Employee jailed for failing to pay for €88,000 of stolen cigarettes

A 47-year-old man who alongside his son was given a suspended jail term after being convicted of stealing €88,000 worth of cigarettes, has been imprisoned for two years after failing to pay for the stolen cigarettes.

In November 2013, the accused, Victor Scerri, 48, and his son 21-year-old Manuel, both from Cospicua, and Emanuel Meilak, 21, from Kalkara, were convicted of stealing €88,000 worth of cigarettes from their former employer, Antonio Piscopo Wines and Spirits.

The court had heard that between February 2012 and May 2013, the trio would pack 200-cigarette cartons into boxes before loading them into their cars from a back door of the shop.

The defence and prosecution had disagreed on the cigarettes’ value as there was a dispute whether the parte civile had given the wholesale or retail price, but audited accounts subsequently valued the cigarettes at €88,000.

The court presided by then-Magistrate Edwina Grima had handed the trio a two year imprisonment term suspended term for four years, and ordered them to pay for the stolen cigarettes within six months.

Mr Meilak had paid his share of the value of the stolen cigarettes, which was valued at around €29,000, while the accused’s son, Manuel Scerri, reached a payment agreement.

However, Victor Scerri failed to pay for the cigarettes, and the court again instituted legal proceedings against him. Noting that Scerri had failed to settle the payment within six months, the court, presided by Magistrate Francesco Depasquale converted the suspended jail term into an effective on, and sent Victor Scerri to two years behind bars.