Roberta Williams sister accused of stealing $45K of goods from stolen Melbourne Airport suitcases
The sister of gangland widow Roberta Williams has been accused of being an illegitimate baggage handler, stealing luggage from hapless holiday goers at Melbourne Airport.
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The sister of gangland widow Roberta Williams has been accused of being an illegitimate baggage handler, stealing luggage from hapless holiday goers at Melbourne Airport.
Michelle Kaye Mercieca, 51, fronted the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court today charged with 19 counts of stealing luggage from baggage carousels at the airport during an almost year-long alleged crime spree.
Police allege Ms Mercieca got away with at least $45,000 worth of goods in the 18 suitcases she pinched as travellers stood waiting for their bags to be offloaded from flights.
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Only seven of the suitcases were later recovered after police swooped on Ms Mercieca’s Kings Park home during a morning raid.
Court documents allege Ms Mercieca struck on seven separate occasions between October 2017 and September last year.
On some days she allegedly pinched several suitcases, with more than half the charges relating to a single fortnight period in October 2017.
It is unclear whether Ms Mercieca has any link to the airport, or whether she made planned trips to steal luggage.
However she has since been banned from attending Melbourne Airport, or any other Australian point of international departure.
Ms Mercieca appeared at court unrepresented today, saying she was waiting for her lawyer to return from an overseas holiday.
She emphatically denied any wrongdoing saying she would be pleading not guilty.
And she begged magistrate Bob Kumar to suppress her name from publication.
Outside court she was at the centre of farcical scenes after asking a group of young boys to shield her from a waiting media pack.
They covered her with a jumper and walked her to her car before she turned on one of them who identified her as Roberta Williams’ sister.
It is understood the sisters are currently estranged.
Ms Mercieca had her bail extended until her next scheduled court date next month.