CHAPTER 08 – THE ATTEMPTED FRAUD OF A CLIENT AND OF TWO TOTALS STRANGERS
THE AFFAIR FRANCESCO CASTELLINO
THE AFFAIR GRIMALDI SERGIO and DI FANI AUGUSTO
A preface:
This was an ordinary folly story in full of the farce – Banca di Roma/Mobutu and Credit Foncier de Monaco – Mr. Garino (judicial liquidator )presented the list of those people who claimed money from the debts of the office. It was easy to know who they were; it was enough to examine the list of the suppliers and deposits as since 14 April he had all informatics documentation. Reading the list I noticed a name I really didn’t know ! A total stranger ! A certain Grimaldi Sergio, never seen or known, claimed a credit sum of Euro 2,042,157. 65 .
He was defended by Judge Escaut Didier (he defended all the creditors except Mrs. Cucinotta). After a first hesitation moment I pointed out that about this person there was really nothing in the office and during the period between 2 April 2001 to 1 March 2004 I continued to persist that it was a fraud attempt supported by those people who abstracted the documents from the office. After the death of S. Grimaldi, another person appeared, a certain A. Di Fani, never seen or known. He declared to have given to Grimaldi the sum of Euro 2,042,157.65 for some investments. I repeated more times to repeat that it was sufficient to examine all documentation of the office, to realize that there was something wrong. There were no traces of the above mentioned people in the telephone lists, clients dossiers, the appointment lists, fax and so on… Nothing !!!! The problem was that in that period my Italian and French lawyers were occupied in the farce planned by Judge Hullin and there was no time to make the right inquiries about the last matter also because there was the strong intention to conclude the bankruptcy of my office. Just at the beginning of March 2004 I could have control of the situation proving that it was a fraud attempt ! Thank to the infinite esteem, trust and reference of some professional friends in Rome, I discovered that Grimaldi Sergio’s activity was as “dummy “. From a verify at the Chamber of Commerce in Rome it emerged that he was involved in 40 companies in quality of manager and/or partner.
Taking the place of the judicial authority, as first step I verified the supposed notarized letter which was carried off to me and the surprises were really curious! Beginning from the letter which was drawn up in two pages, I asked Notary Augusto Bellagamba to check the attestation with signature and seal and the answer I received was that “ signature and seal were false” ! He had already brought a charge at the Italian Authorities. It was the first piece in the fraud puzzle ! The second step was the matter Di Fani Augusto who passed himself off as car retailer. To prove it he showed several payments to an Italian corn company named SMAC S.r.l in Meluzzo in the year 1991. He affirmed that the sums of money that Grimaldi received came from the Swiss bank B.N.P in Geneve in French Suisse and US Dollars.
After close investigations it emerged that:
- The company had folded up since 14/01/1999 and Di Fani Augusto had nothing to do with it. The trustee was Mr. Fabrini.
- The payments receipts afferent to the company had nothing to do personally. There were also found two payments of unknown people to the story.
- At the Chamber of Commerce in Rome a company appeared registered in his name as personal Service and Repair activity with seat in Rome in the period from 1988/1990
- After several requests to show documents of the Swiss bank, he gave no answer!
A note:
Mr. Di Fani Augusto was represented by a pseudo-consultant, a certain Luciano Tarantelli . He introduced himself to a lawyer in Monaco in the role of business consultant, showing a visiting card without an address, with just a mobile telephone number printed on it. After a check of the professional roll in Rome, it emerged that he had been struck off since 8 June 1999. Furthermore the letter by proxy was not notarized and asseverated ! It was very clear that he was planning the fraud with other accomplices. At this point on 13 January 2004 I lodged the first complaint in Italy against these people. And I lodged other complaints on the basis of several emerged facts. In Rome, an expert handwriting study was sought of my signature on the alleged letter coming from my Cabinet. It emerged that the signature was apocryphal, and the legal adviser, Mrs. Carla Bergamaschi , confirmed that the signature was clearly false. As if that weren’t enough, the expert chosen by the Court, Renč Chircop, became in effect the expert of A. Di Fani and carried out his assessment without any logic base. Reading his assessment it emerged that he was incompetent, here an example :
- he identified the typifying traits of my signature as seal and wrote : "DAMP STAMP PAD".
- Carrying on with the investigation, there was the doubt that Grimaldi’s signature was also false. In fact thanks to the help of a professional in Rome a notary act was examined and it emerged that such signature was also false ! So this mysterious letter was a false planned fact ! Grimaldi’s signature, the notary’s seal and signature were false. Even though there were all these proof, in front of the notary declaration and two complaints , the matter went on for two months and the lawyer in Monaco insisted on proving the truth of the false elements. In fact several curious facts happened, here following the main steps until their end :
- about the claimed sum of 2,042,157.65 by S. Grimaldi, the currency was not specified. Only later the currency in Euro was added in apocryphal handwriting . The most ridiculous fact was to have placed such a sum of money and in that period : the Euro wasn’t currency yet !
- There were also doubts raised by the opposite party about the authenticity and signature of Notary Augusto Bellagamba. Verification of the part of Judge would have been sufficient, but instead another notary in Rome was asked to authenticate Notary Augusto Bellagamba's signature. It’s easy to imagine how the two Notaries were perplexed by this unusual demand.
- The expert Renč Chircop who had been chosen by the Court, took side, and L. Tarantelli asked him to do two analysises to prove that Grimaldi’s signature and letter were both true ! The figure of the expert is absolutely unethical and far from the law code. The most ridiculous thing was to show several photocopies with a presumed signature, cancelling all signs useful for verification.
- Continuing with the search among the various companies we found a position acceptance through notary authentication in Rome on 05 July 2001, so it was subsequent to the elusive letter dated 4 July written in Bologna. The forgery was very clear and a further analysis confirmed that Grimaldi’s signature was apocryphal.
The documentation deserves to be read to understand the falsehoods affirmed with such arrogance. After April 2005 thanks to Judge Narmino the case took a different turn and according to the law. But after the refusal of 18 February, the opposite party made an appeal to the Court which confirmed the verdict. Not satisfied they made another appeal which was refused. In the verdict it was written "temerarious appeal". The verdict of 2006 came ! The matter was coming to an end, and the fraud effort was falling through. There will always be an unanswered question : Who stole the documents and the headed letter-paper from my Cabinet ? Who were the accomplices ? And what of Chircop's deontology ?