Rome's fake 'gladiators' arrested for alleged tourist extortion
The outside of The Colosseum in Rome, Italy (Matteo Colombo/Digital Vision/Getty Images)
Usually it's the tourists behaving badly in Italy, but this time three men accused of crimes outside the Colosseum are locals.
The men have been arrested on suspicion of extortion after dressing up as gladiators and centurions and demanding money from tourists for their self-styled "imperial selfies" -- which they had asked the tourists to take.
Rome's Polizia di Stato police force announced the news on its Facebook page, stating that during August and September, they received a "number of complaints from foreign tourists who had had up to 500 euros (CA$699) extorted from them."
"The modus operandi was identical," they wrote. Men dressed as gladiators or centurions would allegedly invite their tourist victims to take an "imperial selfie" with them outside the Colosseum, and then demand money. Sometimes "violence and threats" were used.
One Italian tourist was asked for 40 euros (CA$55); when he said no, two of the suspects surrounded him, threatened to beat him up, and allegedly extorted 150 euros (CA$209) from them.
An Irish tourist who refused to pay up, saying they had no money, was apparently marched to a nearby ATM where they jostled them, police said. The victim withdrew 200 euros (CA$279) and handed it over, only for the men to demand more, and force them to extract another 50 euros (CA$69).
Helped by Rome's Public Prosecutor's Office, the police identified the three men and have obtained a precautionary measure regarding them. Two have been placed under house arrest and one held in custody.
Investigations are still at a preliminary stage.
Rome's fake gladiators -- who are in fact usually dressed as centurions (soldiers) rather than gladiators -- have long been a problem, with many tourists snapping photos with them blissfully unaware that they will be charged. It is illegal to make tourists pay for photos, though some seem to have not got the memo.
In January, two Romans were fined 13,500 euros (CA$18,890) when they were caught charging tourists for a photo, and their costumes were confiscated.
In 2015, a Romanian TV crew filming the centurions was robbed when they refused to pay. Another centurion pulled up his tunic and made obscene gestures at the crew.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's immigration increase alone won't fix the labour market, experts say
Experts say Canada's plan to increase immigration may ease some pressures in the labour market, but bigger changes are needed to ensure new permanent residents are matched with the jobs that most need filling.
Alberta First Nation signing child welfare agreement with feds without the province
An Alberta First Nation is to sign an agreement today with Ottawa giving it the autonomy to administer its child welfare.
Health Canada recalls mugs and houseware from Indigo due to mould contamination
Health Canada is encouraging Canadians to check their cupboards and kitchen tables as the agency has recalled more than 30 types of Indigo-branded items including ceramic mugs, mug ornaments and houseware products due to potential mould contamination.
Radioactive capsule that fell off truck found in Australia
Authorities in Western Australia on Wednesday recovered a tiny but dangerous radioactive capsule that fell off a truck while being transported along a 1,400-kilometre Outback highway last month in what an official said was like finding the needle in the haystack.
Fear of disappointment? This is why you should say 'no' more
Many people have a hard time saying 'no,' a psychologist says, but the reluctance to let others down has widespread mental health impacts.
'Legitimately flabbergasting': MP raises concerns over government's quarantine hotel spending
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is raising concerns over the federal government's spending on so-called COVID-19 quarantine hotels, calling the total spent on a Calgary-area hotel in 2022 'legitimately flabbergasting.'
'We're all Tyre': Family prepares to lay Nichols to rest
The family of Tyre Nichols plans to lay him to rest on Wednesday, three weeks after he died following a brutal beating by Memphis police after a traffic stop.
Tom Brady retires, insisting this time it's for good
Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement.
Oregon kidnapping suspect dies of self-inflicted gunshot
A suspect in a violent kidnapping in Oregon died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night after being taken into custody following a standoff with law enforcement, a police spokesman said.
Canada
-
Alberta First Nation signing child welfare agreement with feds without the province
An Alberta First Nation is to sign an agreement today with Ottawa giving it the autonomy to administer its child welfare.
