Alberto Moraglia, the policeman caught by the Financial Police cameras while clocking in in his underwear, was acquitted of fraud charges.
The Labor section of the Court of Appeal of Genoa forced the Municipality of Sanremo not only to reinstate him but also to pay him "as compensation for damages" his overall salary "from the day of dismissal to the day of actual reinstatement". Contributions included. A figure that is around 250 thousand euros considering that Moraglia was fired on 22 January 2016.
The investigation dates back to 22 October 2015, with a raid that remained in the history of the City of Flowers: 43 precautionary measures were notified of which 34 were under house arrest, 8 were required to sign. The employees caught in the act of committing a crime settled: there were those who went shopping but also those who went for a canoe ride. Of these, 16 were sent to trial and 10 were tried and acquitted. They were accused of unjustified absence during office hours. Among these was Alberto Moraglia. Accused of clocking in in his underwear and then going home, the policeman faced the trial confident that he had not done anything criminally relevant.
«It happened to me that I got off duty, got home and remembered that I hadn't clocked in. To avoid getting dressed, I went to swipe my badge even in my pajamas", the policeman told the magistrate. And in fact Moraglia was acquitted: «Not only did he clock in, but he started working half an hour before his shift», the judges wrote at the time. Once all the accusations had been disproved, the former policeman expected Palazzo Bellevue to revoke the dismissal of 22 January 2016.
But no: the measure was confirmed in May this year. However, Moraglia, who had reinvented himself as a factotum by opening a small handyman business, did not give up the battle. He appealed and won.
(Unioneonline/D)