EXCLUSIVE – Pictured: Newlywed couple who left their lavish Italian wedding reception dinner for 80 guests without paying the £7,000 bill and fled the country – as restaurant owner says he could now go bust
- Moreno Priorietti and Andrae Svenja did a runner after wedding last August
- Owner Enzo Fabrizi is determined to recoup the rest of the bill that was unpaid
This is the first picture of a couple who fled their lavish Italian wedding reception dinner and left the owner with an outstanding £7,000 bill.
Moreno Priorietti and Andrae Svenja did a runner after getting married last August at the exclusive seafood restaurant where they enjoyed a banquet with 80 guests.
When the owner went to collect on their bill, he found to his dismay that the couple had not only left town, but had fled the country – with their family in tow.
Now, owner Enzo Fabrizi is determined recoup the unpaid bill, telling MailOnline that if the couple do not send him what they owe, it could put him out of business.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, lawyer Lugi Tozzi – who is representing the owner of Ristorante La Rotonda where the reception was held in August – said: ‘A formal complaint has been filed with the local police.
This is the first picture of a couple who fled their lavish Italian wedding reception dinner and left the owner with an outstanding £7,000 bill. Moreno Priorietti (left) and Andrae Svenja (right) did a runner after getting married last August at the exclusive seafood restaurant Ristorante La Rotonda
After tying the knot next to the venue’s swimming pool (pictured), the couple put on a banquet at the restaurant – described as a typical Ciociaria eatery – for their 80 guests
After visiting the groom’s local home (pictured) and speaking to neighbours, owner Enzo Fabrizi discovered the couple had not been heard from since the day after the wedding
‘The matter is now in their hands, and it would be in the best interests of the couple to hand themselves into the authorities or better still pay the outstanding debt.
‘My client is prepared to drop the action once the bill is settled and therefore avoid any protracted legal action.’
Mr Fabrizi told MailOnline: ‘We had correspondence with them until a few weeks ago and they kept saying they would pay but then no money arrived.
‘After a while the requests we sent them to settle the bill were unanswered and then I noticed they had both deleted their profiles from Facebook.
‘For a small place like mine 8,000 Euro is a considerable amount of money and I need to have this bill settled as I have suppliers to pay and other overheads.
‘If it’s not settled soon, it could put me out of business. I’m happy to drop the legal action as soon as I’m paid but I can’t get any response from them and have hired a lawyer.
‘All I know is that he was a friend of a friend and he worked as a mechanic Iocally and his wife is German but they have lived in Italy for a few years.
‘The last I heard is that they had gone to Germany but I have no way of tracing them. Even the mobile doesn’t work anymore.’
The bride and groom, along with the groom’s parents, had visited Ristorante La Rotonda seven months before the big day, tasting the different menus on offer.
Opting for the fish, they paid a deposit of 3,300 euros and agreed to pay the final bill – which totalled 8,800 euros including the deposit – after the wedding, with a deadline set for the Wednesday after the event.
Initially, everything went according to plan at the venue in the hills near Boville Ernica. The couple happily exchanged vows in front of their friends and family in a civil ceremony, officiated by a priest who came from Germany, Mr Fabrizi told Italy’s Corriere Della Sera newspaper.
Venue owner Enzo Fabrizi (pictured) told MailOnline he had been corresponding with the couple about them making the final payment for the wedding, but that no money arrived
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, lawyer Lugi Tozzi (right), who is representing the owner, said that a formal complaint has been filed with the local police over the runaway couple
Pictured: Ristorante La Rotonda a Boville, in the Italian province of Frosinone
The 80 guests enjoyed the fish menu and the drinks, leaving Rotonda’s restaurateur no reason to believe he would not be paid for his services.
However, Italian media reports that Priorietti did not pay the day after the wedding – as he had agreed with the owner – and when the official Wednesday deadline came around, the newlyweds were nowhere to be found.
Mr Fabrizi, waited for Priorietti to show up at the venue until late in the evening, and even tried to call him – but recieved no answer.
He was even able to trace the groom’s parents, who had been at the tasting session earlier in the year, but had no response from them either.
After visiting the groom’s local address and speaking to neighbours, the owner discovered the couple had not been heard from since the day after the wedding.
This prompted him to contact the local police, who were able to trace the couple’s movements from the wedding.
To his dismay, the owner was told that the couple had driven to Rome and flown to Frankfurt, Germany after the party.
Officials suspect they could have been en route to visit the Svenja’s family.
‘It has never happened in many years of business, at most someone was late but it had never happened that the spouses disappeared without having paid the bill for the wedding banquet,’ Mr Fabrizi told Corriere Della Sera newspaper.
The bride and groom, along with the groom’s parents, had visited Ristorante La Rotonda seven months before the big day, tasting the different menus on offer
He told reporters that he had been introduced to Priorietti by a friend he had known for 20 years, who had often come to eat at the restaurant, and claimed that 25-year-old Svenja was the groom’s third wife.
‘I trusted because my friend has always kept his word,’ he said. ‘A serious person.
‘He reassured me by saying that the bride’s father works in a bank in Germany. In short, it’s a wealthy family.’
Mr Fabrizi said the banquet cost the couple around 90 euros per-head, and that the overall 8,800 euro bill also included decorations – such as flowers – and other extras.
‘Immediately after [the ceremony] the guests, almost all from Ferentino and about ten Germans, sat down at the table and lunch began,’ he said. ‘They ate, danced and drank to their heart’s content. They left at 10pm, but they were almost all drunk.’
The owner said he spoke to Priorietti, inviting him into his office, to discuss finances.
‘We did the calculations and he shook my hand and told me he would come by the next day to pay,’ he said. ‘The next day, however, he took the plane to Germany.’
Mr Fabrizi told Corriere Della Sera that he is determined the get the money he is owed for the lavish banquet.
The bride and groom, along with the groom’s parents, had visited Ristorante La Rotonda (pictured) seven months before the big day, tasting the different menus on offer. They paid a deposit, and agreed to pay the rest of the bill in the days after the wedding
‘I will not give him peace until he has paid every penny. I’ve been a restaurateur for 40 years, and I’ve never had a misadventure like this happen to me,’ he said.
‘My lawyer will take care of blocking him and I hope that as soon as he sets foot in Italy again, his passport will be withdrawn immediately.
‘And to think that he told me that he would also tip the waiters.’
Local reports say police are investigating the whereabouts of the couple, and Priorietti is now wanted for fraudulent insolvency.
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