The Carabinieri of the Manfredonia (FG) company arrested in flagrante delicto a 21-year-old originally from Naples, accused of having committed an aggravated fraud against a 79-year-old resident of Mattinata.
The elderly woman had been contacted by telephone by a man who, pretending to be a Carabinieri marshal, had told her that her son had been held in the barracks for not having proceeded - due to lack of financial means - to pay off some fines and that it would be possible to release him only upon payment of the sum corresponding to the fines imposed. The woman, again at the request of the fake marshal, had thus collected money and jewels to give - based on the instructions received by telephone - to an emissary who would come to her.
According to the reconstruction of the Carabinieri, the suspect would have shown up at the house, to whom the 79-year-old - who had invited him to enter the house, believing him to be a member of the Police Force - would have handed over 3.000,00 euros in cash and various gold jewelry. The 21-year-old, accompanied by the elderly woman to a second apartment - where they had gone to get more money -, would have fled at the sight of the woman's son, who promptly reported the incident to the military at the Mattinata station.
Some details provided, including the model of the car used by the boy to get away, allowed the Carabinieri to immediately arrange for the vehicle to be searched and to intercept it shortly after in Manfredonia. During a personal and vehicle search, the Carabinieri found all the money and gold belonging to the elderly woman on the suspect, who was taken to the Foggia prison on charges of aggravated fraud and placed under house arrest after the summary trial.
The proceeding is in the preliminary investigation phase and the suspect, whose position is being examined by the Judicial Authority, cannot be considered guilty until a final conviction has been pronounced.
