On the heels of accusations that Italian PM Berlusconi used state aircraft to fly showgirls and musicians to his villa in Sardinia, a new scandal has broken out involving escorts.

Corrriere Della Sera has published an interview with a former model and escort named Patrizia D'Addario who alleges that she was paid to attend Berlusconi's parties. D'Addario also claims she made secret audio and video recordings in Berlusconi's bedroom. She says she made them so that "nobody can deny I had been there."

Ms D'Addario's footage is currently being examined by Italian magistrates.

Berlusconi is drawing a blank when it comes to Ms D'Addario... he has told aides he has no memory of her. Odd considering that she was put forward as a candidate for the European and municipal elections on behalf of the Peoples of Liberty - Berlusconi's party.

D'Addario's political prospects were shelved when the PM's wife, Veronica Lario, blasted her husband's promotion of showgirls as "shameless rubbish." This was around the same time when she also complained that he "frequented minors."

The PM's memory lapse is even odder if you go along with Ms D'Addario's version of events ... events that involve a Bari-based middleman named Giampaolo Tarantini. Ms D'Addario described Mr Tarantini's recruitment of girls for Berlusconi as an "induction into prostitution."

It is alleged that payments were made to at least four women by Tarantini. Recordings were obtained via wiretaps in the course of a separate investigation into business corruption. They include calls during which Tarantini allegedly negotiated payments and made travel arrangements with the women he had recruited for the Berlusconi events.

Patrizia D'Addario asked for €2,000 for her services. She was flown to the big event. Prior to showing up at Berlusconi's Rome residence, Palazzo Grazioli, she was put up in a luxury hotel.

A Guardian article describes Ms D'Addario's recollection of events:

"He [Berlusconi] showed us videos of his meeting with [President George] Bush and photos of his [Sardinian] villa. He sang and told jokes," she said, adding she "realised she had made an impression" on him. However, she said she returned to her hotel for the night and was paid only €1,000 "because I didn't stay". She claimed she was invited back with two other women several weeks later on the night of the US presidential election, on which occasion she claimed Berlusconi asked her to stay.

D'Addario said on both evenings she made secret audio recordings in which the prime minister's voice could be heard...

Berlusconi's lawyer, Niccolò Ghedini, is dismissive of these claims. However his explanations risk fueling rather than diminishing speculations. He told Corriere della Sera: "It seems a bit over the top to think that Berlusconi needs to pay €2,000 for a girl to go with him. He could have them in large numbers for free."

Ghedini went further and said that even if the allegations were true, Berlusconi would be an "unwitting party" since he "couldn't have known" women had been paid to attend the parties. In other words Berlusconi would be a blameless "end user" in Ghedini's eyes.

Comments attributed to former French President, Jacques Chirac, would suggest there isn't anything new about Berlusconi's interest in models and escorts.

While he was on an official state visit to Italy, Chirac paid a visit to Berlusconi's villa. He noticed some porn magazines and asked why they were lying around. Berlusconi reportedly leafed through a magazine... pointed to various models and said "I've had her... this one... and I've had that one too."

Ms D'Addario stopped showing up at Palazzo Grazioli when Berlusconi failed to follow through on a promise to help her with a building project. She also found herself locked out of a Bari council election rally - even though she was a candidate affiliated with Berlusconi's party.

Related Guardian article - here.