The case is not true. Gianni Maria Penduzzu, former head of radiology at Alghero Civil Hospital, was acquitted today by Judge Marta Guadalupi in the Sassari court of the charge of defrauding an incompetent person.

Penduzzu, 61 at the time, was accused of taking advantage, between January 2017 and May 2018, of the mental infirmity of a wealthy 80-year-old woman, with whom he was having a romantic relationship, to obtain 38,000 euros.

According to the prosecution, the former head physician used the money to pay for dental care and a down payment on a house.

The prosecution, represented by prosecutor Ilaria Achenza, had requested a two-year prison sentence and a €1,300 fine. The plaintiff's lawyer, Pier Giovanni Arru, had instead requested damages exceeding €180,000.

The trial focused primarily on the woman's mental capacity, as she suffered from a neurocognitive disorder that had led to her disqualification in 2019. Defense lawyers Giovanni Antonio Manca and Pietro Diaz argued that the woman was lucid and had given gifts to other acquaintances, not just Penduzzu.