A teacher who avoided work for two decades gave journalists trying to learn more about her situation a swift rebuke while she was out enjoying the beach.
Cinzio Paolina de Lio, who was employed to teach philosophy and literature at a school in Italy, only turned up for four lessons in her 24 years on the job.
She is said to have used her holiday and conference allowance, plus sick leave, to swerve any graft in almost a quarter of a century.
But when journalists from Repubblica approached her so she could give her side of the story, she brazenly told them: "Sorry, but right now I'm at the beach."
She added that she planned to "reconstruct the truth of the facts of this absolutely unique and surreal story".
"I don't answer questions from journalists thrown around that wouldn't do justice to the truth of my story", she said.
Despite her strong answer, her students claimed that when she did show up for lessons she couldn't care less about teaching.
The students said she would sit there texting during their exams and not even have the textbook she was teaching from.
She would often ask them to borrow one, they said.
The students also said that she would dish out grades at random rather than marking properly.
During a routine school inspection, De Lio's charade came crashing down as inspectors found her to be "unprepared" and "inattentive".
Students often bunked off of the lessons, claiming she was distracted by her phone.
She was dismissed from her job, which then turned into a legal battle that went all the way up to Italy's supreme court.
De Lio defended herself by behind a "freedom of teaching", which the court rejected, arguing it was teachers who had a responsibility to make sure student's right to study was protected.
The Italian Supreme Court blasted her “permanently and absolutely unsuitable” for the job of a teacher despite her claims to having three degrees.
She was also branded the “worst employee in Italy” by her secondary school near Venice.
Shockingly, De Lio isn’t the only employee accused of cutting corners for their job in Italy.
It was reported the public health worker Salvatore Scumace, 66, cost the Italian state over £460,000 after he claimed to work as a fire safety officer at a hospital for 15 years.
He was only seen in the hospital once - on the day he signed his contract.
