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Uni IT man stole £22k of Macs to pay for smack

Lawless man sold lifestyle devices at Cash Converters

A university IT technician stole Apple Macs valued at £22,200 and flogged them for £200 a piece at rail pawnbroker Cash Converters to fund his drug habit, a court has heard.

Ironically named Kevin Lawless, who had been working at Southampton Solent University in the south of England, nabbed 24 computers from the campus - according to the Southern Daily Echo.

A spokesperson for the uni told The Register: "As soon as the university was made aware of this situation we worked with the police to provide them with required information and implemented our own internal staff disciplinary procedures."

According to the report, the 62-year-old rogue employee wiped the devices before selling them on to a Cash Converters for two hundred big ones each.

Prosecutor Dan O'Neill told Southampton Magistrates' Court that Lawless had "breached the trust" of the university.

A report to the court, seen by the Echo, said Lawless had relapsed into heroin use to help him cope with pain in his leg.

The document stated Lawless had been struggling with drug addiction since the late 1980s and had checked himself into rehab on a number of occasions to resolve the issue.

"He is very embarrassed about his behaviour because he has let down his colleagues, the university and himself by relapsing again," the court paper stated.

"Lawless is very remorseful for what has happened."

He pleaded guilty to theft by an employee and will be sentenced on 6 April at Southampton Crown Court. ®

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