Jailed for using stolen cheques, credit cards

A fraudster who went on a spending spree with money he withdrew from stolen credit cards and stolen cheques was yesterday jailed for three years.

John Polidano, 44, was charged together with Veronique Borg Costanzi, 45, who was only found guilty of forging a cheque and was given an 18-month probation period.

The couple had 22 charges against them, with Mr Polidano being found guilty of 16.

The case first came to light when Mr Polidano tried to cash a cheque that was queried by the cashier. But after the bank verified the cheque, Mr Polidano walked out.

A director with the company to which the cheque book belonged confirmed that the cheque was one of three that had been stolen.

During investigations, the police found out that Mr Polidano had stolen two wallets and the cheques between October 2003 and Feb-ruary 2004. He had even been caught on CCTV at different Bank of Valletta branches cashing the cheques.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani said that before she handed down judgment, she considered that Ms Borg Costanzi’s police record was clean, something which could not be said about Mr Polidano.

Although he was also charged with relapsing, no evidence was produced to this effect in court.