An Italian computer consultant who stole eight laptops from the Department of Foreign Affairs and sold them to pay for expensive dental treatment has been remanded in custody for sentence on June 29th by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Andrew Rosino (28), formerly living in rented accommodation in Blanchardstown, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to stealing the laptops between October 2003 and January 2004. Garda Deirdre Conway said Rosino sold seven of the laptops to friends for about €500 each and sold the eighth on the Internet auction site E-Bay for £700 sterling to an Englishman.
The thefts came to light when Rosino's Internet customer rang the laptop manufacturers, Dell, to change the warranty on the computer, which was made out to the Department. Dell customer services then contacted the Department and the theft was uncovered.
Rosino, who has two previous convictions in England for theft, started working in the Department's information technology section in October 2003.
He denied he had spent any time in custody in England, despite evidence given to that effect. In direct evidence he said he had been in touch with Scotland Yard to have the convictions wiped off their records, "but they obviously haven't done so", he said.
Taking copious notes and consulting extensively with his counsel, Mr Kieran Kelly , he claimed he had been married to an Irishwoman who died in a car crash in 1994. He said he had been on anti-depressants since, both in Italy and in Ireland. He had a degree in mathematics and physics. He complained that his car, which had been parked outside the Department when he was arrested, had since been impounded and crushed.
Rosino agreed later, in cross-examination by Ms Denise Brett, prosecuting, that he had been in possession of his car keys at the time. "I was in custody and there was nothing I could do about it. Only one friend came to visit me after I was taken into custody," he said.
"I don't know if I can believe a word of what he is saying," Judge Frank O'Donnell said, asking Mr Kelly to ensure that there were documents to back up Rosino's claims.