A well-known Italian social media figure known as ‘the ruler of Milan’s nightlife’ was taken into custody on allegations of operating a narcotics and prostitution network alongside his former companion.
David Lacerenza, aged 58, stands accused of billing patrons in Milan at his establishment, La Ginoteneria di Davide, amounts of up to 10,000 euros (£8,375) per evening for alcohol, intimate services, and substances.
He was arrested on Tuesday following an operation by Italian tax police and his bar was seized by authorities.
His ex-partner, Stefania Nobile – a well know TV personality in Italy, was also arrested in connection.
Lacerenza and Nobile are under suspicion of having managed a substance and escort syndicate at the downtown Milan bar, and have been indicted for self-money laundering, promoting and supporting prostitution, as well as possessing and distributing drugs, as stated by the Milan prosecutor’s office.
Authorities began to investigate Lacerenza, who boasts 260,000 followers on Instagram, after it was flagged that a 30-year-old Milan man, who has only been identified as SS, spent 641,000 euros at the influencer’s bar.
Interviewed by police, the man claimed that he had spent 50,000 euros in one night at the bar after being taken by Lacerenza to a smaller club, where he was supplied with prostitutes.
In other instances, he said that the influencer would appear at his house with multiple escorts.
Italian influencer Davide Lacerenza has been arrested on suspicion of running a prostitution ring
He was arrested on Tuesday following an operation by Italian tax police and his bar was seized by authorities
The influencer boasts 260,000 followers n Instagram
Italian media quoted one regular who described seeing naked women and ‘stupid, drunk rich kids whipping the corks off champagne bottles with their iPhones’.
Another customer allegedly recalled seeing a ‘weighing scale with a glass plate for snorting [cocaine].’
Meanwhile, investigators have traced 33,000 euros of Lacerenza’s earning to a bank account in Lithuania.
Lacerenza – a former fruit-and-vegetable stall owner – found fame on social media by telling his followers tales of Milan’s watering holes frequented by the city’s elite.
The social media star has also been known to share clips of himself bragging about washing his Ferrari with champagne, and has posted pictures showing stashes of cash held together by a rubber band.
He is also said to have encouraged his customers to yell ‘No poor people!’ as they downed drinks.
The influencer had also released an autobiography titled ‘Virgin, Single, Millionaire’.
His ex partner, well-known TV personality Stefania Nobile, has also been arrested
Nobile is the daughter of TV persona Wanna Marchi. Nobile and Marchu were sentenced to jail in 2006 for fraud
His former partner Nobile is the daughter of Wanna Marchi, a saleswoman who hosted a highly successful TV show in the 1980s in Italy.
Marchi and her daughter were sentenced to jail in 2006 for fraud after selling lucky lottery numbers and amulets.
The mother-daughter duo were the subject of 2022 Netflix documentary Wanna.
