Italy governor quits amid transsexual scandal 

The opposition governor of the Italian region of Lazio stepped aside on Saturday, citing "personal weaknesses" amid an investigation into charges four police blackmailed him over a video of him with a transsexual.

Piero Marrazzo, of the centre-left Democratic Party, said in a statement he was suspending himself from office immediately and had opened procedures that could lead to his permanent resignation. Four members of the National Guard police, arrested this week on charges including the attempted blackmail of Marrazzo, testified before a judge on Saturday.

State news agency Ansa quoted the magistrates who signed their arrest order as saying the video showed Marrazzo with a transsexual inside an apartment. Several national newspapers reported they had been approached to buy the video, showing two half-naked men.

"It is no longer appropriate for me to remain in charge of the region," said Marrazzo, who had initially denied a blackmail video existed.

"This is a private matter influenced by my inherent personal weaknesses."

Pro-government newspapers in Italy had compared the scandal to allegations by prostitute Patrizia D'Addario this summer that she had slept with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after a party at his residence in November.

D'Addario's allegations, which included recordings of her with a man she said was the prime minister, hit the conservative premier's ratings with his core Catholic voters and overshadowed his preparations for a G8 summit in July.

The Il Giornale newspaper, owned by Berlusconi's brother, ran several pages on the Marrazzo scandal on Saturday, saying it showed the centre-left's moral double standards and the need for greater respect for public figures' private lives.

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