This was in 2006 - digging around, I find things like https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA452289555&sid=googleS...
> Abstract:
> Several Italian judges, including the members of the Supreme Court, have defined begging with children as a "Roma cultural practice". In response, the Italian Parliament enacted law no. 94/2009, which severely represses the practice. The article contests that begging is a Roma cultural practice and claims, instead, that it is an economic practice which may sometimes connect to other elements of Roma culture. The article critiques both the cultural argument put forward by Italian judges, and Italian law no. 94/2009, neither of which serves to defend the rights of Roma children. It concludes by suggesting a different kind of legal approach to child begging, more respectful of the constitutional duty of solidarity and protection of the family, and based on social policies rather then criminal repression.
and references to Article 669-bis C.P. talking about this 2018 law "re-introducing" limits to begging, so I suspect that the "impersonating a gypsy" bit was a mis-understanding and it was really "impersonating a person in need".
> If I’m wrong, a sum that doesn’t matter to me was grifted.
"Give to anyone who asks" is a fine approach, one that I follow too.
Yes, my searching also found lots about the legal wrangling. It had been a long gap between visits and the way begging was done was quite different. Being harassed at train stations by (?)Roma was quite full on 15-20 years ago. Absent this time.
I’ve definitely been caught out by a fake, sad story before. In Santiago a guy had a story. The next day I saw him in different clothes with a new story.