Rehab counsellor who helped fake drug tests gets sentence slashed

A rehab counsellor who sold clean urine samples and false evidence about his clients’ drug use has had five years slashed from his jail sentence.

A corrupt rehab councillor who sold fake urine samples to help cheat on drug tests has had his jail sentence cut.

A corrupt rehab counsellor who used his position to peddle clean urine samples and fake evidence for drugs has had five years slashed from his jail sentence.

Anthony Dieni, 74, was originally sentenced to 14 years in jail with a non-parole period of nine years for multiple charges including attempting to pervert the course of justice, drug trafficking and false accounting during his work at the now defunct St Paul’s Prevention Rehabilitation charity.

Dieni argued his prison sentence was too harsh and didn’t take into account his fragile health.

The grandfather also argued sentencing judge Patricia Riddell had deemed the gravity of his crimes far more serious than they were, given he was not an official “officer of the Court”.

Anthony Dieni in 2001.

Dieni submitted he had no standing role in the justice system and unlike magistrates, judges, police and lawyers, had not sworn an oath to serve the administration of justice.

During his sentencing in 2020, Judge Riddell labelled Dieni a “mole” in the legal system.

“It was a monumental betrayal of your role,” she said.

“It was a breach of trust to the relevant Court, to the prosecuting authorities and to those meant to be under your care and guidance.”

The Court of Appeal ruled in Dieni’s favour on Thursday, deeming his old age and past experience with lung cancer, heart disease, diabetes, emphysema and bronchiectasis “particularly relevant” during the pandemic.

But it did not see Dieni’s narcissistic personality disorder as reason for reducing his moral culpability and instead said it explained aspects of his offending.

“Instead of guiding and encouraging the offenders, who were entrusted to his supervision, away from their drug habits, he provided cover for their continued abuse of drugs,” Justices David Beach, Stephen Kaye and Terence Forrest said.

“He significantly undermined the rehabilitative purposes for which the offenders were either bailed or sentenced,” the Judgement read.

Dieni had been a counsellor at the clinic for almost 40 years when the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption began investigating him in 2017.

Covert phone taps revealed Dieni procured drugs, namely cocaine and ice, in exchange for providing false evidence in court about his client’s drug use while on bail.

The Court of Appeal found Dieni’s attempts to pervert the course of justice were extremely serious.

Justices Beach, Kaye and Forrest said he was not motivated by any misplaced sense of compassion for the offenders he covered up for, but instead was “driven by ego and a desire to be self-important”.

The Strathmore counsellor will now only serve five of a total nine year sentence behind bars before he is eligible for parole.