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British prison cookery teacher jailed for trying to smuggle steroids to inmates.
An Italian restaurant boss has been jailed for smuggling steroids into a prison for inmates after trying to persuade guards they were "Love Heart" sweets.
Vito Alongi was working part-time at Addiewell Prison teaching inmates to cook when he was caught with nearly 350 tablets in his trousers during a search.
The 52-year-old, who runs the Jolly restaurant in Leith's Elm Row, claimed the tablets were harmless sweets, but chemical tests later confirmed they were Class C drugs.
His father, Victor Alongi, today said his son had been blackmailed into the botched smuggling plot by prisoners who threatened his family.
The pensioner said his family were "devastated" following the eight-month sentence handed down to his son at Livingston Sheriff Court, but said they "support him 100 per cent".
Alongi was caught as he tried to enter the West Lothian jail on August 15 after telling staff he wanted to go to his car to get some sweets. Guards were suspicious when Alongi returned looking nervous and wearing two pairs of trousers with an object concealed inside them.
A prison officer carrying out a pat-down search recovered a package containing 226 pink tablets and 120 other tablets, which Alongi claimed were "Love Hearts".
Alongi's 73-year-old father said: "Vito was put in this situation by an anonymous person who posted a package to him at the restaurant. He was told to take them into prison or his family would be harmed. Because Vito is a family man, he acted to defend his family.
"The only mistake Vito made was not telling us what was happening and seeking our advice. He was kind and trusting, but he was under pressure and made the wrong choice.
"Vito was teaching the prisoners to cook in a proper way. He had been doing it for about two years because he liked to help people. Vito is a generous person and they may have seen that and thought they could take advantage of him."
Mr Alongi said his son had been moved from Saughton Prison to HMP Dumfries to serve his sentence, and he planned to visit him tomorrow.
He added: "These drugs had very little value so he was not acting to make a profit.
"The family are very upset and devastated about what has happened. Vito himself is very, very devastated. We support him 100 per cent and we all love him and believe him."
Alongi admitted to possessing three types of Class C drugs worth a total of ?75 - methandrostenolone, oxymetholone and methyltestosterone - with intent to supply.
Depute fiscal Graham Fraser, prosecuting, told the court last Thursday that first offender Alongi, of Elm Row, received the package through the post and knew it was "something dodgy".
Mr Fraser added: "He did not know what to do and kept the tablets.
He was told to take the tablets into the prison changing area and put them into one of two buckets used for dirty clothing.
"He said the reason he did not take the tablets to the authorities was because he was concerned about the repercussions.
"He appears to have got himself into an impossible position and taken the wrong approach."
Jailing Alongi, Sheriff Douglas Kinloch said: "Whatever your motivation was you made a huge mistake in deciding to smuggle drugs into prison.
"You have never been before the court before and these steroids were of low value and you have produced many moving character references.
"Nevertheless, prison officers are placed in a position of immense trust."
Second article.
A cook at Addiewell prison has been jailed for smuggling in steroid tablets.
Vito Alongi tried to tell prison officers that the tablets, worth around ?75, were Love Heart sweets when they became suspicious and searched him.
First offender Alongi (52) was jailed for eight months when he appeared at Livingston Sheriff Court last Thursday.
He had earlier admitted to possessing three types of class C drugs ? Methandrostenolone, Oxymetholone and methyltestosterone ? with intent to supply.
The court heard that Alongi, who runs the Jolly Pizzeria on Leith Walk in Edinburgh, had been working in the prison kitchens for around two years teaching inmates how to cook.
Depute Fiscal Graham Fraser said prison staff are routinely checked for drugs and other items before they come into the prison and on August 15 Alongi went out to his car, saying he wanted to get sweets.
Mr Fraser told the court: ?His actions did raise some concern and he was searched by prison officers.
?He appeared nervous and was wearing two pairs of trousers and it was noted there was an object inside his trousers.
?As the prison officer ran his hands down the trouser legs the accused said it was just sweets, but when pulled out the package contained 226 pink tablets and 120 other tablets.
