A Sydney man used proceeds from a $900,000 robbery he and his father committed at a Melbourne storage warehouse to pay for prostitutes and an overseas holiday, court documents allege.
Phillip See, 33, pleaded guilty to theft, burglary and obtaining property by deception in Melbourne Magistrates Court today.
A prosecution summary of evidence shows he and his 57-year-old father Christopher See spent more than a year planning the heist, in which they broke into safe deposit boxes at the Kennards storage facility at Ivanhoe, in northeast Melbourne, on December 3 last year.
Phillip See used portable tools to grind, cut and damage locks on almost 40 security boxes and steal their contents - including hoards of cash, jewellery and gold and silver bullion - while his father acted as lookout.
Intercepts of phone calls between the pair during the robbery reveal Phillip See told his father he'd snared 40 ounces of gold along with up to $400,000 in a single plastic bag.
"What till you see it dad, you're gonna be f***in' shell shocked," a transcript of one call said.
Neither Phillip See, an unemployed former law student with a masters degree, nor his father, a full-time Department of Human Services employee, had been suffering financial, drug or gambling problems, with greed their only obvious motivation for the crime, the prosecution summary said.
"The proceeds of these crimes were used to help fund further crimes, pay for the services of prostitutes and an overseas holiday," it said of Phillip See.
Both men used false names, fake driver's licences and multiple mobile phones under false identities, and also used Melbourne second-hand dealers to dispose of up to $100,000 in stolen goods.
Christopher See, of Bellevue Hill, pleaded guilty to the same charges as his son on Tuesday, when his bail was extended.
Phillip See, of Randwick, made no application for bail and was remanded in custody.
Magistrate William O'Day ordered both men to face pre-sentence hearings in the Victorian County Court on May 2 next year.
