Italian politician 'forced secretary to sign contract which required her to have sex with him at least four times a month

Luigi de Fanis, 53, who currently faces charges of bribery and corruption, is alleged to have offered Lucia Zingariello a salary of 36,000 euros (£30,000) in return for sexual favours

An Italian councillor has been accused of making his secretary sign a contract which required her to have sex with him 'at least four times a month'.

Luigi de Fanis, 53, who currently faces charges of bribery and corruption, is alleged to have offered mother-of-one Lucia Zingariello an annual salary of 36,000 euros (£30,000) in return for sexual favours.

De Fanis, a regional councillor in Abruzzo, and Zingariello are already under investigation for extortion, embezzlement and aggravated fraud.

The latest development comes after police found a copy of the contract at the 32-year-old secretary's house while they were conducting a search, according to La Repubblica.

Although the agreement had been ripped up and put in a bin, investigators were eventually able to piece it together again - only to discover Zingariello had to 'be together' with de Fanis about once a week.

She had been put under house arrest last month for being an accomplice in the Centre-right politician's bribery of small firms in the cultural sector.

Zingariello admitted she had honoured the contract, adding she accepted the three-day-a-week position after quitting her permanent healthcare job to care for her poorly mother.

 

'The councillor was obsessed by me. He forced me to sign it. I couldn't say no. I was afraid,' Zingariello told police.

'I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. Now my life is a nightmare,' she said.

De Fanis has confessed to having an affair with Zingariello but denies forcing her into sexual encounters.

SOURCE-DAILYM