Edward Marchesi The story of Angela Russo, a 54-year-old woman from Mirabella Eclano, has moved Italy . Her life was taken by a man posing as a doctor, but in reality, a masseur. Angelo Graziano, 37, a resident of Montefusco but domiciled in San Giorgio del Sannio, was sentenced by the Benevento Court of Assizes to 11 years and 10 months in prison for manslaughter.
The case saw a four-year trial and twenty hearings to determine the truth. Graziano, defended by lawyer Carlo Taormina, was also banned from holding public office for life and sentenced to a provisional fine of €10 for each civil plaintiff.
The non-existent diagnosis and lethal therapies
Graziano presented himself as a professional doctor but in reality he only had the title of head lifeguard masseur.
He convinced Angela Russo that she had breast cancer , diagnosed through blood samples sent to a German laboratory. The treatments administered, including ozonized autologous blood transfusions and intravenous infusions, proved lethal.
The prosecutor's report demonstrated that Angela Russo was perfectly healthy and that the tumor had never existed.
On March 25, the woman died of cardiac arrest with pulmonary embolism caused by the therapies administered by Graziano.
The accusations and the defense
Graziano was charged with manslaughter, assault , and fraud . Prosecutor Maria Colucci requested a 10-year sentence, but the court ruled for a more severe penalty. The defense, led by lawyer Carlo Taormina, argued that Graziano had no intention of causing Angela Russo's death and was following the instructions of a German doctor.
Taormina criticized the forensic experts' conclusions, pointing out the contradictions in their reports. According to the defense, Angela Russo's death was caused by a cardiac short circuit , not by an embolism from exogenous material.
The reactions of the family and the lawyers
Attorney Cinzia Capone, representing Angela Russo's family, expressed satisfaction with the conviction. "I believed in it, I put almost all my energy into this trial," Capone said. "Today we have reached the truth! Justice has truly been served."
Capone also offered words of comfort to Angela Russo's family, especially her mother and two children. "I owed it to the elderly mother dressed in black who had to endure the unnatural pain of outliving her own daughter," the lawyer added.
Attorney Stefano Pescatore, who represented another of Graziano's patients, also expressed satisfaction with the conviction. The court acquitted Graziano of some fraud charges, but upheld his liability for manslaughter and unauthorized practice of medicine.