A elderly tricked with the trick of a fake accident and then threatened and robbed in her home in the heart of Rome. The victim of the fraud, with a total value of three million euros, is the 80-year-old poet Gemma Bracco, winner of several literary prizes and wife of the former minister Paul Baratta.
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The State Police arrested one of the perpetrators, a 35-year-old Neapolitan, while investigations continue to identify his accomplices.
The scam and the swindle
The story began on October 4, when Bracco was contacted by phone by a man who pretended to be a lawyer. “Sit down, I have some bad news for you,” he said, telling her that her daughter, in Venice, had run over a woman who was now in serious condition. Immediately afterward, another accomplice, pretending to be a Carabinieri marshal, reinforced the charade, convincing the woman to immediately pay 6.500 euros to avoid legal consequences for her daughter.
Shortly afterward, a man showed up at the door of the poetess's home, located in the center of Rome, to collect the money. During the meeting, the victim remained constantly on the phone with the scammers, who kept her under pressure, preventing her from contacting other people. In a panic, the woman handed over not only the requested sum, but also some gold jewelry.
From Deception to Violence
What initially seemed like a scam turned into a full-blown assault. As the hours passed, the criminals intensified their demands, repeatedly entering the poet's home. The tension escalated into violence when one of the criminals threatened the woman, promising to "break her in two" and "throw her out the window." The man then rummaged through the apartment's drawers and furniture, stealing other valuables.
Shocked and paralyzed by fear, Bracco obeyed the criminals, even opening the safe and handing over gold bars, with a total value of about three million euros. Only late in the evening, when the scammers had already disappeared, did she manage to contact her daughter and raise the alarm with the police.
The investigation and arrest
The agents of the Rome Flying Squad, coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office, have started a thorough investigation, managing to identify one of the perpetrators thanks to images from security cameras and telephone records. The 35-year-old arrested, already known to the police, is accused of aggravated fraud and robbery. According to what was reconstructed by the investigators, during the robbery he even threw the woman onto a chair, threatening to hit her with it.
The man is now in prison awaiting further developments, while the police continue to search for his accomplices to shed full light on the entire affair.
The Victim: A Life Between Poetry and Art
Gemma Bracco, born in Milan, completed her studies in the Lombard capital, graduating with a thesis on “La bufera” by Eugenio Montale. After a period of academic activity at the University of Milan as an assistant to Sergio Antonielli, she embarked on an artistic path that saw her divide her time between painting and poetry. In the 90s she dedicated herself exclusively to writing, publishing important poetry collections such as “Misure del tempo” (Mondadori, 1993) and “Notturni” (Guanda, 1997). She has also written for the theater, signing four comedies and a monodrama.
A prominent artist in the Italian cultural scene, today the victim of a criminal episode that has shaken the Roman community and has highlighted, once again, the sophisticated techniques adopted by scammers to deceive the most vulnerable people.
Article published on 18 February 2025 - 20:14
