Italy's top court upholds 14-year sentence for jeweller Mario Roggero who killed two robbers in 2021

Final ruling

Italy's Court of Cassation definitively upheld the conviction of Mario Roggero on 15 July 2026, confirming the 14-year, 9-month prison term handed down by the Turin Court of Assizes of Appeal. The first criminal section of the supreme court rejected the defence appeal, making the sentence for voluntary homicide and attempted homicide final. Roggero, now 72, had originally received a 17-year sentence at first instance from the Asti Tribunal. The prosecutor in that trial had told the court that video evidence showed an execution.

The incident on 28 April 2021

The case stems from an afternoon raid on Roggero's jewellery shop in Gallo di Grinzane Cavour, near Cuneo. Three masked men armed with a knife and a pistol (later found to be a toy weapon) threatened Roggero, his wife and his daughter, stealing jewels and cash from the safe. After the robbers exited through the rear of the shop and headed for their getaway car, Roggero grabbed his own pistol, pursued them into the car park and opened fire on the vehicle as it was departing. Giuseppe Mazzarino, 58, and Andrea Spinelli, 44, were killed. The third member, Alessandro Modica, who was driving, was wounded but survived. The appeal court judges stressed that the aggressive action by the robbers was totally concluded and that the shots were fired while the gang was already fleeing.

I was afraid. I shot to save my life, not to kill, only to avoid being killed.

Roggero had made a video appeal on Facebook the day before the Cassation ruling, describing the five-year wait as an ordeal wearing down his family. His defence, led by lawyer Stefano Marcolini with analyst Sergio Novani, had argued throughout the proceedings that he acted in legitimate defence, or at least putative legitimate defence, believing himself still in danger after the violent robbery.

Political fallout and calls for a pardon

Deputy Prime Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini reacted within hours, posting an Instagram video calling the sentence unjust and announcing he would seek a presidential pardon for Roggero from President Sergio Mattarella. Salvini described Roggero as a father, a grandfather, a husband and a lifelong worker who at 72 does not deserve to share a cell with real criminals. He invited supporters to make their voices heard in the coming weeks and hinted at a possible public initiative, perhaps a signature collection, by his party.

I, and many others, stand with Mario Roggero. He does not deserve prison. We will do everything possible to obtain a pardon.

General Roberto Vannacci, leader of Futuro Nazionale, had weighed in before the verdict was delivered, stating from Civitanova Marche that the triggering cause was the criminals entering the shop and that, had they not done so, Roggero would today be living happily and two people would not be dead. Riccardo Corsetto, a Futuro Nazionale assembly leader, spoke at a sit-in organised that morning outside the Cassation in Rome, calling Roggero a victim and accusing the state of having failed twice: first in protecting a citizen who had suffered multiple armed robberies, and second by imposing a sentence that should be aimed at others. Forza Italia senator Maurizio Gasparri expressed astonishment and dismay, hoping a way could be found to avoid what he called a horrible conclusion.

Broader context

Roggero had been the victim of an earlier robbery in 2015 in which thieves took jewels and cash worth 270,000 euro. The definitive Cassation ruling closes a five-year judicial process that has polarised Italian public opinion, with the right-wing parties framing the case as a failure of the state to protect a law-abiding citizen and the judiciary maintaining that the lethal response occurred after the danger had passed.