Petr Balint gets suspended sentence for college theft

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Petr Balint was given a 2½-year sentence, suspended in full, for theft from All Hallows College in Drumcondra. Judge Martin Nolan imposed the sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 21 November 2019.

Balint pleaded guilty to stealing 33 art prints and an incunabula, a book printed before 1501, on dates between January 2013 and June 2014. He also pleaded guilty to stealing four prayer books and six other books.

The investigation found that Balint had put the prints and the incunabula up for auction through Sotheby’s, telling the auction house they belonged to his mother. Some prints sold for £22,148. The incunabula was valued at £4,000 to £6,000 but did not sell; it was returned to Balint, who brought it back to the college and claimed he had found it. Sotheby’s bought the prints back after gardaí alerted it.

Gardaí recovered four prayer books and six other books at Balint’s house. The court heard that the items recovered there were not valuable. Luigi Rea, defending, said Balint had used the money for housekeeping, accepted that he should not have taken the items and submitted that he was now in honest work.

Judge Nolan said Balint had received about €20,000 for some of the items. He said a custodial sentence was inappropriate because of the amount involved.