Sentences sought for Berlusconi friends for pimping

Italian prosecutors in Milan today requested seven-year prison sentences for three associates of Silvio Berlusconi accused of pimping for the then prime minister and billionaire tycoon.
The trial of failed showbusiness agent Lele Mora, showgirl-turned-politician Nicole Minetti and sacked television network host Emilio Fede is linked to Berlusconi's own trial which is ongoing.
Berlusconi is accused of having sex with an underage 17-year-old prostitute at one the allegedly raunchy parties he threw at his villa near Milan with the help of Fede, Minetti and Mora.
Prosecutor Pietro Forno also asked that the three be banned from holding political office for life, after he presented final arguments at the trial.

Forno said the three had arranged "orgies" at Berlusconi's mansion and cited the tycoon's ex-wife Veronica Lario who accused her then husband of consorting with "young virgins".
His colleague Antonio Sangermano said the three were like "tasters of fine wine" and had obtained financial advantages from Berlusconi because "they know all the secrets" of those nights.

"They carried out a sort of exam of the capacities of the young women and then injected them into the circuit of soirees," Sangermano said.
Minetti was also an active participant and "performed sexual acts for money," he said.
A verdict in Berlusconi's trial is expected on June 24 and a ruling in the trial of Fede, Mora and Minetti is expected on July 12.