Stefan Černetić, a gastronomic journalist who presents himself in Italy as the Prince of Montenegro, heir to the Crnojevic dynasty, was recently reported to the police for false representation and extorting money from the owner of a restaurant near Siena.
The owner of the Osteria del Leone restaurant from Banjo Vignone near Siena, Luciano Petrini, published a video on YouTube in which Černetić introduced himself as a representative of the popular tourist review network, Trip Advisor, offering a special positioning of positive reviews about the restaurant on this platform in exchange for 50 euros.
After the recorded conversation, Petrini called the Trip Advisor representative office to verify Cernetić's statements. After he was told by that company that they do not have associates who physically visit restaurants selling services, he decided to call the police.
This news, as well as the mentioned video, was reported by the Italian newspaper "Il Fatto Quotidiano" on Wednesday, and the same was confirmed by the "Vijesti nedjeldom" from the carabinieri station in Siena, as well as by the owner of the restaurant.
"I am a descendant of the famous medieval Montenegrin house (Crnojević) and no one will ever be able to dispute this truth," said Černetić.
"In addition to introducing himself as a person who works for Trip Advisor and as a journalist, Černetić introduced himself as His Highness the Prince of Montenegro", specified the owner of the restaurant, Luciano Petrini, in an interview with "Vijesti Nedjeljom".
In the video published by Petrini, Černetić is heard offering a favored position on the Trip Advisor portal in exchange for money. When asked by the owner of the restaurant if he will receive a confirmation, Černetić replies that he will write on his business card that he took the money, and that the company will send an invoice later.
Petrini photocopied the two IDs shown by Černetić, one from the Chamber of Journalists of Italy, the other from Trip Advisor, pointing out that he noticed that one of them said "Stefan of Montenegro" and the other "Stefan Černetić".
When asked if he plans to sue Černetić, Petrini replied that "it goes without saying that he will".
On the other hand, Černetić categorically denied these allegations, claiming that he had not set foot in the mentioned restaurant for years.
"The video is fake, it's a set-up. It's about hackers, IT pirates who used special software with the help of which they copied my voice," Černetić told "Vijesti".
"I filed a complaint against the owner of the restaurant. My lawyers said that what they did to me was worse than robbing a bank and that they risked up to five years in prison," added Černetić, who repeated several times during the conversation that he had not stepped foot in four years to the mentioned restaurant.
When asked why the owners of a reputable restaurant would turn on him in such a way, Černetić said that one of the owners acted like an anarchist to him and that their goal was probably to sabotage Trip Advisor, where the restaurant had negative comments. ("Vijesti nedjeljom" consulted the reviews of the mentioned restaurant on Trip Advisor, finding that the vast majority of 129 comments were positive, and that the restaurant was marked with an average rating of 4 out of a possible 5 stars).
He pointed out that he sees nothing wrong with someone who is a professional journalist asking for money in exchange for reviews on portals such as Trip Advisor.
Although Černetić claims that he has not set foot in Petrini's restaurant for years, the Carabinieri station in Siena has information that at the end of September of this year, they legitimized a person who introduced himself as Stefan Černetić, Prince of Montenegro and Trip Advisor representative, in the said restaurant.
"We intervened in the restaurant Osteria del Leone at the invitation of the owner of the restaurant, who told us that the person asked for 50 euros in exchange for comments on the Trip Advisor portal. The person's identity is being verified. To date, no lawsuit has been filed by the injured parties." , Carabinieri commander Marko Grandini from Siena told "Vijesti nedjeldom".
On Thursday, "Vijesti" also contacted the PR service of Trip Advisor's representative office in Italy, asking if Stefan Černetić is their associate, and if he is not, whether they will sue him for misusing the company's name, after which Trip Advisor informed "Vijesti" that will send answers on monday.
The representative office of Trip Advisor Italy issued a statement to the newspaper "Il Fatto Quotidiano" in which they specify that the company does not send its representatives to offer reviews and privileged positioning in exchange for money. In that notification, the company did not explicitly mention Černetić, that is, it denied the existence of cooperation with him.
Černetić said that he does not have a contract with Trip Advisor, but that he cooperates with them based on a "verbal agreement", not wanting to specify what that cooperation consists of.
"I cannot tell a journalist what my tasks are at Trip Advisor, because they concern me and that company. Trip Advisor is a guide, and this type of work is always a bit mysterious and it must remain so," stated Černetić.
He pointed out that he sees nothing wrong with someone who is a professional journalist asking for money in exchange for reviews on portals such as Trip Advisor.
Trip Advisor is a portal that in recent years has established itself as the main source of reviews of hotels, restaurants and other catering establishments around the world, unique in that the quality of restaurants is evaluated exclusively by independent service users on a voluntary basis. With the growth of the platform's popularity, this model has been called into question many times since the practice of fake reviews has developed among restaurateurs, which include posting negative comments about competitors, or extorting positive comments from relatives, friends, and clients who are offered discounts or even monetary compensation.
Stefan Černetić (51), a journalist and gastronomic critic who lives in Turin, officially presents himself as the Prince of Montenegro, heir to the Crnojevic dynasty.
Crnojević until proven otherwise
He is the editor of the portal Gotha del Gusto, where he publishes video reviews of restaurants in Italy. "Vijesti" published an article about him in June 2011.
"I am a descendant of a famous medieval Montenegrin house (Crnojević) and no one will ever be able to dispute this truth," Černetić told "Vijesti" on that occasion. During the last conversation with "Vijesti", Černetić, among other things, expressed his displeasure because "Vijesti" presented the story about his status as a prince with skepticism.
Černetić promised the journalist that he would provide information about his family tree that proves his origin, adding that it is enough to visit his home, see all the photos and literature he owns to understand that he is really the Prince of Montenegro.
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