An investigation by Sami ZaïbiChalets, planes, racing cars: In Switzerland, a sulphurous businessman has built a life of luxury.But to achieve this, he brilliantly exploited the gullibility of many people.From Lugano to Lausanne, via Sion and Villars-sur-Ollon, welcome to the parallel universe of the "Puppeteer"Investigation: Sami Zaïbi Collaboration: Camille Krafft Iconography: Anne Wyrsch Illustrations: Julius Klemm Coordination: Xavier FilliezIt's a life you may be dreaming of.Wake up in your luxury chalet in Villars-sur-Ollon.Choose the vehicle of the day: Range Rover, Porsche, Ferrari or Audi.If it's raining, why not pay a visit to your daughter, in an upscale district of Lausanne, where you have offered her a luxury apartment.Or, if the weather is nice, reach Sion airport and take off with your son in one of the seven planes you have given him.And at the end of the day, if you feel like it, embark on a private jet for Morocco, where you own a villa by the sea and 14 top-of-the-range quads.Here, after about two decades in Switzerland, is the life that Dario* (first name) has built for himself, a corpulent Italian with an extraordinary patter.Except that this castle, as flashy as it is, is only sand.It is based on a pile of lies, each more cheeky than the other, a pattern where each victim makes the bed for the next.The puppeteer is not afraid of anything and is only guided by one principle: the bigger it is, the more it passes.We stumbled upon this story somewhat by accident.It all started with an intriguing judgment of the Federal Criminal Court which pronounced, in October 2021, the maintenance of the sequestration of ten buildings by the Vaud public prosecutor, somewhere in the canton of Vaud, as part of a request for mutual legal assistance. Italian authorities.Property which, according to transalpine justice, would have been acquired by a certain "D.", an Italian national, thanks to funds of illicit origin, within the framework of participation in a "fraudulent bankruptcy" by embezzlement of assets causing damage of several million euros.The Italian prosecution hopes to withdraw 9.4 million francs from the sale of these goods in order to compensate those injured in the context of an ongoing procedure.It was enough to arouse our curiosity.After some research, we were able to identify the author of the fraudulent bankruptcy.The one who, over the course of our investigation, will become the Puppeteer: let's call him Dario.We were also able to locate the buildings in question, in Villars-sur-Ollon, in the heart of the upscale village in the Vaudois Alps.There, one December morning, we discovered, draped in a shimmering white down, the sumptuous real estate collection: a first three-storey chalet, with an underground garage and a breathtaking view of the Dents-du-Midi;a second smaller chalet, but which has the charm of the rustic;a third chalet lined with surveillance cameras;finally, an apartment and land.All of these assets are in the name of Dario's daughter, son and ex-wife.Surprisingly, a small greyish smoke escapes from the chimney of the largest of the chalets, yet under receivership since 2007, like the other properties."They are the subject of a precautionary seizure ordered by the Vaud public prosecutor, which prevents any sale but allows the interested parties to continue to live there", explained to us later Anton Rüsch, Vaud prosecutor in charge of the case.At the entrance to the building we find the name of Dario's son.We ring the intercom, discuss with him, but as soon as we articulate the word "receiver", our interlocutor cuts the conversation short and hangs up.Our curiosity was aroused, it is now ardent.What is this fraudulent bankruptcy?Who is Dario?And where does the money come from?We didn't know it at the time, but answering these questions will take us down a long path, as unexpected as it is exciting, in the footsteps of an extraordinary smooth talker who raged for nearly twenty years in Ticino, Valais and in the canton of Vaud, three cantons where he is the subject of criminal complaints.Let's start with the beginning.Born in 1960 in Carrù, near Genoa, Dario is the son of modest grocers.He takes over the family store but is not satisfied with it.Endowed with an unparalleled talent for getting closer to people and finding their faults, he managed, in the 1990s, to become a close adviser to several wealthy businessmen, some of whom had had trouble with the Italian justice system.In 1998, he met Massimo (fictitious first name), a successful entrepreneur based in Coni, a small town near Carrù.He is at the head of