After Joseph Bastianelli’s arrest last October as part of a wider drugs bust in the region, the 33-year-old claimed he never used illegal drugs before arriving in New Zealand in 2019.
However, he decided to buy drugs for the purpose of "using some and selling some" to subsidise his recreational use, Judge Russell Walker said in the Invercargill District Court yesterday.
Bastianelli, who has been a regular DJ at bars in Queenstown under the moniker "The Meloman", appeared by audiovisual link at his sentencing on charges of supplying ecstasy, offering to supply ecstasy, offering to supply LSD, selling ketamine and offering to sell ketamine, all between May 7 and June 15 last year.
Judge Walker said the defendant was a member of a French-themed Facebook group that offered drugs for sale.
He supplied the undercover detective with ecstasy, ketamine and LSD on numerous occasions, as well as offering cocaine.
He was buying 1-2 ounces [about 28-56g] of ecstasy a week, with an estimated street value of $5000 an ounce. He offered to continue supplying the detective in 10g quantities every fortnight, and would discount his prices if the detective continued buying from him.
After his arrest he initially denied any involvement.
Counsel Megan Waller said a letter of apology the defendant had written to the court showed the "adversity" he was facing at the time of his offending.
The lengthy court process had taken a significant emotional toll, "particularly as he’s living thousands of kilometres away from his home, family and support networks", and he wanted to move on with his life, Ms Waller said.
A sentence of home detention would allow him to continue working as a chef in Queenstown.
Judge Walker said he made deductions for the defendant’s guilty pleas, clean criminal record and remorse to come to a term of imprisonment of 18 and a-half months.
That was converted to a final sentence of nine months’ home detention, with post-detention conditions for a further six months.
Bastianelli’s work visa would expire in June next year, but Immigration NZ would make a decision on his immigration status now he had been sentenced, the judge said.
— Guy Williams, PIJF court reporter
