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, is alleged to have offered Lucia Zingariello, 32, a 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

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.

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

Zingariello, who took the personal assistant position despite the fact she belongs to the [Centre-left] Democratic party, told La Repubblica that she can no longer go into town and that she has received abusive phone calls.



De Fanis's lawyer, Domenico Frattura, told Il Messaggero: 'De Fanis told me [the accusation] is completely groundless. There was a love relationship between the two, with normal confidences and playful acts.'

