Robbery at the Hilton Hotel of Fiumicino Airport
By Angela Corrias on January 3, 2010
ROME (Herald de Paris) - Travelers’ main concern is their safety, and before heading to an exotic destination they are all busy seeking any kind of information useful to prevent unfortunate events such as being robbed or tricked by local thugs. Travel blogs, travel communities and media of all types are filled with advices for more or less experienced tourists to make them aware of the risks they can run when they get on a bus, the tube, or they dawdle about an area known as to be a hot spot for such misadventures.
Apparently, Mr Salvatore Carecci did not do his homework and the 24th of December his family and he got robbed. Truth be said, however, if most pick-pocketers operate in the field of the public transport system or in certain slums, Mr Carecci’s attackers performed at the Hall of Hilton Hotel beside Fiumicino Airport, nonetheless.
Salvatore Carecci, Italian expat living between Singapore and China, owns and manages in the Asian Continent the popular chain of Italian restaurants “Pasta Fresca”. He’s used to traveling for work, so he must have certainly thought that heading to his homeland would have been easier than towards any other unknown destination. Moreover, the reputation and the prices of the Hilton Hotel led him to think that the place was safe.
“My son and I were checking-in the hotel and the receptionist was giving us the key for the rooms we were allocated, “ says Mr Carecci. “My wife was waiting with our luggage behind us, when a man approached her and pretended he found a key on the floor. He asked my wife if it belonged to her and as soon as she turned toward the guy, another one took my briefcase and ran away.”
At this point, the first man fled, too. Mr Carecci immediately ran after them, but in vain: they both had disappeared. “Beside the shock for having been robbed, what struck me was that none of the Hotel’s employees moved a finger to help us, looked at us coldly and their security guard arrived after half an hour,” continues Mr Carecci. “The only thing they told us was to wait that someone would arrive at some point to assist us. I’ve repeatedly asked them to show me the CCTV but they informed me they could show them only to the police. But once at the police station, the hotel representative remained reluctant to talk about the CCTV.”
The briefcase contained Mr Carecci’s work-related papers, and cash and bonds that amounted to more than 30,000 euro. “My lawyer told me it’s almost impossible I will have my money back as I can’t prove my briefcase contained such amount,” says Mr Carecci. “But how could I imagine I could have run such risk at the Hilton Hotel? How could I imagine anybody can come in without control and that their security department is so inefficient?”
Reportedly, the Hilton Hotel cannot carry on with the indemnification process unless the victim shows strong evidence to prove the presence of the claimed amount, such as receipts, photos and legal certificates.
On the other hand, Mr Carecci is still trying to figure out how this regrettable event could occur and is by all means committed to receive a proper response from the Hilton Hotel’s managers.
Herald de Paris journalist Angela Corrias blogs on travel HERE
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