Parma owner Manenti arrested in new blow to crisis-hit club

Crisis-hit Serie A club Parma suffered another blow yesterday with the arrest of its new owner and president, Giampietro Manenti, accused in a failed hacker credit card scam.
Prosecutor Michele Prestipino Giarritta said Manenti was accused of being part of a scam in which hackers using cloned or stolen credit cards or infiltrating bank accounts tried to transfer about 4.5 million euros (USD4.8 million) that Manenti could have disguised as revenue from sponsorships or gadget purchases.
The scam was foiled before any transfers to Parma accounts took place, the prosecutor said. In all, 22 people were detained in a sweep Wednesday involving two separate but related investigations.
Manenti took over as Parma’s new owner and president last month, agreeing to pay off the club’s debts, which are estimated at nearly 100 million euros ($110 million).
Players haven’t been paid in months, and a bankruptcy hearing has been set for today. Parma captain Alessandro Lucarelli said the Manenti arrest was “disgusting.”
“I hope sooner or later this all ends because honestly we can’t take any more,” Lucarelli said. AP