Priest Leads Vice Cops on High-Speed Chase

A priest in Italy led police on a 20-minute 'Hollywood movie-style' car chase after being caught in an area known for prostitution and transsexuals, a court heard last week.

Cops pursued Father Cesare Burgazzi, 51, after he was spotted driving slowly in a red light area in Rome.

The priest - who has a top job at the Vatican - told the court he 'floored' his Ford Focus after mistaking plain clothes officers for robbers.

Burgazzi took police on a high-speed chase which left three cops injured and two police cars crashed.

Offices said when they eventually caught up with priest, he told them: 'You have no idea who I am. You don't know who you are messing with.'

Burgazzi is accused of wounding, resisting arrest and failing to produce ID and car documents.

His lawyer, Gianni Lostia, said: 'My client is not a user of prostitutes or transsexuals. He did not have condoms in his car and he contests the police's claim that the front seats were reclined.

'He was simply on his way home after a night out at a restaurant with priest friends. He thought the officers who had tried to stop him were trying to rob him and he panicked and drove off.'

The case continues.