R v Robert PAVAN

[2009] NSWDC 82

CITATION:	R v Robert PAVAN [2009] NSWDC 82
HEARING DATE(S):	1 May 2008 12 September 2008 24 April 2009
JUDGMENT DATE:	24 April 2009
JURISDICTION:	Criminal
JUDGMENT OF:	Berman SC DCJ
DECISION:	The offender is sentenced to imprisonment consisting of a non-parole period of seven and a half years and a total term of twelve years.
CATCHWORDS:	Criminal Law - Sentence - Supply large commercial quantity of drugs
PARTIES:	The Crown Robert Pavan
FILE NUMBER(S):	DC 06/11/0336
COUNSEL:	D Staehli SC (Crown) B Stratton QC (Offender)
SOLICITORS:	NSW DPP R.F Bergagnin & Co Solicitors

SENTENCE

1 HIS HONOUR: Robert Pavan pleaded guilty to an offence of supplying a large commercial quantity of cocaine. Encompassed within that offence were three separate transactions, each involving approximately a kilogram of cocaine. In each case the offender’s role was to identify purchasers of that large quantity and facilitate the supply of that cocaine from a Mr Big to someone who would then on-supply the drug, perhaps then in turn to others in the chain, before the drug was ultimately distributed to users.

2 The offender’s conduct extended over a relatively short time, but it was nevertheless gravely criminal. The offender took a significant role in the drug supply transactions, identifying purchasers and supervising the supply and payment. It is accepted that he must receive a significant period of imprisonment in order to reflect the criminality of his conduct.

3 He is now sixty years of age. He has some criminal history but there is nothing remotely approaching the seriousness of his present offending. His previous criminal history seems to have been related to his conduct involved in the racing industry. There were tendered today an impressive series of references from friends and family. It appears that the offender is in many respects a man of good character. He is prepared to go very much out of his way to assist his friends and family and has for many years been devoted and dedicated to his family’s upbringing.

4 When his first wife left he took over the sole care of his three children. He remarried but his second wife also left at about the same time that his daughter’s marriage broke down. In those circumstances his dedication to his children and grandchildren has been far beyond average. He managed to reach fifty-six years of age with only minor matters on his criminal history. That is testament to his underlying character and suggests among other things that he has good prospects of rehabilitation, and is unlikely to re-offend due in no small measure to the substantial support he will receive on release from custody.

5 The offender became involved in these transactions after meeting a man by the name of Hatfield. He was one of the Mr Bigs I referred to earlier. Hatfield together with two others, Leslie Mara and Michael Hurley, were involved in large-scale cocaine importation and distribution. Having a large quantity of cocaine in their possession, they needed to sell it for…