-
Health Canada recalls mugs and houseware from Indigo due to mould contamination
Health Canada is encouraging Canadians to check their cupboards and kitchen tables as the agency has recalled more than 30 types of Indigo-branded items including ceramic mugs, mug ornaments and houseware products due to potential mould contamination.
-
ServiceOntario making it 'faster, easier' to get driver's licences, health cards
Premier Doug Ford announced new ServiceOntario changes to make it 'faster' and 'easier' to get driver’s licences and health cards.
-
$31-million lottery ticket sold in Cape Breton, largest win ever in the Maritimes
Atlantic Lottery says someone in Cape Breton has a record-breaking, multimillion-dollar winning lottery ticket.
-
Backlog of airline complaints balloons by 6,395 since December travel chaos: Canadian Transportation Agency
The fallout from the December travel chaos continues, as the backlog of complaints made to the Canadian Transportation Agency keeps growing. As of Jan. 31, there have been 6,395 new complaints made to the agency since Dec. 21.
-
Still no answers on yearslong bread price-fixing scandal: law professor
More than five years since Canada’s Competition Bureau began an investigation into an alleged bread-price fixing scheme, no conclusions have been drawn nor charges laid. As the watchdog is now probing whether grocery stores are profiting from inflation, one expert says the effectiveness of its tools are in question.
World
-
'We're all Tyre': Family prepares to lay Nichols to rest
The family of Tyre Nichols plans to lay him to rest on Wednesday, three weeks after he died following a brutal beating by Memphis police after a traffic stop.
-
Australia targets Myanmar, Iran with economic sanctions
Australia on Wednesday announced targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against 'individuals responsible for egregious human rights abuses' in Myanmar two years after a military junta seized power in the Southeast Asian country.
-
Taiwan activates defences in response to China incursions
Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations of 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing's strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.
-
Palestinians face removal as far-right Israel vows expansion
After a spasm of violence last week -- including the deadliest Israeli raid in the West Bank for two decades and the deadliest Palestinian attack on civilians in Jerusalem since 2008 -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Saturday with a vow to strengthen Jewish settlements in the Israeli-controlled part of the West Bank, where little land is allocated to Palestinians.
-
Before a crowd of 1 million, Pope Francis urges forgiveness in Congo
Pope Francis urged Congo's people on Wednesday to forgive those who have harmed them as he presided over a Mass before an estimated 1 million people in a country wracked by decades of violence.
-
Kurdish officials: Rockets hit Turkish base in northern Iraq
A cluster of rockets targeted a Turkish military base in northern Iraq on Wednesday, officials from northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region said. An Iranian-backed militia promptly claimed responsibility for the attack.
Politics
-
'Legitimately flabbergasting': MP raises concerns over government's quarantine hotel spending
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is raising concerns over the federal government's spending on so-called COVID-19 quarantine hotels, calling the total spent on a Calgary-area hotel in 2022 'legitimately flabbergasting.'
-
Commission probing use of Emergencies Act for 2022 trucker protests granted extension
The commission investigating the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to quell the trucker protests last winter in Ottawa has asked for more time to complete its report.
-
Ethics committee votes to study trade minister's conflict of interest violation
The House of Commons ethics committee has voted to study a conflict of interest violation by International Trade Minister Mary Ng.
Health
-
Systemic inequities are putting women's health and lives at risk: Heart and Stroke report
A new report from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is highlighting 'significant inequities' in women's health care that is disproportionately affecting racialized and Indigenous women, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community and those living with low socioeconomic status.
-
CDC advises against using EzriCare eye drops, investigates dozens of infections and one death in 11 states
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging health care providers and consumers to stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears as it conducts an investigation into at least 50 infections in 11 states that have led to instances of permanent vision loss, hospitalization and one death.
-
Health Canada conducts safety review on breastfeeding drug amid psychiatric concerns
Health Canada is reviewing the safety of domperidone amid reports that some breastfeeding mothers in Canada and the U.S. have had serious psychiatric symptoms when they tried to stop taking the drug.
