AFP
Jul 31, 2007
Fake aristocrat arrested in Paris
AFP
Jul 31, 2007
PARIS, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - An Italian conman who allegedly swindled freebies from some of Paris's top hotels and restaurants by posing as a rich aristocrat has been arrested, police said on Tuesday, July 31th.
Using a string of false identities, the 45-year-old turned up at the Ritz hotel or Fouquet's restaurant claiming to be an heir to great fortunes such as those of the Grimaldi dynasty or the Lazard banking family.
Casting himself as a jet-setting events organiser, he was treated to free hotel stays and gourmet meals, and was loaned jewels and clothes for his fictitious parties -- with which he vanished into thin air.
The suspect was arrested last Wednesday and detained pending trial.
Searching his home, police found a horde of jewels recently stolen from a Riviera boutique in Cannes, which he is accused of borrowing for a bogus photo shoot for Vogue magazine.
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