Italian cops: Man pretended to be pilot

ROME -- Italian police describe it as a real-life sequel to "Catch Me If You Can," the hit movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the true story about an ingenious con artist masquerading as a commercial airline pilot.

An unemployed 32-year-old Italian man was stopped at Turin's Caselle airport on suspicion he successfully used false IDs, a cap and uniform to convince a crew he was a pilot and let him fly for free inside the cockpit aboard a commercial flight from Munich, Germany, to Turin, Carabinieri paramilitary police said.

Police said two real pilots flew the Air Dolomiti plane on the flight in April. The man, who wasn't identified, didn't touch the controls while in the cockpit. Police caught up with the man at the Turin airport terminal Wednesday after tailing him for months and receiving a tip. On his Facebook profile, the man also falsely bragged he was a commercial pilot and claimed he was promoted to captain's rank while still young.

A police statement said the suspect was cited for suspicion of putting at risk the security of air transport and "usurping a title," and was allowed to stay free on his own recognizance while the investigation continues.

When police caught up with him, the suspect was dressed in a pilot's uniform, but without any company logo on it, and was sipping coffee at a bar near the check-in area in the terminal and hadn't passed through security.

Italian police said the suspect, after they confronted him, led them to a garage, where officers found piles of neatly pressed white shirts with epaulets, black trousers and jackets, similar to pilots' uniforms, and fake IDs, which were seized by authorities.