Founded in 1896, Perth Mint is a mint in Perth, Western Australia. The Perth Mint has become Australia's oldest operating Mint with the closure of the Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint, Australia's three largest Mint.
Since July 1, 1970, Perth Mint has refined more than 5000 tons of gold under Western Australia's government jurisdiction,. Perth Mint. Western Australia is rich in gold, and Perth Mint has completed the final step of the gold refining process. In recent years, 400 tons of gold have been produced annually.
In such a sacred place, a staff member of, Perth Mint recently stole A $54000 worth of gold bars and coins from the Mint while using his duties. And his goal was to win over his fiancee for a while,
Joseph Charles Viola, 29, who worked for IT, at the Perth Gold coins Factory, stole five gold bars and eight gold coins from the Perth Mint Depot in the seven weeks from February to April 2016, and police found traces on closed-circuit television.
Perth District Court Judge John Prior described it as "deceit." in the video, Viola took a gold coin from the vault and hid it in a computer jacket, then put it in his pocket. Finally, leave Perth Mint. with your computer at the end of the day.
To avoid being found by safety tests outside the vault, he told staff that if the computer passed the X-ray machine, the data on the hard drive, which was all important data from the gold mint, would be damaged.
Police found that Viola sold stolen gold bars and coins to a gold bar dealer across the street and received more than A $50000 in dirty money. These include A $7000 worth of Kimberley sunrise commemorative coins and A $15700 worth of gold bars and other gold products.
Graeme Allen, Viola's defence lawyer, said his client had made a "irrational choice" to satisfy his fiancee's high-quality lifestyle, which Viola claimed was "violent" and "controlled." "he can't face reality, he can't give his fiancee an ideal way of life, and it seems to him that it's necessary to maintain this relationship," he said.
Finally, defense lawyer Allen asked court to reprieve his client, calling him a "very vulnerable person" and having a history of psychological problems.
However, Perth District Court Judge John Prior believes that despite the parties' previous good record and recognition of their past good character, in this case the crime was too serious, a serious breach of trust, and proved that the party was a premeditated criminal act.
"Viola was driven by greed and he was planning his wedding," John Prior said. "although he felt responsible for taking care of your fiancee and providing the best possible standard of living, you violated your integrity. The integrity and integrity of public officials have been questioned by the public. "
Viola pleaded guilty to six counts of theft and must serve 12 months to be released on parole.