A MOUNT Gambier man who stole thousands of dollars from a South East car wash business has been found guilty.
Roman Lazicki, 54, appeared at the Mount Gambier District Court yesterday to be sentenced for 71 counts of theft.
During the prosecutor’s closing statement he said the jury may believe the accused had stolen a significant sum of money from the business owners.
“You may think he needed money and it may have been his motive to steal it,” he said.
“From bank statements it is clear his expenses exceeded his wages.”
Yesterday, the prosecutor said the story about his bank deposits was “entirely unbelievable”.
The prosecutor said there were short term memory records which did not match long term memory records, indicting money had been stolen.
“What Mr Lazicki has told the court is insensible and unbelievable,” he said.
“During his interview on the day of his arrest, you may think he was caught out and was making up excuses.
“We saw a change in his story…you may think he was making it up.”
The prosecutor said Lazicki was not a credible witness.
In a trial hearing on Friday, the court heard Lazicki had accumulated $178,000 in the space of 12 months.
Lazicki claimed it was due to the sale of his father’s assets.
“There were a couple of great big lounge suites you said you sold,” the prosecutor said.
“He was not able to name any of the names he sold the items to or how much he sold them for.”
The prosecutor said he questioned why he waited years after he sold the items to deposit the money into his bank account.
“Is that just a convenient lie?” the prosecutor questioned.
Lazicki said he “threw” the money back in his office and “forgot” about it until around 2012 when he began depositing the money.
The prosecutor said $100,000 was lot of money to forget about.
“Why the 16-year delay?” he said.
In yesterday’s hearing, the prosecutor said jury may have believed Lazicki did not touch car wash bays two and three because he knew he “could not get away with it”.
The prosecutor said there was no suggestions the witnesses could have taken the money.
The court heard Lazicki often worked beyond his required 8am to 5:30pm hours.
“One may suggest he goes back onto the premises and takes money to then perform a short term memory reset,” he said.
The court heard there was a significant difference of around $8000 more in monthly revenue when Lazicki ceased his employment.
“This significant difference could be attributed to Lazicki not longer stealing money,” the prosecutor said.
The defence counsel said the numbers did not add up when referring back to the audit spreadsheet and Lazicki’s bank deposits.
“There are a number of discrepancies…perhaps the printed receipts highlight the machines is not full-proof,” she said.
“When operating he clearly was following his own procedure he had developed over working there for at least the past five years.
“From bank deposits it shows he is clearly getting money from another source … it does not mean he is taking money.”
The defence counsel questioned whether Lazicki needed the money or whether he spent the money because he had it.
“He presented as a witness and spoke when it was not required,” she said.
“He admitted he does not follow instructions and may not fit the employee of the month category.
“The evidence present is not enough… he should not be found guilty.”
During the six-day trial which began on Monday last week, Lazicki was found guilty of 70 of the 71 counts.
After hours of deliberation, the jury of 12 determined Lazicki guilty of stealing approximately $24,000 over several occasions from the 24/7 Dog and Car Wash located on Commercial Street West.
The matter was remanded to be heard at Adelaide District Court on December 10 at 9:30am.