several companies active in leasing and tourism.Very quickly, Dario gains his confidence.To seduce him, he presents himself as the representative of a large international group and evokes numerous possibilities for the development of his companies, in particular the financing of a tourist village in Cuba.After only one month, Dario has become a must.He manages to collect stratospheric fees from time to time, to be reimbursed for expensive trips, and even to be offered apartments in Monaco and Cuneo.Under his influence, Massimo ousted his two historical partners and now sees everything in a big way.In 1999, Dario moved up a gear.Having access to the current account of one of Massimo's companies, he transfers 4.4 million euros to an account in Lugano.From there, the money goes around the world, transiting through Hong Kong and Monaco, to land in the Cayman Islands, in a newly incorporated company owned by… Dario.Same with the 750,000 euros from the sale of a holiday village in Kenya.Then, in 2001, all of Massimo's companies were declared bankrupt.“Fraudulent bankruptcy”, will estimate the Italian authorities in 2019, after seventeen years of procedure, condemning Dario and Massimo to 8 years of imprisonment.But, according to the court document, if the two acolytes bathed in unclear affairs, it is in the pockets of Dario that the millions ended up.In his argument, the lawyer for the victims underlines "[Dario's] ability to bewitch and make himself indispensable to people who entrust him with large sums of money".This could explain the tragic turn of events.Because on March 9, 2001, Massimo suddenly disappeared.He was then with Dario in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, where they were scouting for a potential project for a new seaside village.Massimo will never be found, but a small stone covered in blood was discovered not far from the supposed place of disappearance... without the Dominican police being able to draw anything from it.What happened?Did Massimo fake his disappearance to escape Italian justice?Or did Dario play a role?Since Italian justice has never been able to answer this question, the presumption of innocence prevails.Contacted, Dario did not wish to answer our questions.One thing is certain, however: whatever the truth, this episode cements its reputation.In 2009, four years after completing the construction of the chalet in Villars-sur-Ollon where his family resides, Dario spotted in Ticino the one that will be his inexhaustible source of income for many years.His masterpiece, in a way.Nicola Silvestri is a wealthy businessman established in Lugano.A true self-made man born in 1952 into a penniless family in Abruzzo, this Italian made his fortune in real estate and then finance.He owns a luxurious house with a view of Lake Lugano, as well as, below, a second residence, no less sumptuous, serving as an office.This is where we meet this discreet man with a sunken face, visibly marked by the story he is about to tell us.carrot and stickIn 2009, a lawyer from Bologna, who is one of his close friends, asked him to use this very spacious office to organize working sessions with a businessman... who was none other than Dario, who Still struggling with Italian justice for a fraudulent bankruptcy case.Nicola Silvestri accepts.This is how, somewhat by chance, the wolf enters the sheepfold, he tells us.Quickly, Dario seized the potential of Nicola Silvestri.He familiarizes himself with the environment, listens, looks everywhere.He is on the prowl.And it pays off: one day, he picks up some snippets of a telephone conversation with Silvestri, in which the latter mentions a charitable foundation project, in which he wishes to inject 25 million francs.Bingo.Dario has found the loophole.Then begins the approach phase.Dario approaches Silvestri, makes him talk about his project.Then he assures her that the future foundation interests a lot of people, that he knows potential donors who could invest more than 100 million euros in it.Important businessmen, reputable lawyers, promises Dario, who "speaks well and is serious," says Nicola Silvestri, who agrees to meet potential donors.But, systematically, the appointment is canceled at the last minute.The deal will never materialize.At this time, I am guided by an absolute priority: to protect my loved ones at all costsThe puppeteer then changes register.After the carrot, it's time for the stick.He warns Silvestri that evil people would be eyeing his foundation.Silvestri begins to receive intimidation calls: voices, each time different, threaten him with beatings, with killing his