Another phone call to an elderly woman, the story always the same: “Your son was in an accident, we need money for legal fees, the lawyer will come by to pick them up.”
This time, however, the self-styled lawyer, who obviously wasn’t one, was arrested on the afternoon of Wednesday 18 September in Strozza, in the entrance hall of the building where the person who was supposed to be the victim of the scam lived, which instead was decisive for the action of the carabinieri.
The suspicious phone call
The 92-year-old, as reported today (Friday, September 20) by The Echo of Bergamoaround 3:30 PM he had received a call from a fake marshal on his landline. The script used on this occasion too said that his son had caused a serious car accident, he was fine but, since the others involved were injured, money was needed immediately for the lawyer. A certain Bianchi, who would be passing by shortly to collect at least two thousand euros, as specified by the criminal on the other end.
To make sure that there were enough – the fake soldier’s recommendation – she should have collected all the cash she had at home. An undoubtedly unusual request, which made both the lady and the friend who was with her suspicious. Reason why, she called the Zogno carabinieri, who told her to open the door to the fake lawyer and have him come up to her, because they would be nearby and would intervene immediately.
The arrest of the fake lawyer
Shortly after, a 22-year-old Neapolitan rang the doorbell of the boarding house, and she opened the gate for him. While he was on the stairs to get to his apartment, however, the fake lawyer heard the door downstairs closing again: in doubt as to whether he had fallen into a trap, he went back, but was stopped by the soldiers downstairs, who arrested him.
It was thus discovered that he had arrived in the town of Valle Imagna with a rented Peugeot, seized along with two cell phones, one of which was used to communicate with the accomplice, who was most likely the real mastermind of the scam. Last morning, in court he availed himself of the right to remain silent regarding the charges against him, but he said he was sorry for what had happened. With a clean criminal record and a high school diploma, he said he was unemployed.
Very often, in fact, the masterminds of these scams, in many cases belonging to organized groups, recruit people who need money to send to the North as laborers, while they make the phone calls from the base. The prosecution has requested house arrest and the judge has ordered a ban on residence in the Bergamo area. The trial has been adjourned to October 10.
