ROME— Andrea Pizzolla, the 35-year-old former aide to the late Italian icon Gina Lollobrigada, has been sentenced to prison for 3 years for embezzlement and abuse of a vulnerable person. Pizzola was found guilty of embezzling assetsover a five-year period from the estate of Lollobrigada who died in January at the age of 95.

Prosecutor Eleonora Finihad initially requested 7 years and 6-month prison term against Pizzolla. In the courtroom, prosecutors spoke of the confused and isolated state of Lollobrigada, intertwining with Pizzolla’s manipulation and advantage taking of her mental fragility.  The prosecution accused Pizzolla of exploiting Lollobrigada’s mental fragility, who was suffering from senile dementia, to have valuable goods transferred, including jewels, paintings and works of art. He would then sell the goods for a value of around 10 million euros, spending her assets, sold her apartments and arbitrarily handled millions.  

Pizzolla’s defense team argued in court about what they claimed was his unconditional love and care for Lollobrigada, and that he never intended to defraud the actress, adding he was the only one who took care of her.

Milko Skofic,Lollobrigada’s son said “It’s still painful, but the sentence brings justice. The truth is, however, that it really shouldn’t have come to this. It’s a bitter affair that shouldn’t have just happen. I arrived at the sentence psychologically drained and I regret all the time I lost and the fact that I couldn’t be next to my mother.” His lawyers Alessandro and Michele Gentiloni, added a word of justice on what Lollobrigida and her family have been through in the last ten years.

Under Italian law, Pizzolla was convicted of “exploiting a vulnerable person,” a recognized legal offense. The verdict was handed down by a single judge.

Pizzolla was ordered to pay half a million euros in compensation, entitled to the civil parties, made up of Milko Skofic, and two companies of which Lollobrigida was a partner. There is an additional imposed fine of 1000 euros for Pizzola, plus the seizure of his assets.