The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Catanzaro, in Calabria, said the man earned more than €538,000 ($838,000) after he allegedly stopped coming work at the Pugliese Ciaccio hospital in 2005, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The 67-year-old man allegedly used threats to force his colleagues to turn a blind eye to the scheme and prevent his manager from pursuing disciplinary action.
Following the resignation of the manager, the man continued to receive monthly paychecks while his attendance was never checked by the human resources department, police said.
He is now being investigated for fraud, extortion and abuse of office.
Six managers are also being investigated on suspicion of having played a role in enabling the man’s alleged absenteeism.
The worker was officially fired in October 2020 following investigations.
