Theft at Roma Termini station, the former cashier: ‘I made mistakes, but I’m not a thief’

Rome, 27 February (LaPresse) – ‘I made some mistakes, but I am not a thief. We only gave special discounts to members of the police force.’ This was the spontaneous statement made by the cashier at the Coin store in Rome’s Termini station, who this morning, together with three other employees of the store, appeared before the investigating magistrate of the Court of Rome, Angelo Giannetti, for preliminary questioning. Prosecutor Stefano Opilio had requested preventive detention in prison for the four, while the other 40, including 21 police officers and carabinieri, were reported on bail for aggravated theft in conspiracy. The four defendants, despite having made spontaneous statements, exercised their right to remain silent. At the end of the interrogations, the investigating magistrate reserved his decision on whether to issue a preventive custody order and will make his decision within five days. The cashier had been working at Coin for about twenty years. The public prosecutor’s office had also ordered several searches, including one of the cashier’s home, which proved negative, as did the financial investigations. The woman is being defended by solicitor Carlo Testa Piccolomini. According to investigators, the investigation began with a complaint filed by the store manager, who had found more than £100,000 missing from the till. The investigation focused on a cashier at the store who, according to the allegations, made after an internal investigation at Coin carried out by an investigative agency hired by the company, had removed anti-theft tags from clothing and other items and then resold them at a discount to members of the police force. For the Carabinieri and the officers involved, the alleged offence is aiding and abetting aggravated theft. Each of them is charged with one or two incidents.