He was in bed, she was reading in another room. He managed to make them escape by firing a shot with his gun (both are in prison for aggravated robbery, the 27-year-old was grazed in the neck), a legally held .38 caliber revolver that he kept under his pillow. «They were at a distance of about 80 centimetres, I shot high up – he says, indicating the mark left by the bullet near the ceiling -. Even though I’m old, I aim well, I’ve done a job where you have to know how to shoot. Sand I wanted to hurt them at this distance… I defended myself, that’s all. There’s nothing heroic about it.” The position of Scarcella, who has already provided his version to the police, is being examined by the Bergamo Prosecutor’s Office: the question is whether the former financier acted in self-defense. Meanwhile, the revolver was withdrawn from him according to the regulations of the consolidated text of public security laws.
What happened on Saturday night?
«At 8.45pm I went to bed to watch the match (Lazio-Verona, ed), but I was too tired and fell asleep. I was sleeping soundly when two masked men wearing balaclavas and dressed in black woke me up. It was dark, someone was holding something in his hand. I don’t know what, but definitely a weapon. It could have been a crowbar. And they had already made a mess of the room, opening the drawers where I keep my checks. At first I thought it was a joke.”
Then he realized the robbery.
«They entered by breaking the French window at the back. They kept saying, “Money, money, money, safe.” They already had the purse in their hands, I told them: “The money (500 euros, in addition to the documents, ed.) is there, what more do you want?” But they continued to insist and push me. Then I put my hand under the pillow and shot. I didn’t give him time to react; as soon as I shot, they ran away.”
Why was he sleeping with a gun?
«I have already suffered other robberies. And I have been threatened with death several times for my work; in the past I also arrested a former Red Brigade member. But in our work we are always subject to threats. In this case I defended myself, my family and my property. It bothers me that someone says I have a gun under my pillow because I’m a criminal. A weapon should be used in extreme cases and certainly not to offend. But I defended myself. Many other people are unable to do it out of fear or other reasons.”
He said he thought about his nephew and his wife.
«These are bad experiences, which leave their mark. They entered just at the time (9.30pm, ed) in which, usually, my nephew is with me and not in his bedroom. In an instant this thought came to mind. I asked myself: “How would I react with my grandson? Would I have shot with him nearby?”. He would have been terrified. And I thought of my wife: if she had been downstairs and not on the first floor, they would have massacred her. They were ferocious.”
His phone keeps ringing.
«Many friends are calling me to see if I’m okay, to ask me what happened the other night. But I wouldn’t want all this to be amplified. I wouldn’t want other bad actors to feel pressured to do these things.”
