More Berlusconi tapes revealed

 Conversations between Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and an Italian fugitive hiding in Panama are only the tip of the iceberg of scores of thousands taped by Italian  prosecutors.

The Panama connection is Valter Lavitola, involved in Panama Government deals to purchase Italian helicopters for $333.3 million without a bid process. He is now wanted to face extortion charges as he and associates tried to get more than a million dollars from Berlusconi in return for their silence about the hiring of prostitutes for Bunga Bunga parties. Conversations  with Berlusconi have been traced to Lavitola's cell phone in Panama.  

Now European newspapers have released more details of the scandal. It’s not known if the latest exposure is connected with Lavitola.

The First Post  reports:

Berlusconi has been heard on tape bragging about having sex with eight women in a single night – and lamenting the fact that he didn't have the stamina to manage another three.

The recording, leaked to the Italian media, is one of 100,000 telephone conversations taped by Italian prosecutors investigating allegations that Berlusconi was provided prostitutes by convicted cocaine dealer Gianpaolo Tarantini, his wife and six other individuals.

"Last night I had a queue outside my door," Berlusconi tells Tarantini in a recording from New Year's Day 2009. "There were 11 of them. I only managed to do eight of them, I couldn't manage any more. You just can't get round to all of them. But this morning I feel great, I'm pleased with my stamina."

The vast stash of recordings includes other damaging conversations. As the Sunday Telegraph reports, the tapes suggest that Berlusconi did give money to the women who had sex with him, despite the PM's repeated insistence to the contrary. Berlusconi tells Tarantini in an October 2008 recording not to worry about paying the women too much, adding that they were already "well looked after".

The taped conversations also allegedly suggest that Italy's leader invited the 25-year-old glamour model Marysthell Polanco to accompany him on a plane trip from Rome to Milan. Opposition leaders have called for an urgent inquiry into whether Berlusconi abused his political position and used taxpayers' money and state-owned planes to fly girls around the country.

Also included in the transcripts are names of around 30 women who allegedly slept with Berlusconi in 2008-09 for money or other favours. Those names include the Argentine-born TV presenter and model Belen Rodriguez  who recently appeared in a Miss Sixty jeans campaign on London's Underground.

The latest revelations do not come at a good time for the 74-year-old PM. Berlusconi is already accused of paying for sex with a minor and abusing his office. More urgently, however, he is also struggling to keep Italy's economy's afloat.

Last week Berlusconi got an €54bn austerity package through parliament, triggering angry protests and increasing domestic pressure. More than just a distraction, however, these recordings may be actively damaging Italy's standing: last week, the country's relations with key eurozone player Germany took a knock when it emerged from another leaked phone transcript that Berlusconi had called Angela Merkel an "unbeddable lard-arse".

Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the Italy's lower house and a former ally of Berlusconi, led the calls for the prime minister's resignation. "No one understands why the premier is dedicating a good deal of his time to questions not related to fighting the economic crisis and relaunching the economy."