granddaughter.Those around him also receive such calls, sometimes with death threats.But, in fact, all these calls would have been made by acolytes of Dario, or even simple passers-by found in the street and paid.Terrified, Silvestri announces this blackmail to Dario.The latter then poses as a savior: he claims to manage the situation, says he works in collaboration with the Swiss and Italian secret services and Interpol.He orders Silvestri above all not to go to the police, "because we could no longer protect your loved ones", he warns him.He claims to be part of an international security team of which he would be the 24th member, “Agent 24”.The victim does not suspect for a moment Dario's double game: “It's worse than a nightmare.At this moment, I no longer understand anything about what is happening, but I am guided by an absolute priority: to protect my loved ones at all costs.Soon, the threats materialize: flat tires, smashed fence, broken windows.To remedy this, Dario convinces Silvestri to install surveillance cameras everywhere.For 100,000 francs, a specialist equips all the rooms in his house, his office, and an apartment he owns in Barcelona.Except that the specialist in question is actually a friend of Dario, and that the latter has access to the images from his computer… From then on, the Puppeteer has all the cards in hand.He knows Silvestri's doings and gestures and can better make him believe that he is being tracked at all times by ill-intentioned people.Silvestri can no longer sleep, he is in a state of constant hypervigilance.A case worth 25 million francsLittle by little, Dario plays with Silvestri like a cat with a mouse.One day, Silvestri falls ill after eating a home-delivered dish – Dario tricks him into thinking someone tried to poison him.Some nights he orders her to keep the water running in his house and the lights on - supposedly to deter an attack.One can wonder: is Dario doing all this for the sake of realism or for fun?The alleged protection service that Dario offers, however, comes at a price.He asks for hundreds of thousands of francs in cash to pay his "team".As long as he can, he makes Silvestri pay in kind.He explains to him that a person in charge of his protection, "very high up in the hierarchy of the organization", is passionate about historic aviation and would like to be paid in vintage planes.This is how Nicola Silvestri financed eight vintage planes, for a total sum of 3 million francs.It will also pay for eight sports cars.Gradually, all the bills arrive at the contractor: the studies in London of Dario's daughter, the maintenance costs of the chalets, the credit card statements of the whole family, the gasoline, the television subscription, taxes, etc.“Even the toilet paper, he made me pay for it,” grinds Nicola Silvestri with a bitter smile.In total, this story cost him around 25 million francs.“I lost everything: my heritage, my wife, who left me because of this, and my honor.I only have my health left, ”he laments.In 2020, he filed a complaint against Dario and his son, presumed innocent.The machine is launchedWith Silvestri, Dario has found his cash cow, which he will milk for ten years.But he is not content with that.On the contrary: in Ticino, he will use his proximity to the respectable and renowned businessman to coax other victims.The sandcastle rises, and each level adds to its supposed solidity.That's how Dario turned to Guido Jovane, an airline pilot and owner of the small business Company Jet, which offers private jet rides.Dario begins their relationship with a token of trust: a first return flight to Morocco paid off in spades, 60,000 francs.Two months later, a second identical flight followed.But this time Dario doesn't pay, and instead arranges to meet Jovane at the Hotel Splendide Royal in Lugano.There, he introduces him to his "big boss", an elegant man who calls himself "Schindler" and is said to be the European head of a vast Emirati investment fund.Paris, Rome, Milan, Sion, Geneva, Lugano, Essaouira: wherever he lands, Dario arrives with a credibility that is hard to question“Schindler” convinces the pilot that his profile interests him, and makes him dangle a position as CEO of Alitalia, a company in the process of being bought by Abu Dhabi (operation which really took place).But to access this position, explains “Schindler”, Jovane must make some flights on credit for Dario.But the flights will never be reimbursed, the promised projects will always have failed.And in reality, “Schindler” is called quite differently and is a sidekick of Dario.In all, Guido Jovane lost more