how women dressed as nurses and police officers stripped and rubbed themselves against the premier and his cronies.

It was a "scene of desolation, cheap vulgarity, a caricature; he really is sick," she said, according to a transcript cited by The Telegraph.

Among the Italian leader's guests was a young Moroccan runaway called Karima el-Mahroug, who went by the nickname Ruby the Heart Stealer, according to prosecutors. They allege that Berlusconi started paying Mahroug for sex when she was 17.

Although prostitution is legal in Italy, having sex with a prostitute under the age of 18 is a crime, punishable by a maximum jail term of three years. It is expected that Berlusconi's legal team will argue that the young Moroccan is older than indicated on her official documents.

Mahroug -- who has since turned 18 -- says she did not sleep with Berlusconi. But she admits that the prime minister paid $9,700 the first time she attended a party last spring. The belly dancer says Berlusconi handed her the cash after she told him about her money woes. The young woman's former roommate, however, has told prosecutors that she confided in her and confessed to having a sexual relationship with the premier.

Berlusconi's involvement with Mahroug is alleged to have continued after the parties ended. Last May, she was arrested on suspicion of stealing $4,200 from a friend and held at a Milan police station. Because she was a minor, police should have passed her over to local care workers, who would look after her while officers investigated the charges. But according to prosecution documents, Berlusconi phoned a senior official working for Milan's police chief and asked that Mahroug not be released to social services.

She was then handed over to Nicole Minetti -- a onetime showgirl who attracted the attention of Berlusconi and was elected to Lombardy's regional assembly earlier this year. Minetti has since been placed under investigation on suspicion of supplying prostitutes for Berlusconi's "bunga bunga" parties. She denies any wrongdoing.

If the phone call took place as prosecutors claim, Berlusconi may have abused his position -- an offense under Italian law that carries a jail term of up to 12 years. His supporters have argued that the prime minister made the call because, at the time, he believed the girl was the niece of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and he was keen to avoid an international incident. Prosecutors say that Milan police had already established that Mahroug was the daughter of Moroccan immigrants living in Sicily.

Milan Judge Cristina di Censo now has five days to make a decision on how to proceed. She could approve or dismiss the prosecutors' request or refer it to another court. Berlusconi's lawyers say the case shouldn't be handled by a civilian court but by a special tribunal set up to deal with alleged offenses by government officials.

Remarkably, despite the thick air of scandal surrounding Berlusconi -- he could also be hit with three corruption and fraud cases in the coming months -- he still has a firm hold on power. A recent poll conducted for Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera showed that public support for his People of Freedom party increased from 27.6% to 30.2% in December. Support for center-left parties, meanwhile, fell by around 2 percentage points.

That surprising result could be due to the fact that voters realize Berlusconi is the only viable leader capable of lifting the country out of its economic malaise. The parties of the center-left are hopelessly fragmented, and any left-leaning coalition would likely implode soon after taking office.

The only likely replacement candidate from the center-right, meanwhile, is Gianfranco Fini -- onetime leader of the fascistic Northern League party and a former Berlusconi ally. Fini, whose Future and Freedom party left Berlusconi's ruling coalition last November, has renounced his radical ways, but his past might continue to scare off moderate voters.

Fonte: AOL News - Feb 9, 2011 – 10:01 AM