One of the largest homeowners in Petersburg - a millionaire, a citizen of Italy Giuseppe Botstsolasko - part of his commodity is located in the prestigious real estate and has consistently delivered it to the people organizing intimate salons in there. Some of them are related to the scandalous stories about the arrest of a group of policemen, accused of organizing dens. Signor Botstsolasko himself contends that he does not know who is doing what in his rented apartments.
Recently the head of the Housing Cooperative "Shpalernaya, 26", Mr. Mikhailov turned to the police, on behalf of members of the partnership (i.e. tenants). It would be an exaggeration to say that the complaints of the residents of the house (with a decent cost of one square meter) are striking with novelty. They are worried about the activity of the inhabitants of the apartment № 5.
According to their observations, pretty young ladies come in this apartment daily. In the evenings there are men coming - well dressed, riding good cars. Men spend in the apartment for several hours, while the ladies - much longer. And they do so every day. That is, continuously. The ladies are usually the same, while the men are mostly different. Tenants have a clear understanding oа what is going on there. They do not want to live next to sex-services salon, which the common people call a brothel.
It would be an ordinary episode, if not the name of the owner of the apartment - Giuseppe Botstsolasko.
There is a curious trend in the business of Botstsolasko. An outside observer may be surprised by the fact that apartments belonging to the Italian Signor are used for intimate salons so frequently.
Of course, journalists did not investigate all the 100 Petersburg facilities that had ever belonged to Giuseppe Botstsolasko, but the addresses of some of them can be easily found through one of the most untwisted Petersburg sites, specializing in commercial sexual services.
For example, a network of showrooms La Scala offers two addresses: on the Nevsky, 63, and Nekrasova, 6. And on Bolshoy Prospekt PS, 77 an intimate VIP salon is advertised. Strangely enough, all of those intimate lounges are located in those apartments owned by Signor. The only exception is the salon on Nekrasov, 6: in the spring of 2007 the corresponding apartment has got a new owner - a co-owner of OOO "Alex" (a chain of mini-hotels), Alexander Pirogov. However, all the three addresses have been appearing in the list of pleasant recreation for many years. That intimate salon on Shpalernaya appeared relatively recently – thus the tenants were apparently unused to it and complained to the police.
But the connection of the real estate in St. Petersburg by Signor Botstsolasko with prostitution is much more serious than it might seem on the basis of already written.
One can not say Giuseppe Botstsolasko is popular at home. His image can be described as restrained and respectable. In the Italian business press his name appears only as the owner of the company BO.VA Sas di Bozzolasco Giuseppe & C, which carries out repair works of aqueducts in the Commune di Cuneo under the regular municipal contract. This is a good and strong status for 63-year-old businessman from a small village Prieur, which population is not much more than 500 people.
But there is another business biography of Signor Botstsolasko. Even "Yandex" does not know about it. At various times, in our town, he owned about a hundred apartments and nonresidential buildings. They were mainly located in the most prestigious places of St. Petersburg: on Nevsky Prospekt, at Bolshoy Prospekt, on Ligovsky and Moscoмылн Prospekt, on the Fontanka embankment. Some of these apartments have been transferred to a non-residential fund by legal methods - there are offices of commercial structures. All the facilities are leased to private individuals and firms. Today Signor Botstsolasko owns about two dozen of the St. Petersburg apartments. Botstsolasko began building his business empire in 1995; according to conservative estimates, its total value could easily amount to tens of millions of euros.
Generally, in the St. Petersburg business community, Signor Botstsolasko is the founder of OOO “Dinas Plus”. But if you call this firm listed in the statement of EGRYuL, you will be told that there is no any "Dinas" trhere, but another company - "Lady Invest», also belonging to Giuseppe Botstsolasko. They reply in the company of a romantic name that they are engaged in real estate and do not need any advertising. But it is curious that the number of the building indicated is the same as the one on the sex- services site: Nevsky, 63.
However, this address is a business center with all sorts of offices. For example, at the entrance there are signs hanging of such respected companies as a chain of mini-hotels "Alex" (belonging to the co-owner of"Alex" Alexander Pirogov apartment on Nekrasov, 6, is one of the sex-shop chains La Scala) and the firm “Limokars" engaged in renting limousines. Interestingly, since March 2008 - someone named Konstantin Sobenin has been Director General of the elusive OOO “Dinas Plus". He is a very famous person; in particular, he is known as the CEO of an actively developing hotel chain in St. Petersburg SokoHotels and vice president of the Association of Mini-hotels in Saint Petersburg.
Thus, Signor Botstsolasko has a very serious approach to recruitment in his business area.
Giuseppe Botstsolasko did not dodge from communicating with journalists - indeed; he came to our editors kindly, along with an interpreter.
According to Signor Botstsolasko, the first time he appeared in Russia was in the early 90's at the invitation of a construction company. At that time, the main driving force pushing him into our territory was curiosity. But soon enough the Italian businessman discovered a niche where he could earn. That was numerous communal apartments in St. Petersburg, since the mid 90's, Giuseppe Botstsolasko has been resettling them, making a good repair, and then reselling or renting them out.
By his own admission, his first kommunalka was a large apartment on Nevsky Prospect, the profitability of investments in it was 30 percent in 1995. Then, according to our interlocutor, the profitability of investments in real estate in St. Petersburg began to fall. Until the late 90's it remained at 20 percent and now amounts to about 5 percent, and therefore Signor Botstsolasko stopped buying new communal appartments.
Giuseppe Botstsolasko is very proud of his business. He argues that he invests big money in repairs of the resettled communal flats, thus he obtains luxurious apartments, the appearance of which, he said, is worth to come and enjoy it.
According to Botstsolasko, he invests in real estate not only in Russia but also in Italy, Ukraine, and Romania, and even in Kenya. He estimates the total value of all of his businesses at 60 million euros. At the same time in Italy, until recently, he had a firm that was engaged in construction business and waste, and in St. Petersburg he owns three hotels, in addition to two dozen apartments. Today, the Italian businessman sees the main benefit not in renting but in selling them after the resettlement and good repair.
Giuseppe Botstsolasko did not avoid unpleasant issues related to the placement of a few brothels in the apartments belonging to him. According to him, he never asks his clients about what they are going to do in his apartment - the Italian upbringing does not allow him to do so. Our interlocutor argues that the leases, which he usually proposes to sign, always contain a condition on which the tenants must comply with Russian law. Signor Botstsolasko also rightly observed that if a brothel gets located in his apartment, then first of all, this issue should disturb not him, but the St. Petersburg police.
