Love-struck thief with 67 pages of priors burgled a house to steal curtains to impress his girlfriend
A crim with a 67-page rap sheet has broken into a Berwick house to steal curtains to impress his girlfriend. But he never got the chance to try and woo his woman with the dodgy drapes.
South East
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A drug-addicted career crook with a massive 67-page rap sheet has been jailed again over a bizarre burglary.
Joseph Andrew Nicastro wanted to impress his girlfriend so went to a house, broke in and tried to steal three pairs of curtains.
He also nicked a car after the owner had left the keys inside and failed to appear on bail three times.
The 43-year-old from Berwick has been in and out of prison for the last two decades due to his addictions to heroin and ice.
Nicastro pleaded guilty to car theft, burglary and three bail breach charges at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The court heard between 8am and 9am on June 7 this year CCTV cameras picked up Nicastro breaking into an unoccupied Berwick home.
He took down three sets of curtains, placed them on the floor and walked out empty-handed.
A nearby police patrol saw him and officers asked him what he was doing, but he managed to bluff his way out of being detained and strolled away.
A couple of hours later the homeowner saw the CCTV footage and reported the burglary to police, and it was then realised Nicastro was the would-be thief.
Nicastro told police he thought the house was going to be knocked down and believed he could take the curtains, which he said were in better condition than the ones he had at his own home.
He said he left them there because he was going to bring his girlfriend back to inspect them to make sure she was happy before going to the hassle of carrying them away.
But in the meantime he was arrested and remanded, and never got the chance to woo his woman with the dodgy drapes.
A few days before Nicastro had walked into an unlocked garage at a Rowville property and, seeing the keys inside an unlocked 2012 ute, got in and drove away.
He was spotted on CCTV at a Noble Park servo and arrested a few days later.
His defence lawyer said his crimes, which were mainly dishonesty offences committed to support his drug addictions, went back many years.
He said Nicastro, who had spent most of 2019 in custody, knew he was “on a merry-go-round” of offending, jail, release and reoffending, but was serious in wanting to fight his drug problems.
Magistrate Andrew Halse said 67 pages of criminal history was “getting up there”.
“Burglary of soft furnishings, that’s a new one,” Mr Halse said.
“Here he is again, at the age of 43, offending in the same pattern.”
Nicastro was jailed for four months, minus 46 days he has already served on remand.
His driving licence was also disqualified for six months.
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