?He said they were just Love Heart sweets or something of that type, but a chemical scan carried out indicated they might contain a controlled drug.
?Police were notified and the accused was detained and the tablets were sent for analysis.
?He said he had been approached to take them into the prison and he initially refused but they approached him and again and said ?we mean business?.
Mr Fraser said Alongi, of Elm Row in Edinburgh, found a parcel that had been posted through the letterbox at his restaurant the next day and he knew it contained ?something dodgy?.
?He did not know what to do and kept the tablets,? Mr Fraser continued. ?He was told to take the tablets into the prison changing area and put them into one of two buckets used for dirty clothing.
?He said the reason he did not take the tablets to the authorities was because he was concerned about the repercussions.
?He appears to have got himself into an impossible position and taken the wrong approach.?
Alongi?s solicitor said his client often helped vulnerable people in his community by giving them work or a place to stay.
Recently he had taken a young man under his wing who had fallen on hard times and when he had been stabbed, Alongi became paranoid and thought those who had asked him to smuggle the drugs were to blame.
?He clearly has skills as a chef having worked in a restaurant and though he could use these skills within the prison system to help people less fortunate then himself,? he said.
The solicitor also said a local police officer who was friends with Alongi had tried to discourage him from taking the job as he feared inmates would take advantage of him.
?Unfortunately this seems to be what has happened in this case,? he added. ?He panicked and foolishly committed the offence.
?He realises he should have gone to the authorities and clearly regrets his actions.?
Jailing Alongi, Sheriff Douglas Kinloch said: ?Whatever your motivation was you made a huge mistake in deciding to smuggle drugs into prison.
?The public are quite right to be concerned about drugs being available in prison as that brings all sorts of problems.
?It has been made clear in this court that anyone who smuggles drugs into prison faces a custodial sentence.
?You have never been before the court before and these steroids were of low value and you have produced many moving character references.
?Nevertheless prison officers are placed in a position of immense trust.
?I have considered all that has been said on your behalf and I have come to the conclusion that any prison officer that smuggles drugs can usually only expect one sentence and that is one of imprisonment.?
An Italian restaurant boss has been jailed for smuggling steroids into a prison for inmates after trying to persuade guards they were "Love Heart" sweets.
Vito Alongi was working part-time at Addiewell Prison teaching inmates to cook when he was caught with nearly 350 tablets in his trousers during a search.
The 52-year-old, who runs the Jolly restaurant in Leith's Elm Row, claimed the tablets were harmless sweets, but chemical tests later confirmed they were Class C drugs.
His father, Victor Alongi, today said his son had been blackmailed into the botched smuggling plot by prisoners who threatened his family.
The pensioner said his family were "devastated" following the eight-month sentence handed down to his son at Livingston Sheriff Court, but said they "support him 100 per cent".
Alongi was caught as he tried to enter the West Lothian jail on August 15 after telling staff he wanted to go to his car to get some sweets. Guards were suspicious when Alongi returned looking nervous and wearing two pairs of trousers with an object concealed inside them.
A prison officer carrying out a pat-down search recovered a package containing 226 pink tablets and 120 other tablets, which Alongi claimed were "Love Hearts".
Alongi's 73-year-old father said: "Vito was put in this situation by an anonymous person who posted a package to him at the restaurant. He was told to take them into prison or his family would be harmed. Because Vito is a family man, he acted to defend his family.
"The only mistake Vito made was not telling us what was happening and seeking our advice. He was kind and trusting, but he was under pressure and made the wrong choice.
"Vito was teaching the prisoners to cook in a proper way. He had been doing it for about two years because he liked to help people. Vito is a generous person and they may have seen that and thought they could take advantage of him."
Mr Alongi said his son had been moved from Saughton Prison to HMP Dumfries to serve his sentence, and he planned to visit him tomorrow.
He added: "These drugs had very little value so he was not acting to make a profit.
"The family are very upset and devastated about what has happened. Vito himself is very, very devastated. We support him 100 per cent and we all love him and believe him."
