Hotel owner comes back to nothing after employee sells belongings

A HOTEL employee who sold $73,000 worth of furniture has been sentenced in court

The Ibis hotel in Alice Springs.

• ‘Devious’ hotel employee steals $73k from boss

A HOTEL employee who sold $73,000 worth of the business’s furniture and goods while the owner was away has been sentenced to two years in jail for stealing.

Dion Smith, 33, fronted Alice Springs Local Court on Wednesday.

Police were alerted to the incident after the new property owner returned to Alice Springs from interstate to discover furniture and other goods were missing from the Ibis Styles Hotel on Gap Road.

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In a hearing last week, crown prosecutor Glen Dooley said a range of hotel goods were sold without authorisation including TVs, fridges, tables and furniture. “Once he got the keys to the castle, he demonstrated a very high level of devious behaviour,” he said.

“The defendant without authorisation contacted a number of people advertising the sale of furniture and fittings located in Ibis.”

The court heard that during the purchase settlement ­period, the hotel was closed to the public.

“The defendant informed (a buyer) that everything was going cheap because the hotel was undergoing renovation,” Mr Dooley said. He also told the buyer the money would go to the new hotel owner.

The hotel owner completed a walk-through of the property and compiled a list of missing items. The court heard the total value of the property stolen was around $73,000.

In a victim impact statement, the new owner of the hotel said the ordeal left him with a lack of trust.

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“The longer I knew Dion, the more lies he told me and the more lies I believed,” he said.

“Since believing all of Dion’s many lies, I’ve lost a lot of confidence in my ability to believe people. It has made me very reluctant to employ new staff.”

Smith was sentenced to two years’ jail by judge John Birch, with a 12-month non-parole period.