ROME — from www.nytimes.com – A singer in an elite Vatican choir and a jailed Italian public works executive who served as a papal usher were let go by the Vatican this week amid allegations that they were involved in what prosecutors believe was an organized network of gay prostitution, Italian news media reported.
Ghinedu Ehiem, a Nigerian who sang in a choir that performs at St. Peter’s Basilica, was dismissed after the center-left daily newspaper La Repubblica reported Wednesday that he had procured men, including seminarians, for Angelo Balducci [pictured], a former member of the board of Italy’s public works department who was arrested and jailed last month on corruption charges.
After his arrest, Mr. Balducci was removed from his Vatican post in The Gentlemen of His Holiness, an elite group of ushers who serve at the Apostolic Palace when visiting dignitaries meet the pope, the ANSA news agency reported Thursday, citing Vatican sources.
The reports emerged as part of a sweeping investigation into corruption in the awarding of public works contracts by Italy’s Civil Protection Agency. Mr. Balducci, a consultant to the Vatican on major construction projects, is one of four people to be jailed in the inquiry, which has dealt a serious blow to the well-respected director of the Civil Protection Agency, Guido Bertolaso.
In wiretapped phone conversations leaked to the news media, people with business before the agency are heard organizing parties for Mr. Bertolaso, complete with beautiful young women believed to be to his liking. Mr. Bertolaso is under investigation but has not been charged with a crime.
But nothing quite compares to the reports of a gay prostitution ring that emerged this week. Citing a police document drawing on intercepted phone conversations, La Repubblica reported Wednesday that Mr. Ehiem procured men for Mr. Balducci. In one conversation, the paper quotes Mr. Balducci as asking Mr. Ehiem, “At what time does he have to return to the seminary?”
Over more than a year of taped conversations, Mr. Ehiem described the physiques of various men to Mr. Balducci. “I have a situation from Naples,” Mr. Ehiem says in one conversation, according to La Repubblica. “I have a situation from Cuba,” he says in another, continuing with “a German who just arrived from Germany,” “two black guys,” “the soccer player” and “the dancer for the RAI” state broadcaster.
It was not immediately possible to reach Mr. Ehiem’s lawyer. Mr. Ehiem, who the Vatican said was not a member of any religious order, told Panorama magazine that he had met Mr. Balducci through an Italian friend who had worked as an escort, ANSA reported Thursday. Mr. Ehiem accused magistrates of “ruining his life,” it added.
Mr. Balducci, who is married, has said he is innocent of the corruption charges. His lawyer, Franco Coppi, who successfully defended a former prime minister, Giulio Andreotti, against charges of Mafia dealings, told the news agency that it was “shameful” for newspapers to publish conversations unrelated to the investigation. He added that he and Mr. Balducci had “laughed” when they learned of the sex allegations.