Monica Guasti, ex owner of the travel agency “Le Sartoriali del Viaggio” located on Corso Mazzini, is facing a year of imprisonment and a fine of 750 euros. The honorary prosecutor accuses her of embezzlement. According to the prosecution, in 2017 she allegedly appropriated the sum of 16,221.89 euros that Roberto Esposito, a client, had given her for the reservation of a travel package to Papua New Guinea. The judge will decide on January 17th.
Roberto’s trip was the most expensive. Once he arrived in Papua New Guinea, the tour operator surprised him by stating that the trip had not been paid for. The client had to reach into his wallet and pay again. Meanwhile, Roberto passed away, and his wife also passed away in July of this year. The two children have filed a civil lawsuit through their lawyer, Attilio Raco from Milan. They are seeking compensation in the amount of 18,000 euros. The lawyer for the civil party then requested that, “considering the seriousness of the conduct,” in the event of a possible conviction with the benefits of the law, the suspension of the sentence be granted “on the condition that Guasti at least partially compensates the civil parties.” On her part, the defense, represented by lawyer Sonia Masserdotti, focused on the lack of intent and requested acquittal.
Essentially, the trip had been booked and already paid for by Esposito, but the services were not paid. “Everything was managed by Guasti,” witnesses said during the proceedings. “In the agency, money was needed to cover the holes left by other trips.” The same lawyer Raco emphasized that “at that time, the agency was in an economic crisis.”
In April 2021, Guasti, who was in trouble for allegedly embezzling clients’ money, was sentenced to eight months of suspended sentence for forging a bill of exchange, and acquitted of the charge of embezzlement concerning 4,824 euros that had been given to her as reimbursement for a canceled trip to Chile, French Polynesia, and Japan, and were never delivered to the client.
The travel agency was inaugurated with great pomp on January 14, 2017. In May 2018, it closed down: the company was delinquent for several months, owing approximately 70,000 euros. There were also complaints, unpaid employees, and creditors. The defendant was accused of appropriating clients’ money to pay off the suppliers she owed instead of paying the tour operators. In the end, the clients were compensated, and as a result, the complaints were withdrawn.
