Italian law enforcement arrested 55-year-old Dario De Bernardi on September 23, 2026, ending a fifteen-year fugitive trail that included an armed heist at the Casinò Campione d’Italia. Carabinieri from the Provincial Command of Como intercepted De Bernardi on a public street in the Como province, seizing weapons and nearly 98,000 euros in cash during subsequent property searches.
Capture and Arrest Details
The operation unfolded on the afternoon of September 23, 2026, according to reports from the Como Provincial Command. Carabinieri from the Investigative Unit tracked and cornered De Bernardi on a public road, taking him into custody without incident before transferring him to the Como Provincial Command and subsequently to the Como Prison.
Following the arrest, law enforcement searched an outbuilding in a Como province residence where De Bernardi had recently lived. Backed by the Calabria Helicopter Squadron, officers uncovered a firearm with an obliterated serial number, an illegally held hunting rifle, and 98,000 euros in cash stored inside cellophane bags beneath stacked firewood and debris, as detailed by investigators.
The 2018 Casinò Campione d’Italia Robbery
De Bernardi’s criminal warrants stem from multiple offenses dating back to 2011, when he first became a fugitive. Investigators identify him as the principal perpetrator of a March 28, 2018, armed robbery at the Casinò Campione d’Italia, where thieves made off with 750,000 Swiss francs.
While Carabinieri arrested three accomplices in 2018 who later faced conviction, De Bernardi remained at large during the heist and was officially classified as a fugitive in absentia. Over the fifteen years of his evasion, authorities report he moved across multiple locations, including potential stays abroad, before settling recently in the Como area.
Prior Convictions and Warrants
The arrested 55-year-old faces an accumulation of prison sentences issued across different jurisdictions. In 2016, the General Prosecutor’s Office at the Milan Court of Appeal issued an execution order for a prison sentence exceeding 19 years covering drug trafficking conspiracy, robbery, and other charges. The preliminary investigations judge at the Tribunal of Como also issued a pre-trial custody order in 2019 connecting De Bernardi directly to the Campione casino robbery.
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