Potenza: Funeral services scam, three arrested

On the morning of June 5, the State Police carried out three personal precautionary measures: two of precautionary custody in prison and one of house arrest, as well as the preventive seizure aimed at the direct confiscation of the total sum of 79.542,27 euros against three individuals seriously suspected, to varying degrees, of the crime of embezzlement pursuant to art. 314 of the Criminal Code in relation to the management of a funeral home in Potenza.

During the investigations, carried out by personnel from the Flying Squad of the Potenza Police Headquarters and the SISCO of Potenza, which began in 2021, numerous elements of high evidentiary value were acquired regarding the continuing de facto management of the funeral home subjected to preventive seizure by the suspect.

These are very serious criminal conducts, carried out over the years thanks to the active, decisive and conscious participation of the daughter of the accused and of a lawyer from the Potenza court, in his capacity as Judicial Administrator appointed at the time by the Court of Potenza.

In fact, the agency that, following the preventive seizure, it was supposed to be an asset taken away from the availability and management of the suspect and his family, but was in fact left, thanks to the complacent attitude of the judicial administrator, in the direct availability of the same and, following his arrest which took place within the scope of the operation “Lucania Felix”, of his daughter, thus allowing them not only to continue managing the company but to be able to take possession of part of the profits produced.

The suspect and his daughter, hired as "mortuaries" employed by the company subjected to prevention measures, they have appropriated sums of money intended for the funeral home by negotiating directly with the next of kin of the deceased the services to be provided and collecting, sometimes in cash, sometimes by crediting prepaid cards in their availability, additional sums compared to those indicated in the invoices issued by the cooperative society or, in cases of services carried out without issuing an invoice, taking care to collect the entire agreed price.

Specifically, the investigations made it possible to document, with reference to the years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (until October), hundreds of episodes of appropriation of sums of money, quantified as at least 531.518,00 euros of which 79.542,27 euros fully ascertained, paid by relatives of deceased persons who commissioned funeral services with the funeral home agency or by public bodies, trade union associations, trade associations, municipal police, owners and managers of funeral agencies located in other territories for services evidently also rendered to the latter.

Through such conduct, the suspect and his daughter managed to illegitimately appropriate substantial sums of money, even carrying out subsequent speculative operations with investments, brokerages and sales of precious stones, rings and Rolex watches, of a series
of vintage, luxury and large-engined cars, in particular Ferrari, Lotus, Audi, Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes and Oldsmobile, with fictitious registrations which occurred with the active and decisive collaboration of other suspects, guaranteeing a concrete, permanent speculative and dissimulator aimed at hindering the investigation of the criminal origin of the money used.

It should be noted that the investigations are in the preliminary investigation phase and, therefore, the position of the suspects is still being examined by this Judicial Authority and they cannot be considered guilty until the eventual pronouncement of the final conviction.