Berlusconi, Probed for Threats to Regulator, Denies Wrongdoing

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denied allegations of abuse of office or threatening a regulator in an effort last year to shut down a political talk show broadcast on state television.

Prosecutors in Trani, Italy, confirmed a report first published by il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper on March 12 that they were investigating the premier. The probe is for alleged abuse of office and using threats or violence against a public official -- a commissioner at the national Communications Authority. The allegations are "not only completely unfounded, but against all common sense and contrary to anything contained in the penal code," Niccolo Ghedini, the prime minister's lawyer, said late yesterday in an e-mailed statement. That the probe should emerge less than a month before regional elections "isn't surprising," Ghedini said. Berlusconi, 73, is the country's biggest media owner. He controls Mediaset SpA, Italy's largest private television broadcaster. He can also influence staffing at RAI, the state broadcaster. Prosecutors recorded telephone calls between Berlusconi and one of eight communications commissioners who called the premier "boss" during the conversations