Gilberto Baschiera – The Modern Robin Hood

Robin Hood is regarded as one of the most popular characters of English legends. For 600 years, whose popularity has not diminished. Literature, movies, and plays which have written and made for him are enough to evident his popularity. This year, another movie made by Robin Hood is going to be released. Looted wealth from the rich and share out that to the poor people is the basic characteristic of Robin Hood, this style has made him popular in the world centuries after century. It’s not possible to see an extensive skillful Robin Hood with arrows and swords at this twenty-first century but some people still foster a Robin Hood type nature in their mind. Such a kind of Robin Hood has found in Italy as well.

Gilberto Baschiera, the Italian version of Robin Hood. Mr. Gilberto has already become famous for stole money from the bank and allow it to the poor with a new style. Despite his popularity, he did not escape the trial.

In 2009, when the financial crisis started to wane around the world, Gilberto took his decision that he will help those helpless victims who have suffered severely. He was the bank manager in the small mountain town of Forni di Sopra, where he stole about €1m (£0.9m) over seven years.
He took small amounts from wealthy clients and transferred it to those who couldn’t qualify for the credit. But he never pocketed a penny for himself and avoided going to jail after a plea bargain with authorities. “I have always thought that in addition to protecting savers, our task was to help those in need,” Baschiera said, according to Italian newspaper Corriere Della Serra.

His lawyer, Roberto Mete, told that his client had lost his home as well as his job. “He wanted to help people who couldn’t access loans the normal way,” Mr. Mete said. Gilberto established a “Shadow financing System” where a citizen of the town came to him looking for a loan but did not qualify, Gilberto would “add” money to their account so that they would qualify for the credit. “He created a kind of shadow financing system,” Mr. Mete said.
“He trusted that the people he was helping were going to be able to pay back and some of them didn’t,” the lawyer added, and his employer eventually discovered the hole in the accounts. Investigators are sure that Gilberto has not personally benefited from the theft. He was handed a two-year sentence for his crimes. Since it was his first offense and the sentence is relatively short, he will not be imprisoned under Italian law.

Forni di Sopra is a small community of just over 1,000 people, making The Bank Manager a significant figure in the town. Gilberto’s supporters told the court, “Due to the financial crisis and the hardships of the bank loan, the former bank manager was forced to do this painful work.”
Writing about the affair, Italian daily La Stampa opined: “The director of the local bank, in a small village, is not the same as the others, He is a god. With a yes or no, it can change your life forever.”

Gilberto could avoid going jail but he has lost his job and almost everything including his home. The former bank manager will not be able to meet the conditions of the bank loan today himself. Withal is there any instance where Robin Hood conserves something for own!