Elio Schiaroli had relapsed into drug addiction when he stole a truck and around $9,000 worth of items from businesses between 2022 and 2024.
A Saskatoon defence lawyer says a relapse into heroin addiction fuelled a convicted fraudster’s return to stealing from people and businesses over 19 months.
Starting in September 2022, Elio Schiaroli took a Chevy Malibu truck from an employer and never returned it. The truck was eventually found at a tow yard in Lloydminster.
Schiaroli had just finished serving a six-month conditional sentence for defrauding strangers and stealing from businesses between 2018 and 2021.
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He was recently sentenced in Saskatoon provincial court to two years in jail after pleading guilty to eight counts of theft, and one count each of using a forged document, fraud over $5,000, threat to cause bodily harm, and failure to attend court.
Court heard Schiaroli, 63, stole approximately $9,000 worth of items from several Saskatchewan businesses in 2023 and 2024, intending to sell the stolen items for heroin.
His offences were outlined by the Crown.
In May 2023, he left a Home Hardware in Warman without paying for $440 worth of rain coats. RCMP recognized him and his car from surveillance video.
He was caught a month later trying to fraudulently transfer ownership of a vehicle by forging the owner’s signature. He was arrested during a high-risk vehicle stop and claimed to be the vehicle owner.
Schiaroli called the Admore Co-op in Allan in September 2023, claiming to be a construction worker who bought a tool case with missing tools. He arrived at the store and left with the tools while an employee was speaking to a manager.
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The next month, he went to the Clarence Avenue Home Depot in Saskatoon, filled a table-saw box with drills and walked out after an employee asked to see a receipt.
Schiaroli went on a four-day shoplifting spree in November 2023, stealing $274 worth of meat, a $321 chainsaw, and $935 worth of items from three different Saskatoon Co-op stores. He was caught on surveillance each time.
He then stole a $130 bottle of rum from a Warman liquor store on Nov. 19, 2023, and threatened to hurt a loss prevention officer who stopped him for suspected shoplifting at the 33rd Street Co-op a week later.
Court heard Schiaroli was banned from the store for previous thefts.
Starting in December 2023, he was involved in a significant fraud scheme at the Warman Home Centre. The Crown said four people made 18 purchases worth $20,000 on an account for a company they didn’t work for. Schiaroli made off with $6,169 worth of purchases over four visits.
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In February and March of 2024, he walked out of Winners and Marshalls with $450 worth of clothing. In one of the two thefts, he flipped his licence plate up before going into the store.
Despite his “very lengthy criminal record” — largely driven by drug addiction — Schiaroli was crime-free from 2004 until 2018, which coincided with his sobriety, his lawyer told court.
In 2018, Schiaroli said he was diagnosed with “paranoid schizophrenia and part-time bipolar disorder.” He was taking medication, but started self-medicating with illicit drugs when he relapsed in 2020, court heard.
During his 2022 sentencing, a different defence lawyer said Schiaroli didn’t use drugs or alcohol.
He’s had trouble getting and keeping a job because of his drug use and criminal record, but hopes to get back to truck driving once his sentence is over, his lawyer said, adding his client has proven he can be a productive member of society when he’s sober.
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“I hope that you’re able to get your addiction back under control and keep it that way,” Judge Doug Agnew said before accepting the joint submission from the Crown and defence.
Schiaroli received a two-year sentence for the truck theft and fraud scheme, and concurrent sentences for the other 10 charges. An enhanced remand credit of 495 days leaves him about eight months to serve.
His remaining charges of vehicle theft, failing to attend court and failing to attend for fingerprinting were stayed.
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