After being detained by Italian officials for a night, Michael Walsh, CSOM ’17, was released from government custody, promptly ending his time abroad. His release followed what Italian newspaper Corriere Fiorentino described as a physical altercation with an Italian officer in Sant’Ambrogio Square in Florence. The initial charge of resisted arrest will not be mentioned in Walsh’s record.
According to Corriere Fiorentiono, Walsh explained to the judge that he wanted to celebrate his first night of being abroad. He was reportedly noticed confronting passersby in the square when a bar manager decided to hold him down. The Italian press reports that in response to the bar manager’s force, he threw a bottle, which hit a man, Salvatore Sicily, in the temple. Sicily was taken to Hospital Santa Maria Nuova, where he received four stitches and a CAT Scan, according to the Corriere Fiorentino.
The Guardia di Finanza picked up Walsh, who spent his first night abroad in waiting. At 9 the next morning, Walsh arrived in Italian court. The judge accepted Walsh’s plea bargain, which kept the incident off his record. Walsh soon thereafter left the country.
Nick Gozik, the director of Boston College’s international programs, declined to comment, citing that the the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents him from discussing the case.
Correction: September 14, 2015
An earlier version of this article inaccurately identified the Italian official as a soldier and misstated Walsh’s charges. The article and headline have been update to reflect the lesser degree of the altercation.
Featured Image courtesy of the Corriere Fiorentino
