Witness: Berlusconi parties weren't wild

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ROME, March 16 (UPI) -- A television journalist testified at the trial of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi he gave her a job and more than $1 million.

Silvia Trevaini, 29, said she was a regular attendee at Berlusconi's now-infamous "bunga bunga" parties, where prosecutors said semi-nude women were a common sight. Three Berlusconi aides are charged with recruiting the women Berlusconi allegedly paid to attend.

Treviani said Berlusconi gave her money to help her buy a house, a car and offset losses in her father's construction business, and she said her affiliation with Berlusconi "affected her career," Sky News said Friday.

When asked to clarify she declined to say why her association with Berlusconi was a liability.

At least two women have testified they left the parties mortified at their sexual nature when Berlusconi had promised a simple dinner. Treviani said she never found the parties out of bounds and no money was exchanged for sex.

Treviani called the gatherings "pleasant dinners."

Berlusconi is separately standing trial for allegedly paying a 17-year-old girl, Karima El Mahroug, for sex. Both parties deny the charge.

That trial is currently on hold because Berlusconi was hospitalized for an eye infection, lawyers said.