Vincenzo Esposito, known as "o 'French", is considered a magician of disguises and a skilled robber, 59 years old arrested by the Mobile Squad of Naples in Casoria, a municipality on the border with the capital.
The cops spotted him aboard the van of a plant engineering company, wearing overalls.
He showed the agents an identity document that turned out to be false.
In April of last year he had been subjected to a detention measure as he was considered the author, together with five other people, for various reasons, of the theft from the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, and of the receiving of the precious painting reproducing the icon Blessing Christ, better known as "
Salvator Mundi
", attributed to the School of Leonardo Da Vinci, dating back to the 16th century.
The painting was later recovered by the police.
On Wednesday afternoon he was arrested by the police, this time for criminal association aimed at robbery, illegal carrying of firearms, receiving stolen goods, evasion, insulting a public official and crimes relating to forgery.
Last February 15, the man
had escaped an execution order for imprisonment, issued by the Prosecutor of Benevento following the revocation of home detention ordered by the Surveillance Court of Naples, having to expiate the residual sentence of 25 years and 4 months of imprisonment.
The agents of the Naples Flying Squad and the Afragola police station tracked him down in Casoria, following a careful investigation, aboard a car belonging to an electrical plant engineering company and wearing workman's clothes.
The man was found in possession of a false identity document valid for expatriation and various
female clothes, make-up and wigs for disguises
were found on the vehicle .
A 32-year-old was reported in a state of freedom who would have favored his unavailability.
For the police Esposito would be responsible for
a long series of robberies
carried out even using disguises.
And they all yielded a substantial booty.
In 2015, for example, together with accomplices, he allegedly made a couple of them between Montesarchio (Benevento) and Sparanise (Caserta).
The first, to the detriment of Banca Popolare di Novara, yielded 90 thousand euros plus another 40 thousand in foreign currency.
The second, at the Banco di Napoli, 80 thousand euros.
And, according to what emerged from the investigations, he was always the ringleader.
According to the investigators since the 90s he planned and
carried out robberies using the most unthinkable disguises
.
