39-year-old arrested in Palermo in fake carabiniere fraud; jewellery recovered
A 39-year-old man has been arrested in Palermo for robbery and fraud after stealing jewellery from an elderly woman using the fake carabiniere scheme.
Fake carabiniere fraud "jewellery expert" arrested in Palermo
A 39-year-old man has been arrested in Palermo on charges of robbery and fraud as accomplices, following an operation by personnel from the General Prevention Office and Public Assistance of the State Police. This is reported by questure.poliziadistato.it, clarifying that the detainee is the operational operative of a gang still in the process of being identified.
The victim, a Palermo resident who was alone in her home, had been contacted by telephone by a self-styled carabiniere. The man had suggested to her the necessity of having her jewellery examined to clear her partner of suspicion of theft from a jewellery shop.
Shortly afterwards, still under the telephone guidance of the fake officer, the woman received a visit from an alleged jewellery expert — the arrested 39-year-old — who proceeded with an "inspection" of the jewellery. According to the established pattern of this type of fraud, the false expert then sought to distance the victim from her valuables under a pretext.
However, the woman intuited the man's real intentions and attempted to stop him, engaging in a struggle before the criminal could seize the jewellery and flee. Though overpowered, the victim called loudly for help to her neighbours. One of them intervened on the stairs, intercepting the fleeing man and slowing his escape.
Within minutes a patrol from the General Prevention Office and Public Assistance reached the building and definitively apprehended the 39-year-old, placing him under arrest. The jewellery was recovered and returned to its rightful owner, still shaken by what had occurred.
Investigations are continuing to identify the members of the gang. As the source clarifies, criminal responsibility for the conduct contested will be definitively established only with a possible final sentence, in accordance with the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)