Italy: Silvio Berlusconi sex scandal deepens

Rome: Prosecutors say an Italian businessman recruited about 30 girls to attend parties at Premier Silvio Berlusconi's homes, selecting them for their looks and age and paying some of them to have sex with the Italian leader.

They allege that between September 2008 and May 2009 Gianpaolo Tarantini recruited women of "young age, slender frame," and told them what to wear and how to behave at the parties, according to a newly filed court document.

The prosecutors have now wrapped up their investigation into Tarantini's activities. Berlusconi is not under investigation in the case.

However, the revelations are proving a further embarrassment for the scandal-plagued leader. "Italy deserves better," La Stampa newspaper said in an editorial on Friday.