Israeli man jailed for robbing Australian parking meters

An Israeli man was jailed for up to four years for stealing nearly $150,000 from parking meters in Melbourne.

Josef Andelman, 48, a former Israeli soldier, was sentenced Tuesday in Victorian County Court to a minimum non-parole period of two years, The Associated Press reported. Andelman, who worked as a security officer employed to collect coins from parking meters, had pleaded not guilty to 85 charges of theft earlier this month.

Police found nearly $145,000 in cash stolen from the Melbourne City Council between 2007 and 2008 at Andelman’s home. Prosecutors said the father of three was part of a racket that collected more than $377,000 in coins from parking meters over 15 months.

Judge Carolyn Douglas said Andelman had shown no remorse for his crime and ordered the Russian-born immigrant to pay compensation of $148,285.