A mum, a drug addict and a career criminal who teamed up to rob a Melbourne hotel have all been sent to jail.Â
Steven Cachia and Barbara Babic were today sentenced to between three and three-and-a-half years’ jail for their roles in a $321,000 heist from the Golden Fleece Hotel in October 2023.
Exclusive CCTV from the robbery shows Babic, who was at the time working as the gaming manager at the Melton venue, being accosted by a masked burglar, Andrew Cini, in the strong room.
After threatening to Taser her and demanding cash, Babic handed over more than $320,000, which had been cleared from the hotel’s gaming machines.
The mum of two was handcuffed before the masked burglar made away with the cash.
A career criminal, Cachia’s role in the crime saw him act as an unassuming bistro customer, who left the venue through an exit-only door, allowing Cini to enter.
But closer examination of the CCTV revealed that when the burglar arrived, the cash was piled up and waiting on a bench.
Babic, a supposed victim, was noticeably calm throughout the ordeal and as soon as the burglar left her shackles slipped straight off her wrists.
When police raided Babic’s house they discovered she’d been on a post-heist shopping spree, spending $3447 at Melton Furniture and Bedding and splashing $3000 cash on some new pearly whites at Melton Dental.
Records show she also paid $2363 cash for a large flat screen tv and made bank deposits totalling more than $6000.
Cini, the main burglar involved in the robbery had already been sentenced to five and a half years’ jail after pleading guilty to his crime.
Babic and Cachia both protested their innocence, but the jury found them both guilty. 
