Court tosses will written on dog collar

MESSINA, Italy, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- An employee of an Italian businessman allegedly forged what was supposed to be the boss's will on the back of dog collar.

Giovanni Russo, who died in 2004, split his estate between his sisters and ex-wife in a will put to paper. But a few months later, a dog collar that had belonged to the Sicilian businessman's German shepherd, Delos, arrived in the mail, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

On the back of the collar was another version of the will, leaving everything to Delos and to the son of the employee who has now been charged.

A court ruled Friday that the handwriting on the collar was not Russo's. The employee was ordered to pay the cost of the five years of legal battles.

Members of Russo's family say Delos vanished in late 2004, the apparent victim of a kidnapping.