Mickelberg found guilty of stealing from Bunnings
- AAP
- August 18, 2010
GUILTY: Raymond John Mickelberg - wrongly convicted of the 1982 Perth Mint swindle - was found guilty of stealing from Bunnings. Picture: Richard Polden. Source: PerthNow
A MAN wrongly jailed for the 1982 Perth Mint swindle has been found guilty of stealing a $16.80 roll of tape from a hardware store.
Raymond Mickelberg defended himself in the Perth Magistrates Court on a charge he stole a ceiling fan worth $309 and a roll of tape from a Bunnings hardware store at Innaloo in the city's west on January 20 last year.
Covert security officer Iain McKeagg had alleged he saw the 64-year-old Mickelberg swap a $208 fan for the $309 one, retape the box and walk out without paying.
On Thursday, Judge Giuseppe Cicchini ruled that it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mickelberg had intended to steal the fan.
But he said the fact that Mickelberg used tape from the roll to tape up the fan box was enough to find him guilty of stealing that item because there would be no way to return it in an unused condition.
Covert security officer Iain McKeagg had alleged he saw the 64-year-old Mickelberg swap a $208 fan for the $309 one, retape the box and walk out without paying.
On Thursday, Judge Giuseppe Cicchini ruled that it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mickelberg had intended to steal the fan.
But he said the fact that Mickelberg used tape from the roll to tape up the fan box was enough to find him guilty of stealing that item because there would be no way to return it in an unused condition.
Outside court, Mickelberg continued to deny stealing the fan and the roll of tape.
``It's a technicality. It wasn't really stealing,'' he said.
Mickelberg and his brothers Peter and Brian were framed by police and convicted in 1983 of defrauding $653,000 in gold bullion from the Perth Mint in exchange for worthless cheques.
The convictions of Raymond and Peter Mickelberg were quashed in 2004 after they served eight and six years.
Brian Mickelberg died in a light plane crash in 1986 after serving nine months in prison.
Raymond and Peter each received $500,000 in ex gratia payments following their acquittal.
In his address to the court, Judge Cicchini said evidence given by some Bunnings staff was ``unreliable and lacking credibility''.
He said there were inconsistencies with some of the statements when compared to other evidence.
Mickelberg has been given a conditional release order and will have to pay a $200 fine if he offends again within the next six months.
He has also been ordered to pay court costs of $379.20.
No comments:
Post a Comment