Italian Con artist who fooled everyone, including Pope, that he was disabled
An Italian man who went to great lengths to convince everyone that he had lost the ability to walk after being involved in a fictitious car accident 12 years ago, was arrested last year.
The incredible story of Roberto Guglielmi, an Italian conman who managed to fool everyone, including doctors, neighbours and even the Pope, began over a decade ago. In 2007, he came up with a plan to pass himself off as a disabled person and collect the pension offered by the government.
During mandatory hospital visits to confirm his disability, he would inject lidocaine into his legs to numb his muscles whenever he left his home.
He famously wrote a touching letter to the Pope, who actually telephoned him and then invited him to the Vatican.
Gugliemi’s intricate scam came crush-ing down on him after a caretaker noticed that something was off and notified authorities.
A team of detectives launched an investigation and discovered the man’s double life. Although he would always use a wheelchair in his home city of Firenze, whenever he went out of town, he walked like a normal person
