Thieving waiter awaits sentence

A waiter who was reported by his estranged wife after stealing cutlery, food and wine from the London restaurant where he worked for five years faces sentencing by a Crown Court judge.

Magistrates ruled that 28-year-old Gianpaolo Cadoni's crimes were too serious for their powers of punishment to be sufficient, so they committed him on bail to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.

For the prosecution, Regina Naughton said Cadoni stole two 36-piece cutlery sets and £7,000 worth of food and wine - including prime steak, lobster and expensive bottles of Champagne - while working at the San Marino restaurant in Walton Street, Chelsea.

The court heard that when he first worked at the restaurant in 1992 he brought home a £300 cutlery set on the back of his bike, and continued to steal items at least twice a month afterwards. He had gained the trust of the management and was allowed his own set of keys.

Cadoni, of Andrew Place, South Lambeth, pleaded guilty to stealing the items between June 1992 and June 1997.