A man posing as a prince from
Montenegro blagged his way into luxury holidays at premier
resorts, Italian police said Wednesday.
The Trieste native, resident in Turin, also pretended to be a
member of the Brindisi aristocracy so as to obtain free de-luxe
hotel stays and meetings with top businessmen and religious
authorities, Brindisi police said.
Posing as one 'Stephan Cernetic', the man used another man,
from Quindici near Avellino, to pose as his valet, police said.
The probe into Cernetic started last August when, during his
visit to Puglia as the guest of a Bari-area entrepreneur, he
travelled around in a Mercedes sporting the insignia of the
Republic of Montenegro and diplomatic plates.
The 'prince' spent July 5 to 31 at a resort at Fasano near
Brindisi when he met with high-ranking Puglian clerics,
politicians and businessmen, police said.
"This was in fact a pantomime staged to stay in prestigious
Italian and European localities without paying," prosecutors
said.
Cernetic also managed to secure knighthoods, diplomatic
passports and other honours from various authorities, they said.
The probe culminated in a search which turned up fake stamps,
bogus diplomatic permits, and counterfeit certificates of
international awards made out to the Montenegrin royal house, as
well as diplomas of various kinds, police said.
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