Overview
- The 69-year-old lawyer Roberto Juan Cafasso fell more than five meters from the gym’s upper floor after stepping off an exercise machine to reach for water, passing through a plaster ceiling and dying on impact on Saturday.
- Public Prosecutor Cristian Aguilar has opened a criminal investigation and has classified the case as homicidio culposo (manslaughter by negligence) after reconstructing the incident.
- The Municipality, prompted by Mayor Federico Susbielles, launched an internal file to verify the branch’s habilitación and has been asked for the gym’s administrative legajo; reporting says a provisional permit issued when the site opened in November expired in January.
- Investigators say an elliptical or treadmill was sited at the edge of an unprotected drop and a large printed banner, not a solid barrier, concealed the void; the SportClub branch remains closed while forensic pericias are carried out and evidence is collected.
- Cafasso’s public profile as a former port authority director has intensified local reaction and the case could lead to criminal charges or municipal sanctions depending on pericial findings and the permit review.