R v Schwartz

[2018] NSWDC 118

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Schwartz [2018] NSWDC 118
Hearing dates:	29 March 2018
Date of orders:	29 March 2018
Decision date:	29 March 2018
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Berman SC DCJ
Decision:	The offender is sentenced to an effective head sentence of 6 years with a non-parole period of 3½ years
Catchwords:	CRIMINAL LAW – Sentence – Import commercial quantity of border controlled drug – Cocaine – Repeat offender – Fail to take advantage of leniency – Minimal objective involvement in offence – Unexplained reason offender’s role was important.
Category:	Sentence
Parties:	The Crown Bennet Schwartz
Representation:	Counsel: Mr D Staehli – Crown Mr P Boulten SC - Offender   Solicitors: Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
File Number(s):	2016/240824

Judgment

1. HIS HONOUR: Many offenders coming for sentence to this Court have terrible backgrounds. They are raised by parents who model illegal behaviour. They are abused, they do not have guidance and they associate with criminals.

2. The offender has no excuse whatsoever for his behaviour. He was raised by his widowed mother in an appropriate way. She made sacrifices to give him a good education. He studied, had a job and the support of his family.

3. Yet he on two occasions now has committed offences involving the importation of drugs. Only one reason has been suggested for his involvement in the offences for which I must now sentence him, financial gain, or to put matters more bluntly, greed.

4. In 2013 the offender was dealt with by another judge of this Court in 2013 for two offences of importing pseudoephedrine and for possessing cocaine and a restricted substance. The sentencing judge made a finding that the pseudoephedrine was to be used by the offender as part of some body building activity. Her Honour also said this “The chances of his re‑offending are very low”. I mean no criticism of her Honour when I say that that prediction has proved to be inaccurate. Indeed, were I in her Honour’s position I would probably have made the same finding. But it remains the case that within a year of having completed the bond imposed upon him by her Honour in 2013, the offender involved himself in two very serious importations of cocaine.

5. The statement of facts tendered by the Crown reveals what I would describe as a sophisticated operation to import cocaine into Australia. It was apparently quite a successful one until the authorities were able to intervene. Clearly there were a significant number of people involved in the enterprise and equally clearly what I have to focus on is the role played by the offender in identifying the level of his criminality.

6. The drugs were to be sent into Australia by air cargo transport. One described as glass sculptures was sent from California arriving in Australia in early August 2015. Another consignment was described as a car positioning wheel dolly. It was sent to Australia, again from California, in May 2016.

7. In relation to each consignment the offender played…