The 57-year-old man is accused of stealing the scratchie from an elderly customer at the tabaccheria that he manages in the heart of the city, after she asked staff to double-check the winning numbers on Friday.
An employee used the official ticket reading machine to verify that the pensioner had indeed won the massive sum of money, before passing the ticket to his manager, identified in the media as Gaetano Scutellaro.
However, as soon as he got his hands on the winning ticket, Scutellaro is alleged to have grabbed his helmet and taken off on his motorbike.
Scutellaro reportedly stopped in Latina, a seaside town between Naples and Rome, to open a new bank account and take out an insurance policy, telling the bank that the winning ticket was his.
While in Latina, he also reportedly bought a plane ticket for the island of Fuerteventura before being detained by border police in Fiumicino after booking the flight using his real name.
However, he was not in possession of the winning ticket at the time of being detained, telling police he had deposited it in the bank.
Scutellaro asserted his innocence, claiming that the ticket was his and declaring his intention to sue the 70-year-old customer for slander, acccording Rome newspaper Il Messaggero.
Prosecutors have opened a probe for aggravated robbery.
Authorities have suspended the scratchie, meaning it cannot be cashed in, while investigators establish what happened.
With ANSA