than a million euros in this story.In early 2022, he filed a complaint against Dario.Remember that Dario is presumed innocent of the behavior attributed to him.Contacted, he did not wish to answer our questions.Now the machine is launched.Escaped from Italian justice, the puppeteer laid the foundations of his Swiss castle.Nicola Silvestri ensures him a regular income, while Guido Jovane allows him to travel by private jet to the four corners of Europe without spending a penny.Paris, Rome, Milan, Sion, Geneva, Lugano, Essaouira: wherever he lands, Dario arrives with a credibility that is hard to question.You have to imagine him, in his elegant suit, a big Hublot on his wrist, getting off his private jet.Who would doubt such a man?The top-of-the-range quads from the American brand Polaris look great.An intimidating look, an elevated position, a powerful and purring engine: whoever sits on their handlebars fears no relief and feels like the king of the world.This is certainly what the puppeteer felt when he tried one of these beasts for the first time, the most expensive of which cost 40,000 francs.Perfect for Essaouira, no doubt.There, in the south of Morocco, in the immediate vicinity of the Atlantic Ocean on one side, the dunes of the Sahara on the other, Dario owns a luxurious villa.Like one of his chalets in Villars-sur-Ollon, this one is in the name of his ex-wife, whose life he continues to share.How was the house financed?Impossible to know.But what is certain is that Dario goes there regularly and that he invites several of his targets there to impress them.The UN and its “ecological conscience”Back to the quads.In Valais, Marco (fictitious first name), jovial Valaisan of Italian origin, is the first importer of Polaris quads in Switzerland.In 2009, Dario comes to meet him, posing as a businessman working for a large investment fund in Singapore, which manages UN money.He is full of praise for his company and is interested in his vehicles.The current goes well between the two men: “Dario is funny, charismatic, he speaks in Italian, inspires confidence.In addition, he displays solid technical knowledge of quads, he knows what he is talking about,” recalls Marco, whom we met in Valais, in his house bathed in the winter sun.After some time, when they have become friends, Dario offers Marco the “deal of the century”: for the sake of ecology, he explains to him, the UN would like to replace all of its Moroccan fleet of all-terrain vehicles by quads.And the organization could buy them from his company, as long as he plays the trick skillfully.How could Marco believe this story?“Of course, a posteriori we say to ourselves that we are stupid, says the Valaisan.But you have to put it in context: Dario arrives in a private jet, drives sports cars, wears big watches, knows quads well.We tell ourselves that all of this can only be true.And once we are caught in the gears…”Of course, a posteriori, we tell ourselves that we are stupid.But once you get caught up in it...For Marco, the first finger in the gear costs 300,000 francs.This is a sponsorship deal for his son's company, which is based in Sion and managed by Dario's son.The reason given by Dario to justify the payment?The need to make your company visible so that it can be selected by the UN.This is how the logo of the quad import company flourishes on Dario's son's planes.Excited by the UN quad project, Marco, by his own admission, “got caught up in the game”.He spends a lot of time developing his vehicles to adapt them to the desert.From 2013, he sends quads to Essaouira by container, which according to Dario must serve as a sample for the UN representatives, and himself regularly goes to Essaouira to perfect the quads.On each trip, Dario assures Marco that the signing of the famous contract is getting closer.In 2019, he is formal: he assures Marco that he will finally sign the contract with the UN.But the next day, no more sign of life.Dario no longer answers the phone...In all, Marco traveled to Morocco 20 times and sent 14 quads there as well as six e-bikes, which would have served no one but Dario and his family.This story lasted nine years and cost him 1.5 million francs.To keep the business afloat, he had to leave it and hand over the reins to his brother.In 2019, he filed a complaint against Dario.Now 53 years old, he is currently undergoing professional retraining in a chemical company.In Sion, an intriguing aviation companyDuring the ten years that this story of quads lasts, still in Valais, Dario's son, after receiving a demanding education in one of the most prestigious private schools