Bergamo. “I had accompanied my grandmother to the post office because she wanted to unlock some money. So, in case she needed it or something happened to her, I could access that bank account.” Filomena Iacobellis, 64 years old, the woman who lived with the elderly person defrauded by Antonio Buccinà, 40 years old, former employee of Poste Italiane at the time of the events, employed as a consultant at the headquarters in via Locatelli in Bergamo, is speaking. In reality, the elderly person, who was 92 years old in the summer of 2019 and subsequently deceased, was not a relative of the witness. “She lived with me and my family, we loved her dearly, she was like a mother to me and for my children, she was like a grandmother,” explained Iacobellis, making spontaneous statements before the judging panel.
“She deposited 10,000 euros into a bank account and then opened a second one, where she put another 10,000 euros that she had unlocked at the post office. The day the police came to our house, I was very upset because I didn’t know anything about what was happening. The officers showed me documents with a signature that was not mine.” Antonio Buccinà was accused of draining the bank accounts of the 92-year-old woman and an elderly couple aged 68 and 69, withdrawing a total of 170,300 euros using a series of stratagems. He was sentenced to 4 years in an expedited trial, which was later confirmed on appeal. The decision of the Court of Cassation is awaited.
Now on trial are F.M.A., a 57-year-old Calabrian, E.C., a 62-year-old Calabrian, and V.Z.L.T., a 53-year-old Ivorian: they all have to answer for the crime of handling stolen goods. According to the accusation, they allegedly carried out operations aimed at “obstructing the identification of the criminal origin of the money” that came from the accounts of the two spouses and the 92-year-old woman. It was Buccinà himself who made out several checks in their name.
The Ivorian woman, after receiving various transfers from E.C. totaling 47,300 euros, is accused of making numerous withdrawals, making purchases at various commercial establishments, and spending more money in casinos in Switzerland and Slovenia. During the hearing on Tuesday, February 6th, the 20-year-old daughter of the woman testified as a witness. “I met E.C. because he came to our house in Asti once. My mother had met him on Facebook and a friendship had developed. Then she had gone to visit him for a few days in Calabria, where she said she had been deceived. He had taken her ATM card and Postepay card without her knowledge and had used them in various stores, including casinos. My mother doesn’t drink, smoke, or gamble. She told us this only later because she was ashamed.” In the next hearing, scheduled for May 28th, the defendant will be heard with the support of an interpreter because, as her daughter stated, “despite living in Italy for 18 years, she still doesn’t speak the language well.” Do you want to stay updated with the latest news from Bergamonews? Click on this link and join our WhatsApp channel, where you can receive the most important news of the day.
© All rights reserved Do you want to read BergamoNews without advertisements? Subscribe!