Sci-Tech
-
Apple and Google app stores get thumbs down from White House
The Biden administration is taking aim at Apple and Google for operating mobile app stores that it says stifle competition.
-
Discovery in Canadian lab could help laptop, phone and car batteries last longer
A chance discovery in a Canadian laboratory could help extend the life of laptop, phone and electric car batteries.
-
How did a radioactive capsule go missing in Australia and how dangerous is it?
Australian authorities are mounting an extensive search for a tiny radioactive capsule believed to have fallen out of a road train that travelled 1,400 km in Western Australia. Here's what you need to know:
Entertainment
-
Alec Baldwin faces involuntary manslaughter charge in set death
Prosecutors linked Alec Baldwin to an expansive list of alleged failures in firearms safety as they filed a felony involuntary manslaughter charge Tuesday against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set.
-
'Dances With Wolves' actor arrested in Nevada sex abuse case
Las Vegas police on Tuesday arrested and raided the home of a former 'Dances With Wolves' actor turned alleged cult leader accused of sexually assaulting young Indigenous girls during a period spanning two decades, according to police records obtained by The Associated Press.
-
'Dr. Phil' talk show to end daytime TV run after 21 years
Daytime television psychologist 'Dr. Phil' McGraw says he plans to end his talk show after 21 years in the coming months, but viewers haven't seen the last of him.
Business
-
Investors not walking the talk when voting on climate commitments, report
A report from an investor-focused advocacy group raises questions about how well some of Canada's biggest investors are meeting their climate commitments. The report from Investors for Paris Compliance (IPC) looks at the voting records on shareholder proposals by 19 Canadian members of Climate Action 100+, a global coalition with around 700 members representing over $68 trillion in assets under management.
-
Gautam Adani loses Asia's richest crown as stock wipeout reaches $86B
Shares in Indian tycoon Gautam Adani's conglomerate plunged again on Wednesday as a rout in his companies deepened to $86 billion in the wake of a U.S. short-seller report, with the billionaire also losing his title as Asia's richest person.
-
Day of disruption in U.K. as hundreds of thousands join strike
Thousands of schools in the U.K. closed some or all of their classrooms, train services were paralyzed and delays were expected at airports on the biggest day of industrial action Britain has seen in more than a decade, as unions stepped up pressure on the government Wednesday to provide better pay amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Lifestyle
-
Fear of disappointment? This is why you should say 'no' more
Many people have a hard time saying 'no,' a psychologist says, but the reluctance to let others down has widespread mental health impacts.
-
$31-million lottery ticket sold in Cape Breton, largest win ever in the Maritimes
Atlantic Lottery says someone in Cape Breton has a record-breaking, multimillion-dollar winning lottery ticket.
-
Is working from home or the office better? Some Canadians weigh in
News that she'd be headed back to the office was very welcoming for English instructor Kathy Andvaag, after more than two years teaching from her “dark” and “cold” basement.
Sports
-
LeBron James climbs to fourth place on NBA's career assists list
LeBron James has climbed into fourth place on the NBA's assists list as he closes in on becoming the league's career scoring leader.
-
Novak Djokovic played Australian Open with 3cm tear in hamstring, says Tiley
Novak Djokovic played with a three-centimetre (1.2 inches) tear in his hamstring during his run to a record-extending 10th Australian Open title, tournament director Craig Tiley said on Wednesday.
-
Tom Brady retires, insisting this time it's for good
Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement.
Autos
-
U.S. Justice Department seeks Tesla automated driving documents
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and 'Full Self-Driving' features, according to a regulatory filing.
-
Biden visits NYC to highlight grant for Hudson rail tunnel
President Joe Biden heads to New York City today to showcase a US$292 million mega grant that will be used to help build a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey.
-
Will Europe's ban on Russian diesel hike global fuel prices?
Europe is taking another big step toward cutting its energy ties with Russia, banning imports of diesel fuel and other products made from crude oil in Russian refineries. The European Union ban takes effect Feb. 5 following its embargo on coal and most oil from Russia.