in the country, develops a passion for aviation.In 2009, he founded a company based at Sion airport and specializes in aerobatics.On planes specifically dedicated to this practice, he trains tirelessly to do tricks.He joined the Swiss aerobatic team.A few years later, he would become Swiss aerobatic champion in the most prestigious of categories.In 2014, during the Air14 air show in Payerne, he met a famous wingwalker (wing walker), who performed acrobatics on the wings of an airplane in flight.Both aviation enthusiasts, they will team up on the ground (wedding with great fanfare in a luxury hotel in Lugano, entirely at the expense of Nicola Silvestri), as in the sky: he pilots while she performs pirouettes on her wings .Together, they participate in air shows all over Europe, are the subject of reports on French television.Besides wingwalking and aerobatics, Dario's son buys and restores historic aircraft.His collection includes four aircraft used during the Second World War.In total, his company owns at least nine planes, for a total value of several million francs.Problem: seven of them would have been paid by Nicola Silvestri, within the framework of the affair of which we have already spoken.As for Marco, the victim from Valais, he paid, as we have seen, 300,000 francs to the company.For years, many people in Sion wondered where such a fleet of planes came from, for a pilot so young and who does not seem to be active professionally...In 2019, as Dario's troubles with the Italian courts materialized, Dario's son's company rushed to sell at least four of his planes, as shown by ads posted on the company's Facebook page.Among them, the aerobatic plane used by Dario's son to become Swiss champion.Why?Contacted, Dario's son did not wish to answer our questions.Neither did his lawyer.Currently, the aviation company still exists and offers tourists trips to the Swiss Alps.As for Dario's son, he is the subject of three criminal complaints.Like his father, he is presumed innocent of all charges against him.Gold coins vanished in LausanneDario also raged in the canton of Vaud, where he is the subject of three criminal complaints.Entrepreneurs accuse him of never having paid for work on his chalets in Villars-sur-Ollon.In Lausanne, an architect suspects him of having deliberately flooded an apartment in order to have it renovated for free.Finally, still in Lausanne, someone suspects him of having set up an ingenious scheme to make a pile of gold coins disappear.For these victims, the cumulative losses amount to millions of francs.Dario is presumed innocent and declined to answer our questions.After nearly twenty years criss-crossing Switzerland, Dario has built the life he dreamed of for himself and his family: houses, sports cars, planes, etc.In order to get what he wants, he invents more and more eccentric and daring stories.And the worst part is that it works.But not for long...Illustrative caption below: The presenter of the Italian show “Le Iene”, whose face is seen here, trapped Dario, who had to go back behind barsIn July 2019, Dario disappeared from radar.In Lugano, his victim Nicola Silvestri, to whom he usually telephones several times a day under the pseudonym of "Agent 24", no longer receives any calls.In Valais, the seller of quads, Marco, to whom he promised an imminent contract with the UN, has no more news.In Lausanne, other victims of Dario can no longer reach him.And for good reason.Eighteen years after the bankruptcy of Massimo's companies, Dario has finally been sentenced by Italian justice to 8 years' imprisonment for fraudulent bankruptcy.Several reasons explain the slowness of the legal procedure, explains a source close to the file.At first, it took several years for investigators to understand Dario's true role in the bankruptcies, due to the ingenious financial arrangement he had put in place.Finally, two appeals further postponed the deadline.To all this, it should be added that Italian justice is not renowned for its speed.An ingenious modus operandiIn 2019, Dario is therefore imprisoned in Aosta.But even from his jail, he still tries to take advantage of his connections.Shortly after his imprisonment, he begged for 300,000 francs from Nicola Silvestri in a 21-page handwritten letter.This time, the entrepreneur refuses.He finally begins to grasp the magnitude of the trap he has fallen into.But he remains suspicious.Guido Jovane and another Ticino victim as well.The other Ticino protagonists too.