Prosecutors to question Berlusconi over extortion plot

ROME, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Italian prosecutors want to question former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi again about whether he was extorted by a former aide.

Berlusconi has been called for questioning Aug. 13, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. Investigators want to talk to him about allegations Marcello Dell'Utri blackmailed him to keep silent about the ex-premier's relations with the mafia.

Berlusconi failed to attend a meeting with prosecutors last month, saying he had to attend to official business. He is not under investigation.

Dell'Utri's conviction for helping the mafia was overturned by Italy's supreme court in March on grounds his legal rights had been violated. The court ordered a retrial.

He was sentenced to seven years in prison after the first trial.

Berlusconi's daughter was questioned last week. In 2003 she made two loans totaling more than 1.1 million euros to Dell'Utri from an account she held jointly with her father.