Jason Amoroso was busted with saleable amounts of methamphetamine in his possession on two occasions last year –the first during a traffic stop in the Wollongong CBD on the day before Australia Day, then again in the carpark of the Figtree shopping centre in August.

On both occasions, officers discovered Amoroso with a large amount of dirty cash on him.

Read more: The man who ditched his girlfriend, toddler during police chase in Warrawong

In the January incident, police also found multiple cards in Amoroso’s wallet that didn’t belong to him, including a Medicare card owned by a woman who was dead and a Novotel key card that was traced back to a guest with whom Amoroso had no known links.

Amoroso pleaded guilty to eight charges in court on Wednesday, telling Magistrate Michael Stoddart he had turned his life around since committing the crimes, had kicked his drug habit and was now “clean and sober”.

However, Magistrate Stoddart said he remained skeptical on Amoroso’s chances of rehabilitation, noting he had been getting in trouble with the law for almost two decades.

“I read your record and it says you’re a liar, a thief and a drug dealer,” he said.

“I’d like to think here’s a guy who’s turned his life around…but I’m skeptical.”

He sentenced Amoroso to a nine-month intensive corrections order, and a 12-month community corrections order.

Amoroso will be required to do unpaid community service work on both.