Port St. Lucie Woman Arrested After Falsely Claiming Diplomatic Immunity
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Edgar Moreno, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Miami Field Office, announced that defendant Gabriella Ferroni-Carli, of Port St. Lucie, was arrested and charged for falsely pretending to be a registered diplomat in the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 915. If convicted, this felony charge could result in a maximum ten-year sentence.
On February 11, 2007, officers with the Stuart Police Department responded to a reckless driver report on Dixie Highway in Martin County, Florida. Before Stuart Police could arrive, the driver of the car, Gabriella Ferroni-Carli, was involved in a one-car accident at Kiwanis Park in Stuart. Following the accident, Ferroni-Carli identified herself to the police at the scene by presenting a Florida driver’s license and an Italian Diplomatic Passport. Ferroni-Carli claimed to be a diplomat and also claimed "diplomatic immunity" regarding the accident. Subsequent investigation by the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service revealed that the defendant was not a registered diplomat inside the United States.
Defendant Ferroni-Carli made her initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch in federal court in Fort Pierce, and was released on bond.
U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta stated, "Diplomatic immunity is sparsely claimed and strictly limited to foreign diplomats on our soil. We will aggressively investigate and prosecute individuals who fraudulently claim entitlement to this privilege." Read more at state.gov.
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