PRESS RELEASE
Catania, 23.11.2020
FRAUD AT THE CEMETERY OF CATANIA. ACCUSED UNTRACEABLE, POSTPONED THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIAL.
The first hearing of the trial for the alleged fraud at the Catania Cemetery was held today, in which the accused, a former employee of the Municipality of Catania -Servizi Cimiteriali e Funebri- and S.A.G., owner of a construction company, were charged with the crime of aggravated fraud. The former employee is also charged with the offence of false documents committed by a public official.
The Court of Catania – Criminal Section I – postponed the start of the trial due to the unavailability of S.G., (for which new searches have been ordered), and due to the lack of notification of S.A.G.
The facts originate from the complaint filed by the victim B.P., assisted by Law Firm Pipitone.
The reconstruction of the case in brief.
B.P., with advancing age, had decided to carry out all the formalities necessary to guarantee his family a dignified burial in the Catania Cemetery.
After making contact with S.G., at the time a municipal employee in charge of the Cemetery and Funeral Service, the latter – abusing the ingenuity and the state of necessity of the unsuspecting B.P. – offered him the possibility of “buying” an eight-seater tomb, taking over an expired concession. Placing his full trust in the public official, B.P. used his life savings to “buy” the concession and pay for the construction of the new family tomb. In fact, it paid over 12,000 euros in cash in the operation.
Unfortunately, when he applied to the Municipality for “extumulation”, the last act before transferring his wife to the new tomb, he learned that he had been the victim of a fraud. The permission certificate that had been given to him by the municipal employee, complete with stamps and signatures, in fact, was false.
Today, 5 years after the event, the first hearing of the criminal trial was held, postponed due to the failure to notify S.G., who had been dismissed by the Municipality and who had become unavailable.
The trial was set for May 5, 2021 and November 22, 2021.
Unfortunately, it is with great regret that it is announced that B.P. passed away in 2019.
Still waiting to see if he will ever be able to use that space.
Besides the damage, the mockery.
