Italian Hospital Employee Investigated For Allegedly Collecting Salary While Skipping Work For 15 Years

KEY POINTS

Police are investigating a man after he allegedly stopped coming to work for more than a decade but still collected his paychecks
Salvatore Scumace allegedly threatened his hospital director to stop her from filing a disciplinary report over his truancy
His absenteeism lasted for 15 years as the director's successor or the hospital's human resources management never checked in on him

A 66-year-old Italian hospital employee, dubbed by a local newspaper as the "king of absentees," is now being investigated by authorities after it was reported that he stopped coming to work in 2005 while still collecting his paychecks up until his dismissal in 2020.

Police said Salvatore Scumace is now being investigated for fraud, extortion and abuse of power, Italian news outlet Ansa first reported.

The public sector worker assigned as a fire safety officer at Pugliese-Ciaccio hospital in the Calabrian city of Catanzaro had collected a total of €538,000 ($648,000) through his paychecks despite not coming to work for 15 years, according to a report by the Guardian.

The charges were reportedly a result of an investigation codenamed Part Time, where police gathered their evidence from attendance and salary records as well as statements from colleagues.

Six managers at the hospital were reportedly being investigated as well in connection to Scumace's absenteeism. The six were identified as 66-year-old Nino Critelli, 64-year-old Vittorio Prejanò, 68-year-old Maria Pia De Vito, 62-year-old Domenico Canino, 52-year-old Laura Fondacaro and 53-year-old Antonio Molè.

Police pointed out that Scumace allegedly threatened his hospital director to stop her from filing a disciplinary report against him over the absenteeism. When the director retired, Scumace's truancy streak was left unchecked as his attendance was reportedly never verified by the director's successor or the human resources department, according to the police.

The investigations and arrests are part of an initiative by the Italian government to crack down on absenteeism and suspected fraud in the nation's public sector, according to the BBC.

The government tightened a law against offenders after several high-profile police investigations revealed just how rampant absenteeism was across the sector.

Aside from Scumace, 57 other employees from the hospital have been sent to trial for skipping work to play slot machines, sit in cafes or go shopping in supermarkets, the Times reported.

One employee was reportedly seen punching the clock for absent colleagues with a raised umbrella as to conceal her face out of fear of being spotted by cameras.