By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A drug-trafficking dad who claimed his DNA had innocently “seeped” into a safe full of ‘ice’ has been found guilty by a Victorian County Court jury.
Glenn Mazzacca, 42, of Carrum Downs, had pleaded not guilty to trafficking a commercial quantity of ‘ice’.
His initial defence was that he didn’t have the keys to the safe found in his car.
He also claimed he had no knowledge of the drugs and that his DNA was deposited through a “vapour-like penetration” of the air-tight and water-tight safe.
In sentencing on 12 May, Judge Marcus Dempsey labelled Mazzacca’s ‘seeped DNA’ theory as “absurd”.
The accused had consumed an “astonishing” amount of court resources in pushing the claim before switching lawyers, Judge Dempsey said.
His new defence team conceded he was in possession of the ice, but argued Mazzacca didn’t know or intend to traffick a commercial quantity of the drug.
He pleaded guilty to trafficking 1000 grams of 1,4-butanediol, dealing with $5880 of proceeds, possessing ice, unlicenced driving, drug driving and speeding.
A meth-affected, unlicensed Mazzacca was pulled over by police while driving in Carrum Downs in the mid-afternoon on 4 February 2021.
As he stepped out of the car and put his hands up, two bags of ‘ice’ fell on the road.
He was also found carrying $5880 cash.
Mazzacca called his girlfriend, who arrived on the scene. He “shamefully” tried to offload a large drug bag down the back of her trackpants – which could have unfairly implicated her, Judge Dempsey noted.
In his car was the lock-safe containing nearly 180 grams of ‘ice’ – three-and-a-half times the commercial trafficking threshold.
Police also found a container of GHB and drug paraphernalia such as empty syringes, ice pipes and scales.
In his bedroom, police opened a safe containing a bottle of GHB and “assorted tablets”.
Judge Dempsey noted Mazzacca grew up in a household marred with “rampant” and “normalised” substance abuse.
His mother kicked him out of home to “shock” him straight but he continued to use and traffick drugs.
The lack of pro-social supports explained the “many poor decisions” he’d made, Judge Dempsey noted.
His “unenviable” criminal history included armed robbery, court order breaches and two convictions for trafficking ice.
A “spectacularly bad” driving record comprised 14 convictions for disqualified and unlicenced driving and four drug driving offences.
“You are difficult to deter,” the judge stated to Mazzacca.
However, since his arrest, Mazzacca had done well during a four-month stint in residential rehab, got a job and not re-offended.
There was both “caution and optimism” for Mazzacca’s potential reform.
Mazzacca was jailed for up to four years and 10 months, including 262 days in pre-sentence detention.
He will be eligible for parole after serving three years and two months.
From the day of his release, he will be disqualified from driving for two years.
