A person who stole a purse containing a Fabergé egg and watch set valued at up to £2.2m has been jailed for greater than two years.
Enzo Conticello, 29, took the Givenchy bag belonging to Rosie Dawson as she stood within the smoking space of the Dog and Duck pub in Soho, London, on 7 November 2024.
Inside the £1,600 bag was an emerald-encrusted Fabergé egg and watch set belonging to Dawson’s employers, the Craft Irish Whiskey Company. He additionally took a £1,500 Apple laptop computer, Apple AirPods, a £350 retailer voucher, keys, three financial institution playing cards, £200 of make-up, a Mulberry card holder price £150 and £20 in money.
Southwark crown courtroom heard on Thursday that Conticello was after “easy money” and handed over the bag – full with the Fabergé egg and watch – to buy drugs.
Kate Livesey, the recorder, sentenced him to two years and three months in jail, telling him the “opportunistic” theft had precipitated “inconvenience and stress” to Dawson and her firm.
She added: “Ms Dawson described the particular shock and panic upon realising a bag containing items of such particular value owned by the company had been stolen, and the incredible stress this incident has caused her.”
Conticello – also called Hakin Boudjenoune – pleaded responsible at a listening to in February to three prices of fraud by false illustration and one rely of theft. He was linked to the theft after making an attempt to use Dawson’s stolen financial institution playing cards in a close-by store minutes afterward.
Julian Winship, prosecuting, informed the sentencing listening to: “On 7 November 2024 at just before 10pm, Ms Dawson went to the Dog and Duck pub in Soho. She was outside the premises in the designated smoking area, she put her handbag on the ground in between her legs, and a few minutes later she noticed her handbag was no longer there.”
The courtroom heard that Dawson had the Fabergé objects as a result of she had taken them for show at a piece occasion earlier that night.
Winship mentioned Conticello “wanted to obtain some easy cash” and prosecutors accepted he didn’t intend to steal the Fabergé egg and watch. Insurers have paid out £106,700 to the drinks firm for the loss.
There are solely seven Fabergé units – containing a jewelled egg, watch, cigars and case – in existence. Three have been sold for between £1.5m and £2.2m.
Conticello’s barrister, Katie Porter-Windley, informed the courtroom he misplaced his job as a chef within the Covid pandemic and slipped into dependancy. “On the night in question, it was a moment of opportunity which he took, and he is genuinely remorseful for his behaviour,” she added. “He gave the bag to someone to purchase drugs. He had a cocaine addiction at the time.”
Within minutes of her purse being stolen, Dawson acquired a fraud alert on her telephone, exhibiting Conticello had tried to use considered one of her financial institution playing cards for a £33.48 buy at a store in close by Berwick Street.
Two additional makes an attempt have been made to use her playing cards, at 11.30pm and 12.30am, however that they had already been cancelled.
The courtroom heard the Fabergé egg and watch had not been recovered and Winship mentioned efforts to search confiscation or compensation from Conticello wouldn’t be pursued. “It appears to me unlikely that the defendant is a person of means able to satisfy either of these particular prosecutorial routes available to us,” he mentioned.
Conticello is probably going to serve up to half the jail time period earlier than being launched on licence.
