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CRIME

An Italian man posed as a prince to get free luxury holidays – and meet Pamela Anderson

Italian police said on Wednesday they had tracked down a man who posed as a Montenegrin prince in order to get free luxury holidays and meet influential figures.

Published: 14 June 2017 17:01 CEST
An Italian man posed as a prince to get free luxury holidays - and meet Pamela Anderson
A Montenegrin flag. Photo: gilmanshin/Depositphotos

In reality, the suspect was a 57-year-old from Trieste, but he assumed the identity of a Montenegrin prince – despite the fact Montenegro has not been a monarchy since the end of the First World War.

The disguises allowed the 'prince' not only to blag travel freebies, but to arrange meetings with leading businessmen and religious authorities, police said.

A search of his Turin home revealed fake diplomatic passes and documents, including the knighthoods and other honours he bestowed on many of those he met.

Even actress and animal rights campaigner Pamela Anderson fell for the fraud, and was named 'Imperial Countess' by the fake prince in June 2015.

The moment Pamela Anderson became an 'Imperial Countess'.

A Facebook page and website – which includes a disclaimer in which he sets out his perceived right to use the title – helped him boost his profile. On the website, he is pictured with Italian mayors, high-ranking cardinals, and even some of Monaco's royal family.

These figures were attracted by the prince's “granting of knighthoods and diplomatic passports (always false) and alleged economic cultural exchanges with Montenegro,” police said in a statement quoted in the Brindisi Report.

Prosecutors labelled the fraud a “pantomime”, but it was nothing if not thorough: the man reportedly hired an accomplice to act as his valet, and travelled in a Mercedes with diplomatic registration plates.

Police began the probe in August 2016 after the suspect was spotted in Puglia with a car bearing the insignia of the Republic of Montenegro. On that trip, he was able to enjoy a two-week stay in a luxury resort and had meetings with high profile figures from the worlds of business and politics.

Both the 'prince' and his valet were on Wednesday charged for false declaration of identity, and possession and manufacture of forged identity documents, Repubblica reported. 

 

 

 

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POLITICS

Italy’s Liguria regional president arrested in corruption probe

The president of Italy's northwest Liguria region and the ex-head of Genoa's port were among 10 arrested on Tuesday in a sweeping anti-corruption investigation which also targeted officials for alleged mafia ties.

Published: 7 May 2024 12:52 CEST
Italy's Liguria regional president arrested in corruption probe

Liguria President Giovanni Toti, a right-wing former MEP who was close to late prime minister Silvio Berlusconi but is no longer party aligned, was placed under house arrest, Genoa prosecutors said in a statement.

The 55-year-old is accused of having accepted 74,100 euros in funds for his election campaign between December 2021 and March 2023 from prominent local businessmen, Aldo Spinelli and his son Roberto Spinelli, in return for various favours.

These allegedly included seeking to privatise a public beach and speeding up the renewal for 30 years of the lease of a Genoa port terminal to a Spinelli family-controlled company, which was approved in December 2021.

A total of 10 people were targeted in the probe, also including Paolo Emilio Signorini, who stepped down last year as head of the Genoa Port Authority, one of the largest in Italy. He was being held in jail on Tuesday.

He is accused of having accepted from Aldo Spinelli benefits including cash, 22 stays in a luxury hotel in Monte Carlo – complete with casino chips, massages and beauty treatments – and luxury items including a 7,200-euro Cartier bracelet.

The ex-port boss, who went on to lead energy group Iren, was also promised a 300,000-euro-a-year job when his tenure expires, prosecutors said.

In return, Signorini was said to have granted Aldo Spinelli favours including also working to speed up the renewal of the family’s port concession.

The Spinellis are themselves accused of corruption, with Aldo – an ex-president of the Genoa and Livorno football clubs – placed under house arrest and his son Roberto temporarily banned from conducting business dealings.

In a separate strand of the investigation, Toti’s chief of staff, Matteo Cozzani, was placed under house arrest accused of “electoral corruption” which facilitated the activities of Sicily’s Cosa Nostra Mafia.

As regional coordinator during local elections in 2020, he was accused of promising jobs and public housing in return for the votes of at least 400 Sicilian residents of Genoa.

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