A Corrimal Coles employee has admitted stealing some $13,000 worth of groceries from the supermarket giant while working late at night as one of the store's duty managers.
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Angelo Martino, 26, would regularly dismiss other colleagues from work and stay back by himself past the midnight closing time, taking advantage of the isolation to turn off the loading dock CCTV cameras in order to pilfer items not yet on the shelves.
An agreed set of facts tendered to Wollongong Local Court last week said Martino would load the goods into a plastic bag, which he then carried in his mouth while swinging his arms beside him as he exited the store in order for it appear as if he was leaving empty handed.
The scam, which took place over consecutive days in November 2017 and again sporadically during December and January, was uncovered by Coles' fraud team after unusual discrepancies were discovered in the store's stock levels.
Martino was interviewed by investigators in March 2018, at which time he admitted stealing groceries including biscuits, bread, milk, chocolate, stationary and dog treats.
He initially claimed he'd only taken $1,000 worth of goods, however it was discovered he was being "extremely conservative" when estimating the amount of items he'd taken and how much individual goods were worth.
Coles dismissed Martino on the spot and referred the case to Wollongong Police.
Martino was arrested in July this year and charged with stealing as an employee.
He pleaded guilty to the charge in court last week, with police saying he appeared genuinely remorseful when interviewed.
He will face sentencing on January 16.