Serial burglars

The mothers are always sick

The man has been in custody in Eisenstadt prison since October 9, 2024. He was convicted because of his fingerprint on an envelope.

(Bild: Harald Schume)

21 previous convictions, 12 of them relevant: A Romanian was sentenced to two years in prison at Eisenstadt Regional Court for robbing a safe in southern Burgenland. He wants to make up for the damage - 116,000 euros. "I'm going to work."

In Austria, the defendant is a blank slate. Reason enough for the Romanian's defense lawyer to bring the only possible mitigating factor into play. "My client hasn't done anything here yet. I would ask you to take this into account when passing sentence," said the lawyer to the chairwoman of the panel of lay judges, who now wanted to know from the 35-year-old whether he had previous convictions in other countries. "11, 12 or 13, I don't know," says the man, before Michaela Stückler helps him out. There are 21 of them, 12 of them relevant.

It remains to be seen whether the self-confessed illegal worker should not have found another source of income based on these statistics. One thing is certain: burglary is not his thing.

49 pieces of jewelry stolen
Around a year ago, the prisoner "urgently needed to go to the toilet", so he used the back entrance to gain access to a restaurant in the Oberwart district that was closed that day. He searched and searched for the toilet - and finally found a safe key in a chest of drawers. The Romanian took a total of 49 pieces of jewelry worth around 116,000 euros from the safe and made off. Unfortunately, his fingerprints were found on an envelope.

And another sick mother
Why did he do it? "My mother is very ill and urgently needs an operation." He claims to have turned the loot into money "from a Turk in Slovenia", but unfortunately he can't remember the guy's name or where his store is located. "There's always someone sick in the family here," says Stückler, before she and the two lay assessors retire to deliberate. It only takes a few minutes. The evidence is too clear, the confession of the guy in the dock too comprehensive.

Crying like his baby
"I will work and pay back the damage I have done. I'm very sorry," explains the 35-year-old after accepting the two-year sentence. He cries like his baby, who is at home in Romania. It is one and a half months old. He hasn't seen it yet.