Three men convicted of petrol station burglaries

Three men yesterday admitted to burgling four petrol stations over a two-month period four years ago.

Two of them, Matthew Catania, 26, and Christopher Pace, 25, received suspended jail terms and the third, Richard Edwards, a 32-year-old described as the "mastermind", was jailed for five years. In his case, the magistrate brought into force a previous suspended jail term given to him in 2006.

The men carried out the thefts between March and April of 2006, stealing cash and car maintenance equipment and supplies, amongst other items.

Mr Catania and Mr Pace had made early guilty submissions and Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani, taking this into consideration, handed down a two-year jail term suspended for three years in the case of Mr Catania and an 18-month jail term suspended for three years with regard to Mr Pace.

As for Mr Edwards, the magistrate described him as the mastermind behind the thefts and noted that he only registered a guilty plea at the end of the proceedings. He had only admitted his involvement after an intensive interrogation on the witness stand.