NATION : Guilty Plea in Pasta-Sex Case
A man who fled to Italy after allegedly feeding drug-laced spaghetti to two women and then sexually assaulting them pleaded guilty today to felony sex charges.
Nicola Iannone, 35, submitted his plea in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to two charges of gross sexual imposition. He then was returned to the jail to be held without bond pending his Jan. 24 sentencing.
As part of the plea bargain, prosecutors dropped six other charges against him, including charges stemming from an alleged, similar incident in October, 1987. The victim in that case had moved out of state and could not be located.
Iannone’s victims alleged that he came to their Cincinnati apartment and fed them a pasta dinner and that they woke up the next day with their clothes off. The charges to which Iannone pleaded guilty alleged that he had sexual contact with both victims and gave them drugs, either by force or deception.
Iannone, an Italian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, worked as a restaurant consultant in Cincinnati and Chicago. He faces up to 1 1/2 years in prison on each of the two counts.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
