Gaetano Scutellaro, the 58-year-old who in Naples, on 2 September last, had appropriated a "Scratch and Win" worth 500 thousand euros by stealing it from a 69-year-old customer of the tobacconist's was sentenced to 5 years in prison and a 3,200 euro fine. via Materdei.

The trial was held with an abbreviated procedure. The prosecution had asked for six years and a 5 thousand euro fine.

A story that was defined in the courtroom as "tragicomic", with the accused who, in the words of the investigators, also allegedly attempted an extortion in relation to the request to withdraw the complaint made to the woman's nephew. An expert opinion had questioned Scutellaro's ability to understand and will, but a subsequent examination had found the circumstance inconsistent.

The man's defender has already announced an appeal.

The incident occurred in a tobacconist's where a woman had won the 500 thousand euros by scratching a coupon, returned to the shop to ask for confirmation, Scutellaro - understood that he had a real treasure in his hands - had grabbed it to escape on a scooter by losing his traces. He was finally tracked down in Fiumicino while trying to take a plane to Fuerteventura, after having deposited the scratch card in a credit institution.

(Unioneonline / ss)