A law student famous in Spain for conning his way into King Felipe VI’s swearing-in reception and other official events was arrested on Friday after reportedly leaving a restaurant without paying the bill, police officials said.
A police spokesman said Francisco Nicolas Gomez Iglesias, a 20-year-old dubbed “Little Nicholas,” had dinner with friends on Thursday and left without paying 500 euros (US$570).
“The young man then went to a nightclub were he was detained for fraud. He was questioned and released,” the spokesman said.
Spanish media outlets said that he dined with about 20 friends at an upscale restaurant in the center of Madrid and the group left after paying just 1,300 euros of their bill of 1,800 euros.
Staff then called police, but the owner of the restaurant decided not to press charges after Gomez’s friends promised to pay the outstanding amount owed, the reports said.
“Little Nicholas” first made headlines in Spain in October last year when he was arrested after allegedly passing himself off as a government adviser and asking a top businessman for a 25,000 euro commission to act as a go-between in a real-estate deal.
Gomez was bailed out while police investigated the case. He has appeared in photographs in the press alongside a string of top political figures.
Among the personalities with whom “Little Nicholas” has managed to rub shoulders are Spain’s conservative former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar and former IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato.
However, his crowning exploit was to sneak uninvited into a reception that following the swearing-in ceremony of King Felipe VI in June last year, when he was photographed in suit and tie, bowing and shaking the monarch’s hand.
Spain’s secret service agency, the National Intelligence Center, has filed a lawsuit against Iglesias for allegedly saying that he worked for the body in several radio and television interviews.
His story has captured the imagination of the Spanish public. Internet users have taken to superimposing images of “Little Nicolas” onto photos of famous scenes in film or history to imply ever more ludicrous scenarios, from sitting next to Jesus at the Last Supper to encountering Darth Vader.
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