Seniors from a New Jersey high school were ecstatic to embark on their “Jewels of Italy” trip, which was intended to be a memorable experience before they started their jobs and college. However, their excitement quickly turned to disappointment when they arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 26, only to realize that the plane tickets they had paid for were non-existent, as reported by the Daily Beast. This shocking revelation has led to a lawsuit filed on behalf of 18 students from Whippany Park High School, with their attorney stating that “these students lost out on a lifetime of memories which can never be recovered,” according to NJ Advance Media.
The complaint reveals that the students collectively contributed around $70,000 for this nine-day trip. It alleges that travel agent Rose Fazzolari (also known as Rose Martinez Fazzolari) and her companies, Exclusively Yours Worldwide Travel and Ablex, accepted payments via Venmo or Zelle but failed to make the necessary arrangements for the trip to Rome, Naples, Sorrento, and Sicily—a trip that was organized annually by an Italian teacher at the high school, who remains unnamed in the lawsuit. Although some students managed to board the initial flight to Naples, they quickly discovered that other aspects of their trip, including their return flight to Newark, were not paid for.
The day after the airport fiasco, Fazzolari claimed that it was an “error” and promised to reschedule the trip for July 5. However, this rescheduled trip was ultimately canceled. The lawsuit alleges that while some families received partial refunds, Fazzolari failed to reimburse the entire group and did not issue a full refund. Each family had paid approximately $4,000 in advance for the trip. Fazzolari’s attorney states that she is diligently working towards repaying all the affected seniors and expresses her deep regret over the situation.
Many of the students, who had saved up money from part-time jobs or received financial assistance from their parents instead of graduation gifts, spoke to FOX 5 about their disappointment when their much-anticipated “trip of a lifetime” fell through. One student shared, “We’ve been planning it since our freshman year.” The Hanover Township police department is collaborating with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the incident. More information on the lawsuit, which claims that this is not the first time the defendant and her entities have scammed a group, can be found here. (Read more lawsuit stories.)
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
