In the history of employment fraud, few cases rival the sheer duration and audacity of Salvatore Scumace’s tenure at the Pugliese Ciaccio Hospital. For fifteen consecutive years, this civil servant in Catanzaro, Italy, allegedly collected a full monthly salary without logging a single day of actual work.
By the time authorities concluded their investigation in 2021, Scumace had earned the moniker “King of Absentees” from the Italian press and had received over €538,000 ($648,000) in wages for a job he never performed.
The Threat in Catanzaro
The story began in 2005 when Scumace was assigned to the hospital in the Calabria region as a fire safety officer. His duties involved monitoring emergency protocols and ensuring the safety of the facility. However, Scumace reportedly had no intention of fulfilling these obligations. According to police findings, he only appeared at the hospital to sign his initial contract.
When his prolonged absence first attracted attention, the hospital director considered filing a disciplinary report. In response, Scumace allegedly paid a visit to her office. Police statements reveal that a “distinguished individual” threatened the director and warned her against reporting the truancy. The intimidation worked. The director chose not to file the report, and Scumace returned to his life outside the hospital while his paychecks continued to arrive on schedule.
A Ghost on the Payroll
The situation persisted due to a massive administrative failure following the director’s retirement. Her successor took over the department with no knowledge of the fire safety officer’s history or his threats. Because Scumace was effectively a ghost employee, he did not appear on daily rosters or shift schedules.
For over a decade, the hospital’s human resources department failed to notice that they were paying a man who was never in the building. He occupied a blind spot in the bureaucracy. His salary was automatically deposited every month, and he accrued pension benefits and seniority just like any other employee. Between 2005 and 2020, he cost the Italian state more than half a million euros ($600,000+) while ostensibly working elsewhere or staying home.
Operation Part Time
The scheme finally unraveled in 2020 during a wider probe into public sector fraud. The Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s financial police, launched a detailed investigation they ironically codenamed “Operation Part Time.” Investigators began cross-referencing duty rosters with cellular telephone records and witness testimonies from other hospital staff.
The evidence was undeniable. Colleagues confirmed they had never seen Scumace on the wards or in the safety offices. Phone records placed him far away from the hospital during his supposed working hours. In October 2020, the hospital finally fired him.
The Final Tally
In April 2021, police officially arrested Scumace and charged him with abuse of office, forgery, and aggravated extortion. The investigation did not stop with him. Authorities also placed six hospital managers and administrators under investigation for their role in enabling the fraud. These officials faced questions about how such a glaring oversight could persist for fifteen years without detection. The case remains a stark example of administrative negligence and the potential for systemic exploitation within large public institutions.
Getting paid $650,000 to never show up for work sounds impossible, but Salvatore Scumace pulled it off.
In 2005, he signed a contract as a fire safety officer at an Italian hospital, walked out the door, and didn't return until the police finally came for him in 2020…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/I986ztU8D3
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) December 10, 2025