Beenleigh tradie in court for disqualified driving
A tradie with a record that ‘defies belief’ has been admonished for hiding his chequered past from his unsuspecting boss.
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A Logan tradie with an “atrocious” record has been blasted by a magistrate for duping his unsuspecting employer, who provided him with a glowing character reference.
Beenleigh rigger Anthony Chaszczweski, 46, was caught driving while disqualified on Gloria St, Cornubia, on March 28.
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A licence check by police revealed Chaszczweski had been disqualified from driving for two years in the Southport Magistrates Court on May 3, 2019.
The father-of-five was also banned from driving in New South Wales for five years on March 3, 2017.
Chaszczweski’s current offending breached a suspended sentence.
He told police he was driving a friend who had requested a lift home from a “lady’s house”.
The court was told of Chaszczweski’s “lengthy” 20-year NSW criminal history that included driving unlicensed and disqualified.
The court heard he had served actual jail time for these offences.
Defence lawyer Bruce Johnstone told the court his client moved to Beenleigh in 2018 for a “fresh start” after becoming a “terrible drug addict” over the course of an unsuccessful relationship in NSW with the mother of four of his children.
Mr Johnstone said Chaszczweski had “turned his life around” since moving north.
He began a relationship with a new woman and has a five-month-old baby with her and secured work as a rigger with Yatala-based Mack Steel Fixing.
Mr Johnstone tendered a character reference from Chaszczweski’s boss, which said he was a hard worker and his offending was “out of character”.
This last comment caught the eye of Magistrate Clare Kelly, who offered a withering character reference of her own.
“Your employer is obviously not aware of your history,” she told Chaszczweski.
“It’s quite in your character.
“It defies belief that a mature-age man with such an appalling traffic record can’t understand that if you drive, serious consequences will follow.”
Chaszczweski was sentenced to 18 months jail with immediate court-ordered parole. He was disqualified from driving for four years.
“During that period, never enter the driver’s side of the car,” Ms Kelly warned him.