Newspapers are calling it the case of the “Millionaire Crucifix.” In a year in which the Italian government hopes to sustain an unprecedented level of fiscal discipline, members of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MIBAC) have been slammed by a barrage of criticism about the purchase of a sculpture attributed to Michelangelo. Even as a handful of state agents insist that the piece was worth the massive purchase price of €3.2 million ($4.2 million), a high court has found that it was merely from Michelangelo’s workshop, placing the value closer to €700,000 ($927,850). The statue was intended for the state-funded Museo del Bargello in Florence.

Most of the outcry has been directed at Roberto Cecchi, an architect who was undersecretary of MIBAC when the sculpture was purchased in the fall of 2008. Along with a handful of his colleagues, including Museums of Florence superintendent Cristina Acidini, Cecchi is now the subject of a major investigation for the loss of revenue resulting from his alleged mistake. “We will demonstrate ourselves to have acted in the public interest and with the highest level of propriety,” he told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. “There are some who might believe that a director at the ministry might wake up one morning and buy what he pleases. Fortunately, this is not the case.”

Cecchi has cited numerous professional opinions in support of his decision as undersecretary. These include a comment by Federico Zeri, a contributor to the Giornale dell’Arte, who opined glowingly: “If it is not Michelangelo, it is God.” Cecchi has also defended himself by citing a November 18, 2008, email from Salvatore Settis, then presiding over MIBAC High Council, who wrote regarding the purchase, “Dear Roberto, it seems to me to be an excellent decision.”

This latter opinion comes with a catch, as Settis now says that his words were taken out of context. “During my presidency of the High Council, [Cecchi] never, not even for a second, spoke to me about the Crucifix,” he wrote on Monday in a letter to the Corriere. “I could not have spoken on the Council’s behalf. I could not have made an attribution, not only because I am not an expert on sculpture from the late 15th century, but because I never (even today) have seen this crucifix.” By Settis’s account, Cecchi gave very little background when he asked, via email: “We have the money to buy a probable Michelangelo. What do you think?”