WEIRD NEWS: The Man, the Criminal, the Legend

An Italian hospital worker who didn’t show up for work for 15 years while continuing to collect a paycheck, has finally been caught.

The 67-year-old, who has become known in the press as “the king of absentees,” was somehow able to fly under the radar since 2005 and collected a total salary topping $640,000. His scam was finally uncovered by investigators who checked the human resources department’s staff records and noticed that his salary didn’t match the number of hours worked. They also found out that the man had threatened the former HR director to stop her from reporting him. She ultimately retired and her successor never checked his attendance.

The “king of absentees” is now the “king of criminal charges” as he is looking at doing some serious time for forgery, extortion and abuse of office. Six other managers are also under investigation for enabling him. (The Guardian)