Fun-loving Fiat Heir Lapo Elkann Won't Be Going to Court, Despite High Expectations

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Lapo Elkann — rich person and grandson of late Fiat patriarch Gianni Agnelli — will not face charges for a November incident in which he told a family representative and the New York Police Department that he had been kidnapped.

Law enforcement sources claimed that Elkann had spent last Thanksgiving snorting cocaine, smoking marijuana, and drinking heavily with a 29-year-old escort, believing the kidnapping to be a ploy to acquire money to pay for the bender.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office said today that it will not prosecute Elkann, offering no further comment, Reuters reports.

Attorney Randy Zelin said he presented information to prosecutors, who reviewed it before determining no crime had been committed. While declining to share the information provided to the court, Zelin considered earlier reports of the incident “false news” and was pleased to see his client exonerated.

“We are very fortunate the district attorney listened to us, and conducted a thorough investigation,” he said.

Elkann entered rehab immediately after the scandal. “This has been a difficult period for me, but it has also given me time to reflect quietly upon what happened and also about the future,” she said in a statement.

While Elkann no longer holds any positions at Fiat, he is on the board of directors at Ferrari — one of the companies still controlled by his family.

[Image: Ferrari]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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