Silvio Berlusconi and the Bunga Bunga Parties
In May 2010, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy called a police station in Milan and demanded the release of an underage Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby, who was being held on suspicion of theft. To hasten her release, Berlusconi reportedly indicated that she was a relative of then Egyptian President Mubarak. (She is not.) Ruby, whose real name is Karima El Mahroug, has since recounted stories of sexually explicit so-called "bunga bunga" parties at the Prime Minister's private villa in Milan. On April 6, Berlusconi, 74, was put on trial and accused of paying the then-17-year-old El Mahroug for sex and abusing his political position to cover it up; the trial was immediately adjourned until May 31. This is not the first time that Berlusconi has been linked to younger women; his wife Veronica Lario sought a divorce in 2009 over his tendency to "frequent minors," citing his attendance at an 18-year-old aspiring showgirl's birthday party.