Man Received A Paycheck For 15 Years Despite Never Showing Up For Work, Authorities Say | The Daily Wire
Category: Travel, Geography and Foreign Cultures
Via: sister-mary-agnes-ample-bottom • 3 years ago • 24 commentsBy: The Daily Wire
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
ByAshe Schow• Apr 22, 2021 DailyWire.com •FacebookTwitterMailAlfonso Di Vincenzo/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images
A man who worked as a safety officer at a hospital in Italy has been charged for multiple crimes stemming from his collecting $648,000 in salary over 15 years despite allegedly never going to work.
Italian news agency Ansa reported that Salvatore Scumace, 66, is under investigation "for fraud, extortion and abuse of office" after authorities discovered he had been paid for 15 years without ever going to work. The outlet called him a "serial absenteeist," adding that six of Scumace's superiors are also under investigation for allegedly aiding in his deception by not taking action against him. So far, an investigation has found that Scumace was hired in 2005 and never showed up for work.
The Guardian reported that "king of absentees" Scumace never went to his job at Pugliese Ciaccio hospital. An investigation, codenamed Part Time, involved police gathering attendance and salary records while also speaking to witnesses. The investigation revealed that Scumace allegedly threatened the hospital director in 2005 to keep her from "from filing a disciplinary report over his absenteeism," the Guardian reported.
"The director then retired and the man's absenteeism continued unabated because his attendance was never checked by the director's successor or the human resources department, police said," the outlet reported.
The Guardian reported that this is not the first time the Italian government had uncovered information revealing rampant absenteeism in the public sector. From the outlet:
In 2016 the government tightened a law against the workshy after several high-profile police investigations revealed just how rampant absenteeism was across the public sector.
In one investigation, police used secret surveillance cameras to ensnare 35 workers at Sanremo's town hall who had been cheating the time management system for at least two years. The wives of two of the employees were caught using their husband's staff cards to clock on for them, while other staff members clocked on before going canoeing, shopping or out with friends.
In another case, a traffic police officer who lived in the same building he worked in was filmed clocking on in his underwear before going back to bed.
Italy is not the only country with this problem, either. In 2010, the Virginian-Pilot reported that a Community Services Board employee in Norfolk, Virginia collected a salary with benefits for 12 years despite never going to work. The employee was fired and an investigation was opened, though the employee's name was never revealed.
In Spain, a building supervisor failed to show up to work for six years while still collecting a $41,500 salary from the local government, HuffPost reported. The man's deception was uncovered after he received an award for 20 years of loyal service. From HuffPost:
Joaquin Garcia, 69, was recently fined $30,000 for the extended paid vacation from a water treatment plant in Cadiz — the maximum penalty government officials could deliver, the BBC reported.
According to deputy mayor Jorge Blas, it wasn't until Garcia was due to be recognized for his hard work in 2010 that authorities realized his office was sitting vacant.
"I wondered whether he was still working there, had he retired, had he died? But the payroll showed he was still receiving a salary," Blas told Spanish newspaper El Mundo, according to The Local.
"I called him up and asked him, 'What did you do yesterday? The month before, the month before that?' He didn't know what to say," Blas said.
Garcia's water company coworkers thought the plant was being overseen by local authorities because they hadn't seen Garcia in so long.
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I filed this under Foreign Cultures, etc. Do this here in the US, get your ass flogged/kicked/fired by the end of the first day.
On the other hand, perhaps I need to consider moving to Italy for a while.
Just don't drink the water. I did while there and ended up hugging the porcelain god for 3 days.
Your talking to a former flight attendant. All it takes is a foreign ice cube...even in the best hotels.
I accidentally left my water tote in the crew room before my trip started. We were doing a 2-day Costa Rica turn, so I wasn't too worried. I took a few cans of club soda off the plane before we headed to the hotel. Fun fact: Never, ever brush your teeth using carbonated water. That first swish and spit was beyond shocking. There is no opportunity to even lean over the sink. And just try keeping your mouth closed in an attempt to keep the mess at a minimum. I'm still traumatized.
as a safety officer, he determined it was safer if he stayed home.
Yeah, probably safer for everyone else.
Was nice while it lasted...
Wonder what he had on the hospital director.
I think a .357 Magnum.
Sounds like some sort of gangsterism. I bet there is more to the story than just bureaucratic incompetence.
It does. Like no show jobs - where mob guys just show up for a paycheck.
The investigation revealed that Scumace allegedly threatened the hospital director in 2005 to keep her from "from filing a disciplinary report over his absenteeism
That seems to be the case.
$43,200 a year, normally not a great salary but pretty good for not doing anything
I have some co-workers trying to pull this stunt during the pandemic. But come May 17 they all have to come back to work
Off topic, but starting on June 1st, I have to start back in the office full time - Monday through Friday - 7:00 to 3:30. I got really used to being home three days and in the office for two. I wouldn't have mind continuing on that way indefinitely. I have to start playing the lottery - I don't want to work now for 7 more years until retirement!!!!!! I've really become spoiled.
But you've been earning your paycheck. the people I'm talking about have been sitting on their asses for over a year and not working from home
Oh I hear you! The Chairman's office, where I am, have been home for over a year! I've seen Molly, their office manager maybe twice, in over a year. So, I hear you! I mean, I know these ladies earn their paycheck but it is an executive position.
I just wanted to vent in a way because I feel like I'm being punished when I know I'm not because I have to go full time and the other ladies in the office only have to go in ONE DAY A WEEK. But that has to do with them I think, having their own computers, and I'm using a work computer at home and of course that's one of their assets and they want it and me back in the office.
I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong. I'm very thankful to have a full time job in these times. So many people have nothing now or very little, so again, don't take me wrong (I know YOU won't) but like I've said before, I've gotten really spoiled (being able to work from home) for over a year now. It's going to take some getting used to.
I'm glad my job made it impossible for me to work at home. I would have turned into a fat drunk
I really became fat! No joke, I gained 20 pounds in the first month or so.
I had actually only gained about 5 pounds over more than a year but it sure seems like more.
Well, I was already a pothead, but I was actually embarrassed to go to my doctors' over some shoulder pain I've been having (I went though, of course) but I told her, I didn't want to come because of how fat I've gotten and she said, basically, you and everyone else. . I'm glad I quit smoking cigarettes though because that would have probably thrown me over the edge and I would have been smoking probably two packs of cigarettes a day. I quit in August before the pandemic hit (I think or maybe it was a year before that, it's been a crazy year or so) and I always gain weight when I quit smoking. I've quit many times over the years since I was 16.