It was April 28, 2021 when, in Grinzane Cavour in the province of Cuneo, the jeweler Mario Roggero (photo) was the subject of a robbery, yet another, in his business. On that occasion the professional shot and killed two robbers, wounding a third: from that moment his judicial odyssey began. No recognition of self-defense for him, who today finds himself facing a trial which on appeal sentenced him to 14 years in prison but which, above all, obliges him to pay hundreds of thousands of euros, which could become millions in the event of a final conviction. For now, these are provisional figures, very high between compensation and legal expenses, which risk definitively wiping away what remains of a life of toil and of a family that has been plunged into a nightmare that seems endless for 5 years. For this reason, a fundraiser was opened to support him in the process and help him cope with enormous requests.
The judges of the first two levels of judgment sentenced Roggero to pay a provisional amount of 780,000 euros. The jeweler has already spontaneously paid 300,000 euros to the parties and is being asked for a further 480,000 to compensate the civil parties, to which must be added the legal costs which exceed 80,000 euros. Adding everything up, the amount that Mario Roggero is still asked to pay is close to 600,000 euros, considering that it is partial compensation. At the end of the trial, if a final sentence is reached for the 71-year-old, the compensation estimate could approach 3,000,000 euros.
Faced with these numbers, a man’s dignity risks being crushed not only by the deprivation of freedom, but by a financial collapse, because Roggero, as can be seen, risks economic death: for a trader who has dedicated decades of his life to building economic serenity for himself and his family, facing requests of this type means witnessing the forced dismantling of all security. It is an unfortunately common paradox that of those who see their home, their shop, their business violated and become debtors to those who had threatened their safety.
But something can be done to not make him feel alone, to show him that he has someone to support him at his side. The account to join the fundraiser for Mario Roggero is made out to IostoconMarioRoggero, iban IT87L0853046380000000014216 at Banca d’Alba – Grinzane Cavour branch.
