Fake pope held in Rome for looking like John Paul II

Date: 10-05-2013 8:37 pm (11 years ago) | Author: Direct
- at 10-05-2013 08:37 PM (11 years ago)
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A Slovak street performer dressed in white papal vestments has been detained and fined by the police in Rome for bearing too close a resemblance to the late John Paul II, the police said on Friday.

“The problem was that he looked a lot like Karol Wojtyla. He was detained for usurpation of title which is a misdemeanour,” a police spokeswoman told AFP.

“The cassock he was wearing has been confiscated,” she added.

The man has been released and will have to pay between 154 and 929 euros ($200 and $1,200), depending on a decision by a judge, the spokeswoman said.

Another officer at the station where the 55-year-old man was taken quipped: “If he had been dressed like Tutankhamun nothing would have happened.”

The performer has been working the main avenue leading up to the Colosseum in his white skullcap for weeks — alongside Roman centurion imitators and other performers — but police said they acted following an anonymous complaint.

A vendor selling miniature Colosseum souvenirs on a spot overlooking the Roman Forum said he saw the man being detained on Thursday.

“He was right here, near me. He was taken away by two officers in civilian clothes who were pretending to be tourists,” he said.

Posted: at 10-05-2013 08:37 PM (11 years ago) | Hero
- cadanre at 10-05-2013 08:59 PM (11 years ago)
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April fool!

Posted: at 10-05-2013 08:59 PM (11 years ago) | Hero
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- winace at 10-05-2013 09:03 PM (11 years ago)
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Abeg make una leave d man , he is jt having fun.
Posted: at 10-05-2013 09:03 PM (11 years ago) | Addicted Hero
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- udenzeu at 10-05-2013 10:08 PM (11 years ago)
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No case............abi u want to make one? Charge and bail muntulla!
Posted: at 10-05-2013 10:08 PM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac
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- Unikpearl at 11-05-2013 04:11 AM (11 years ago)
(f)
2 resemble person don turn crime
Posted: at 11-05-2013 04:11 AM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac
Reply