Dennis Thorne appears in Goulburn court over $210,000 cash find in car

Dennis Thorne, 40, of Sadleir, NSW was charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime to a value of more than $100,000 after police stopped him on the Hume Highway near Marulan on March 31. He pleaded guilty in early May.

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In Goulburn Local Court on Wednesday, June 28, Magistrate Geraldine Beattie said officers found two mobile phones and 21 bundles, containing $210,000, in two hidden compartments in the vehicle.

His solicitor said Thorne acknowledged he had been instructed to deliver the parcel to Sydney but he was unaware of its contents. The solicitor stressed that the money did not belong to his client. Nevertheless he accepted that the cash was in his car and had pleaded guilty "at the earliest opportunity" to the charge.

The solicitor said Thorne was a security guard with a wife and four children aged from five to eighteen.

"Four years ago his life went into a spiral and he attended rehabilitation. Financially, he couldn't get back to where he was," the solicitor said.

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He told the court his client, in accepting a request to deliver the package, was motivated to help his family.

The solicitor said Thorne and his brother were respected Aboriginal elders in their community and visited schools to mentor and speak about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

He described his client as a man of good character who had expressed remorse and contrition and no longer associated with the individuals who asked him to make the delivery.

The solicitor requested a "lengthy" three-month community corrections order, rather than a prison term.

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Magistrate Beattie said the charge carried a five-year jail term.

"This money came about illicitly...and you were helping to take it somewhere else," she told the court.

"I accept you did it because of your family's financial position and you were trying to improve your situation. That was misguided and it's not the way you do it.

"...There is nothing before me on where it (the cash) was intended to go but it was obviously part of the criminal network."

Magistrate Beattie said nothing on Thorne's criminal record troubled her but the offence was "above the mid-range."

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She read from a sentence report that Thorne and his brother were well respected, mentored young children and generally assisted their community.

"That doesn't sit with someone agreeing to transport money," she said.

"I accept you have the full support of your employer and your letter shows insight, that you are apologetic and remorseful. This has enabled you to reflect and change your life. In your sentencing report, you said this was a circuit breaker."

Magistrate Beattie sentenced Thorne to a three-month community corrections order under supervision. She also ordered that the money be returned to the owner, when identified, or confiscated if police applied to do so.

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