“Everyone thought the others were accomplices of Dario, while we were all victims.Here is his way of doing things: isolate his targets, so that they do not communicate with each other”, explains Nicola Silvestri.But now that Dario can't pull the strings, the play can't go on.Nicola Silvestri, Guido Jovane, Marco, Pierre, as well as other victims, end up talking and realize that Dario uses the same modus operandi each time.At first, he makes friend-friend, using his charisma and his humor to win the friendship of his target.To appear credible, he displays a real knowledge of the field in question, whether it is about security, planes, quads, the tourist industry or even real estate.Reassured by his knowledge, impressed by his address book and his way of life, the people approached develop a certain admiration for the character.That's when he tells them about a unique opportunity, presented in such a way that they feel like he's doing them a favor.From then on, the hook is engaged.The targets do not hesitate to make sacrifices to satisfy the Puppeteer.When he asks them for cash advances, services or goods, they say to themselves that this is very little asked compared to all that he will bring them.So that the fish does not escape, Dario punctually brings proof of his probity.For one, it will be a (fake) bank statement showing an account filled with several billion francs.For the other, it will be the appearance of "Schindler", Giulia, so many allies who don't hesitate to dress up to fulfill a role, whether it be the head of an investment fund or an Italian countess.Dario's acolytes, victims?But besides, who are these people and how did Dario recruit them?Most of them live in Italy and knew him before he arrived in Switzerland."Schindler", who has alternately posed as the director of a security agency, the manager of an Emirati investment fund or the director of the elevator company of the same name, would be in is also a victim.After Dario was imprisoned, he told investigators he helped him under duress.Dario allegedly threatened his family and pointed a gun at him.“Schindler,” however, is the subject of three criminal complaints from Dario's targets.He is presumed innocent.For the lawyer of one of the complainants, an experienced criminal lawyer, Dario is exceptional: “I have rarely seen this in my career.Two things particularly appeal to me about him: on the one hand, his longevity, rare among storytellers, and which requires extraordinary inventiveness.On the other hand, his ability to change register, easily passing from the role of seducer and confidant to that of a threatening character with an unlimited capacity for nuisance.And he's believable in both roles."Launder large sums of money?Dario answers: “You have a person in front of you who takes care of this kind of thing from morning to night.It's my bread, it's my job.Dario's story is already crazy, but it doesn't end there.In 2020, after only a year behind bars, the Puppeteer is already on parole.Barely out of prison, he claims 980,000 euros from Marco, the importer of Valais quads, for “non-conclusion of the contract”.But Marco is no longer fooled: he refuses.And soon, it is Dario who will fall into a trap.Because the Italian program Le Iene (The Hyenas), specializing in news items and renowned for its unorthodox methods, will be interested in his case.After retracing Dario's Ticino adventures, Le Iene decide to trap him.A journalist contacts one of Dario's victims and offers him revenge: fooling Dario in turn.His mission is to tell Dario about "a big deal with a wealthy entrepreneur".He agrees to meet the pseudo-businessman, who is actually the presenter of the program Le Iene.The journalist then asks him to launder large sums of money, to which Dario replies: “No worries, you have a person in front of you who takes care of this kind of thing every day, from morning to night. .It's my bread, it's my job.The whole thing is filmed with a hidden camera.The sprinkler is sprinkled, the conditions of his release are dropped, and Dario returns to the prison space.Except this time, he should stay there for a while.Because in addition to the sentence he must finish serving for fraudulent bankruptcy, a mammoth trial awaits him in Lugano, where the many Swiss plaintiffs await him.The curtain falls, the puppeteer's strings are broken and his puppets, finally freed from their servitude, demand justice.And you, would you have fallen into the trap?Le Temps puts all its heart into creating interactive and immersive content, which you can find on all your media.Journalists, photographers, videographers, graphic designers and developers work closely together for several 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