Another Italian Bureaucrat Joins the Hall of Fame

Dan Mitchell

Nov 1

In 2014, I wrote about the Italian bureaucrat who worked only 15 days over a nine-year period.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the more industrious (relatively speaking, of course) Italian bureaucrat who worked four years over a 24-year period.

Both of these stellar public servants are now in my Bureaucrat Hall of Fame, which is an honor reserved for government employees who "have gone above and beyond the call of duty" to live "fat and happy at our expense."

Today, we're going to add another Italian to the Hall of Fame, meaning that Italy will be the first foreign nation with three representatives.

Congratulations to that nation's lucky taxpayers!

Our recipient is Alberto Muraglia, who first became famous years ago for punching a time clock in his underwear and then heading home.

That's remarkable, but not enough to become a member of the Hall of Fame. What makes Alberto special is that he then won two legal cases that confirmed his right to be a slacker.

I'm not joking. Here are some excerpts from a report in the U.K.-based Times.

Alberto Muraglia, 61, a police officer in Sanremo in northern Italy, became a symbol of Italy's stereotypical skiving public servants in 2015 when he was caught in a corruption inquiry. After installing hidden cameras, investigators filmed him descending the steps from his service flat above his office in his Y-fronts and a T-shirt, clocking in, then returning home. ...the police officer became an emblem of Italy's battle against what it calls fannulloni, or good-for-nothing workers in council offices and government departments who are rarely at their desks. ...But when Muraglia was sacked, a court acquitted him in 2020 of the charge of defrauding the state of public funds, ruling that getting dressed in the morning is part and parcel of an employee's official duties. ...However, the town of Sanremo refused to give him his job back, prompting Muraglia to go back to court, where he won again this week. A judge ruled he should not only be re-employed but should receive back pay of €250,000, dating back to his sacking.

Way to go, Alberto!

Stories like this, as well as the many examples form the U.S. and other countries, should remind us that governments waste money wantonly and do not deserve even a single penny of additional tax revenue.

Especially since more revenue would simply encourage politicians to further increase the spending burden, meaning even more debt.