Berlusconi Gets Court Date in Wiretapping Case

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is facing another trial and another scandal. On Tuesday, a Milan court indicted the politician and mogul in a phone-tapping case.

Italian prosecutors say Berlusconi illegally leaked the transcript of a wiretapped phone call related to the attempted takeover of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in 2005. Details of the call, which took place between Piero Fassino -- then the leader of the opposition Democrats of the Left party and the prime minster's rival -- and the insurer Unipol -- appeared in the Il Giornale newspaper, which is owned by Berlusconi's brother.

Berlusconi is no stranger to the courtroom. The billionaire is already in the middle of thee other trials -- one for corruption, one for tax fraud and one for paying for sex with an underage prostitute -- and he has been accused of a raft of crimes in the past, including fraud, perjury, bribery and Mafia connections.

“This umpteenth trial will end up in nothing as all the other ones,” Berlusconi's confident lawyer, Niccolo Ghedini, told the ANSA newswire, adding that the claims were “incredible.

On Tuesday, Berlusconi denied listening to the taped conversation and blasted the allegations as a political persecution.

It's yet another good shot fired by the Milan Tribunal, Ghedini added.

Berlusconi bowed to popular demand and resigned as prime minister in November during the worst of Italy's financial crisis. His wiretapping trial is slated to begin on March 15.