Nuns in 'wild west brawl'
By Nick Pisa
in Rome
A PRIEST and two nuns have been questioned by Italian police after they beat up a restaurant owner.
The 49-year-old victim suffered neck and stomach injuries in the attack, which also left his restaurant "looking like a wild west saloon".
Tables and chairs were overturned and plates smashed during the fracas, which erupted in a dispute over ownership of the venue.
The brawl happened at Rutino, near Salerno in the south of Italy, at a restaurant which is leased by a local religious order to the victim, Antonio Esposito.
The building the restaurant is in is owned by the Disciples of St Teresa and Baby Jesus – to which the priest and nuns belong.
Antonio Tata, the local police chief, said: "Passers-by had called us because the three attackers were turning over tables and chairs and smashing plates as well as attacking the owner – it was like a scene from a wild west saloon."
Yesterday, an angry Mr Esposito said: "I was hit with a chair by the priest and then ended up on the floor. The next thing I knew, the two nuns were kicking me and hurling unspeakable insults at me."
Hospital sources said he needed treatment for bruises to his neck and stomach and added that the row was over the lease.
Gaetano Di Vietri, a lawyer for the order, said: "My clients deny the allegations. Let's be realistic here, all three have a combined age of 160 so it's not very likely they are going to attack a 49-year-old man.
"What is more important here is that the premises are being occupied illegally by the restaurant, and the police and the owner know that."