Alongi admitted to possessing three types of Class C drugs worth a total of ?75 - methandrostenolone, oxymetholone and methyltestosterone - with intent to supply.
Depute fiscal Graham Fraser, prosecuting, told the court last Thursday that first offender Alongi, of Elm Row, received the package through the post and knew it was "something dodgy".
Mr Fraser added: "He did not know what to do and kept the tablets.
He was told to take the tablets into the prison changing area and put them into one of two buckets used for dirty clothing.
"He said the reason he did not take the tablets to the authorities was because he was concerned about the repercussions.
"He appears to have got himself into an impossible position and taken the wrong approach."
Jailing Alongi, Sheriff Douglas Kinloch said: "Whatever your motivation was you made a huge mistake in deciding to smuggle drugs into prison.
"You have never been before the court before and these steroids were of low value and you have produced many moving character references.
"Nevertheless, prison officers are placed in a position of immense trust."
Second article.
A cook at Addiewell prison has been jailed for smuggling in steroid tablets.
Vito Alongi tried to tell prison officers that the tablets, worth around ?75, were Love Heart sweets when they became suspicious and searched him.
First offender Alongi (52) was jailed for eight months when he appeared at Livingston Sheriff Court last Thursday.
He had earlier admitted to possessing three types of class C drugs ? Methandrostenolone, Oxymetholone and methyltestosterone ? with intent to supply.
The court heard that Alongi, who runs the Jolly Pizzeria on Leith Walk in Edinburgh, had been working in the prison kitchens for around two years teaching inmates how to cook.
Depute Fiscal Graham Fraser said prison staff are routinely checked for drugs and other items before they come into the prison and on August 15 Alongi went out to his car, saying he wanted to get sweets.
Mr Fraser told the court: ?His actions did raise some concern and he was searched by prison officers.
?He appeared nervous and was wearing two pairs of trousers and it was noted there was an object inside his trousers.
?As the prison officer ran his hands down the trouser legs the accused said it was just sweets, but when pulled out the package contained 226 pink tablets and 120 other tablets.
?He said they were just Love Heart sweets or something of that type, but a chemical scan carried out indicated they might contain a controlled drug.
?Police were notified and the accused was detained and the tablets were sent for analysis.
?He said he had been approached to take them into the prison and he initially refused but they approached him and again and said ?we mean business?.
Mr Fraser said Alongi, of Elm Row in Edinburgh, found a parcel that had been posted through the letterbox at his restaurant the next day and he knew it contained ?something dodgy?.
?He did not know what to do and kept the tablets,? Mr Fraser continued. ?He was told to take the tablets into the prison changing area and put them into one of two buckets used for dirty clothing.
?He said the reason he did not take the tablets to the authorities was because he was concerned about the repercussions.
?He appears to have got himself into an impossible position and taken the wrong approach.?
Alongi?s solicitor said his client often helped vulnerable people in his community by giving them work or a place to stay.
Recently he had taken a young man under his wing who had fallen on hard times and when he had been stabbed, Alongi became paranoid and thought those who had asked him to smuggle the drugs were to blame.
?He clearly has skills as a chef having worked in a restaurant and though he could use these skills within the prison system to help people less fortunate then himself,? he said.
The solicitor also said a local police officer who was friends with Alongi had tried to discourage him from taking the job as he feared inmates would take advantage of him.
?Unfortunately this seems to be what has happened in this case,? he added. ?He panicked and foolishly committed the offence.
?He realises he should have gone to the authorities and clearly regrets his actions.?
Jailing Alongi, Sheriff Douglas Kinloch said: ?Whatever your motivation was you made a huge mistake in deciding to smuggle drugs into prison.
?The public are quite right to be concerned about drugs being available in prison as that brings all sorts of problems.
?It has been made clear in this court that anyone who smuggles drugs into prison faces a custodial sentence.
?You have never been before the court before and these steroids were of low value and you have produced many moving character references.
?Nevertheless prison officers are placed in a position of immense trust.
?I have considered all that has been said on your behalf and I have come to the conclusion that any prison officer that smuggles drugs can usually only expect one sentence and that is one of imprisonment.?