Italy engulfed in photographers' 'sex and drugs extortion plot'
Friday March 16 2007
In its latest form, it appears that some photographers have realised that they could make more money by suppressing pictures of celebrities than by publishing them.
Fabrizio Corona, who runs a photographic agency, has been arrested for allegedly extorting money in return for compromising pictures.
According to leaks from the investigation, his alleged victims range from Francesco Totti, the AS Roma captain, and David Trezeguet, of Juventus, to Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of Silvio Berlusconi, the media tycoon and former Prime Minister.
Alarm and anger spread through the political establishment yesterday after reports that the alleged targets also included Silvio Sircana, the spokesman for Romano Prodi, the Prime Minister, and Roberto Maroni, a leader of the Northern League and former government minister.
"This is a far cry from the 'Dolce Vita'," said Rino Barillari, the veteran celebrity photographer known as the 'King of the Paparazzi.'
"In those days we snapped VIPs, often in embarrassing circumstances, but we published the results. It never occurred to us to demand money not to publish them."
The director Federico Fellini coined the term Paparazzo as the surname of the photographer in his 1960 film 'La Dolce Vita', played by Walter Santesso.
The decadent world depicted in the film bears some relation to that uncovered by the Corona investigation, which began as a judicial inquiry into allegations that call girls and cocaine were being supplied for A-list celebrity parties in Rome and Milan.
"Nostalgia for the dolce vita era may be a myth, but in a sense they were more innocent times," said 'La Repubblica'.
Investigation
The blackmail scandal came to light this week when newspapers published transcripts of phone calls intercepted during an investigation by Henry John Woodcock, an anti-corruption prosecutor.
Magistrates have questioned several television showgirls who were allegedly blackmailed, including Michelle Hunziker, former wife of Eros Ramazotti, the singer, and Flavia Vento, a TV presenter.
As the storm grew, dominating news bulletins and chat shows, deputies of the Left and Right said that they would unite to push through a law imposing stiffer penalties on newspapers. (© The Times, London)
- Richard Owen
