Italian police find elderly bound to chairs in home for aged

ROME – Italian police have removed a priest who ran a home for the elderly after residents were found with their arms and legs bound to chairs, beds and sofas to prevent them from moving about freely.

Undercover video provided by police Wednesday showed one resident of the “San Camillo” home for the elderly in Forli, near Bologna, hoisting up an armchair he was tied to so he could move.

Forli Commander Mario Paternoster said about 30 people lived in the home, and a half-dozen were regularly bound.

Police said the measures were apparently used because the home didn’t have enough staff.

Police ordered the suspension of the 60-year-old priest and his assistant on accusations of elderly abuse, and named a new director “to guarantee proper and dignified assistance for the patients.”