A charitable act turned into a nightmare for a Cagliari pensioner in his seventies. The man he had met while begging for money outside a Cagliari supermarket became his tormentor, extorting increasingly large sums of money from him for years, under the threat of retaliation. Now it's over: Carabinieri from the San Bartolomeo station have arrested the perpetrator, a fifty-seven-year-old originally from Salerno, resident in Sestu but essentially homeless. The raid occurred when he was demanding more money.
The story stems from a complex and painful situation of subjugation into which the victim allegedly fell. According to the reconstruction of the complaint filed a few days ago, the elderly man was allegedly forced for several years to pay sums of money to the fifty-seven-year-old, whom he met outside a local supermarket where he frequently begged.
The initial donations, in small amounts, were voluntary. But over time, they became coerced, reaching considerable sums, estimated at several thousand euros. In reconstructing her ordeal, the victim recounted how, in addition to the sums donated in cash, well over €20,000 had been paid via bank transfers since 2024.
In recent times, the victim reportedly attempted to resist the increasing demands, and in response, the suspect reacted harshly, threatening the elderly man and his close friends.
Fortunately, the elderly man found the courage to open up to his friends, whose support was crucial in this affair: instead of simply listening to him, they encouraged him to break the wall of silence and contact the military. They took over when they were informed of the time of yet another cash delivery.
Punctual as always, the fifty-seven-year-old showed up at the meeting place—the elderly man's home—and, after ringing the doorbell, entered the building's entrance hall. Intervention was immediate: before the man even had a chance to speak to the victim, he was arrested and taken to the police station. From there, he was taken to prison in Uta.
(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)
