He pretended to be an invalid for 12 years and defrauded Pope Francis | Chronic

Roberto Guglielmi, a man who simulated paraplegia for the purpose of receiving state payments in Italy, was finally exposed by the police after 12 years of lies. Florentine, 55, was arrested last week after obtaining footage of security cameras revealing that the rogue could walk on his own. In 2015, the Pope had received Francisco in a hearing for his "touching story".

To look more credible and trick doctors, I was ready to do anything. The simulacrum injected local anesthetics that reduced the muscle sensitivity of these areas, allowing it to withstand painful treatments. Unusually, the man came to launch a movement to defend the rights of people with disabilities.

According to Italian media Repubblica, the scam started in 2007 with a fake car accident organized. From that moment, thanks to falsified medical history, the man began to pretend that he was a paraplegic and that he was badisting all the doctors needed to attest to the disability, but also deceived his friends and acquaintances.

Still feigning his handicap, he wrote in 2014 to Pope Francis, shocked by his story and called him on the phone: the following year, as shown in a photo closed during the investigation procedure, the pope agreed to receive him in an audience "The sky has reopened"said Guglielmi.

The cheater was finally discovered on April 9, when he returned to Florence after a holiday in Togo and was seen walking down the steps of the plane because of his own fears, without a wheelchair . Authorities opened an investigation and confirmed their suspicions through a series of recordings recorded by security cameras.