Police in Australia have arrested 29-year-old pizza restauranteur Alberto Nicoletti in connection with a series of rapes. Investigators say Nicoletti had posed as a gay man to earn the trust of women, then assault them.
Italian outlet Il Giornale reports Australian law enforcement detained Nicoletti as well as an accomplice, 36-year-old Vincenzo Mineo, labeling both men “serial rapists.” Investigators assert that the pair began a reign of terror in March earlier this year. Mineo and Nicoletti would pose as a gay couple and visit clubs throughout Western Australia. The two would then target “drunk and vulnerable” women for assault. At least eight women have accused the pair.
Related: Brazil rocked by brutal gang rape of a gay man
Police managed to track Nicoletti and Mineo using a combination of security camera footage and eyewitness accounts. The cameras yielded clear photos of the pair, which investigators then circulated throughout the cities of Perth and Scarborough where the attacks had taken place. The awareness campaign also prompted other victims to come forward during the investigation, and eventually resulted in the arrest of the two men.
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Employees of Nicoletti expressed their shock and horror at the arrests.
“It was a surprise,” one employee told The West Australian. “I know him quite well, I am working with him. It’s a shame. I saw the news. I am working here one year already and he’s a good boss.”
At this point, Australian courts have denied repeated requests for bail or release for Nicoletti and Mineo, with a trial date set for October. Both men have denied any charges of assault, claiming any sex they engaged in was consensual.
Alberto Nicoletti first immigrated to Perth, Australia in his early 20s. There, he launched Lago di Como, a traditional Italian restaurant and pizzeria which had become enormously popular with the local population, earning him the nickname “King of Pizza.”
jayhalleaux
Vile! Giving gay men a bad name.
Good looking guy, must be pretty insecure that he needs to pretend to be gay then drug and rape women… and with an accomplice.
CatholicXXX
Woman* not women.
He’s pretended to be all sorts.
powersthatbe
“It’s a shame”
Uh…
Really?
Many rape victims and that’s what you choose to say?
Openminded
What a wicked scam. Wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t slyly coax the women to screw the gay out of them. I can see some women jumping for the challenge, although the article does imply the women were “drunk and vulnerable” which makes you think they didn’t know what was going on. I can’t imagine what brings anyone to think it’s o.k. to rape another person.
Donston
I mean, they could still be a couple and/or gay-identifying/“gay presenting”. There’s more than a handful of dudes out here in same-sex relationships and/or who embrace being seen as “gay” but also indulge a lot of hetero behaviors and/or have certain hetero paraphiliacs. And you never really know the dimensions of anyone’s sexuality or where they are in the gender, sexual, romantic, affection, emotional investment, commitment spectrum or what they’re motivated by. It is a lil’ weird how this site kinda supports self-identity. Yet, when horrible shit like this goes down, you go straight to “they were pretending”.
This, of course, is incredibly messed up. They are decent looking dudes who have money. So, they could hook up with whoever without taking advantage of folks. This is clearly more about having a sick mind, getting off on “tricking” people, having some unfortunate sexual fetishes/proclivities and having enough arrogance to feel like you can keep getting away with it.
KountKaunas
They said that they were a gay couple to one woman so that she would feel safe walking with them. They then forced her into a public bathroom and raped her. They both raped a number of other women, separately and together, without claiming to be gay.
Donston
I know all of this. The article should have merely said that they told a woman that they’re “gay” instead of using “they pretended to be ‘gay”. It came off rather needlessly defensive. This site also put out an article where a woman claimed to have been raped after she’s passed out while partying with a bunch of “gay” identifying dudes. The article pretty much said that none of the guys could have done it because they’re “gay”.
I know that this is a silly and click-baity site. But they do need to be more responsible and less hypocritical. A guy being “gay presenting” does not equate to him not raping or assaulting someone. And yes, plenty of guys who are “gay” identifying or who are perceived as “gay” are not homosexual or indulge hetero behaviors or have hetero paraphiliacs. No matter what anyone’s identities are or how they present themselves, you do not know what someone’s sexual dimensions are, what their lifestyles is, their fetishes/paraphiliacs, their motivations, where they are in the gender, sexual, affection, romantic, emotion, relationship commitment spectrum. So, you can’t make any assumptions about what someone did or did not do nor assumptions about what they’re “pretending.”
Josiah Freshmount
I guess we have to keep repeating this-rape isn’t about sex! Rape is about violence. Gay men can rape women. The important allegation here is that they committed sexual assaults. How they went about it is secondary because methods can change.
BaltoSteve
I would say it’s more about power rather than the violence. Mainly because both the sex and the violence are how they gain power over the victims.. but I digress. Totally agree that the crime takes precedence over the con.
GayEGO
Ah geesh! What a complex world we live in!
missvamp
wow- utterly disgusting!
letthemeatcake
What utter dirtbags. Too bad Australia can’t sentence them under Sharia Law. That’s what both of those douchebags deserve.