Major embarrassment in the small town of Ventimiglia di Sicilia, which lies about ten miles outside Palermo in the Sicilian hinterland, the sort of place that you never hear about, until now, that is.
Giuseppe Zagone lived with his son, Antonino, but about two years ago the old man died, aged 90. Antonino kept this quiet, kept the body in the house, and kept on drawing the old man’s pension, a remarkably generous 2,500 euros per month. Signor Zagone had three children, and two of them were in on the scam.
The funeral took place yesterday, and the family did not go into church as they did not want to be photographed by the attendant photographers. Well indeed might they be ashamed. The reporting of this incident is rather scanty, to my mind, and I have a lot of questions.
Just how did Antonino hide the corpse, and how, given the density of Italian housing, did he disguise the smell? Did he never have visitors at home? Was he a complete recluse? Did no one think that unusual?
Secondly, why did the social services not check up? It is not unusual for the authorities to require proof that a pensioner is still alive. (I myself have had to provide this sort of testimony for the Irish authorities.) Was there someone in authority in on the scam? Was someone paid off to ensure that no checks were made?
Thirdly, how was the discovery made, and by whom?
One thing is for certain: a small town where everyone knows everyone else, and there is a great community spirit - well, that does not apply to Ventimiglia di Sicilia, does it? Both Mayor and parish priest spoke at the funeral, and their words are instructive.
‘"This whole affair has disfigured the face of the community that loves life,’ said the parish priest Don Giuseppe D'Accardi in his homily. ‘This is not the sort of community we are. It is an incident that we will try to forget even if it will remain in our memory. We pray for our brother Giuseppe and for the conversion of those who were responsible for what happened".’
The Mayor was forthright: ‘"'Ventimiglia is not a town of silence (omertoso), we are a quiet town made up of people who are generous in our social work,” said Anzalone. “Without a doubt this is a serious matter but none of us were aware of anything, the son was seen fleetingly in town. We will constitute ourselves as a civil party in a possible trial to protect the image of the town. In our town all the elderly and there are many, are not left alone, but we do our utmost to provide constant assistance."'
Nothing to see here, please move along, seems to be the reaction of both Church and State. But the truth is that both Church and Sate have failed, and the words of the parish priest and Mayor should not distract us from this reality. The town’s population is barely over 2,000 (see here) and in a place so small, the fact that a mouldering corpse can be hidden so easily, and no one ask questions about the deceased, is a sign of societal breakdown. You would expect this to happen in a very large city like London, but not in a place like Ventimiglia and not in Sicily. Interesting to see that the Mayor threatens legal action against anyone maligning his town. But there really does seem to be a lot of omerta in Ventimiglia: no one cares that an old man has not been seen for years, no one, above all, asks questions. People must know something, but they no doubt declare it is none of their business.
You might remember this case in Carlow, Ireland, where a dead man went to the Post Office to collect his pension. There the scammers were caught. It was amazing they thought they could get away with it. But Antonino Zagone got away with it for two years. Why? Because he lived in a town where the conditions for this crime were perfect.
Giuseppe Zagone was allowed to disappear; and we know too that lots of people ‘disappear’ in Sicily and are never seen again, and no one asks any questions. But everyone knows where they have gone….