Such was Kalic's confidence towards the end of 2017, he had several of his colleagues emptying boxes on his behalf, until he was caught red-handed when the council's contractor, Citywide Services Solutions, hired a surveillance team after discovering some parking meters contained much less cash than expected. Kalic had keys to access the meters, Judge Gaynor said, but his job was to maintain and repair faulty machines. Instead the surveillance team caught him emptying the cash boxes. He later admitted he began his crime spree when he heard workmates discussing stealing from the meters. ‘‘Thereafter you simply kept going. Your offending increased over time, no doubt because you became confident that your activities would remain undetected,’’ Judge Gaynor said in jailing the 50-year-old for nine months. Four people who were working for Citywide were arrested in the sting and Kalic and two other men were prosecuted, while a fourth man had his charges dropped.

Kalic, the court heard, had two of his then workmates empty meters for him, and gave them a cut of the coins in return. Kalic had worked for Citywide for almost 20 years when his crimes were detected, and during his time with the company loved hosting parties and social get-togethers for his workmates, the court heard. His desire to be liked developed from a strict childhood where his controlling parents stopped him from having anything to do with anyone who wasn’t Croatian and Catholic. In his adult years he made his home his social hub, the court heard, and regularly entertained friends. He used a side business restoring pinball machines to help fund his entertainment budget, and when that venture slowed he began stealing from the meters. ‘‘You are too old for this,’’ Judge Gaynor told Kalic, ‘‘to be worrying so much about friendships and worrying that the only way you can keep them is by lavish entertaining in your own home.

‘‘This is simply not acceptable for someone your age.’’ Kalic pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft and one of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime. He also admitted to possessing a prohibited weapon, related to the discovery of an extendable baton in his home. The court heard he had never had drug or alcohol problems, was remorseful, knew what he did was wrong, had an excellent work history and had good prospects for rehabilitation. But Judge Gaynor said the court was obliged to protect entities such as the City of Melbourne from being exploited by employees who breached the trust placed in them. His offending was extremely serious, she said.

‘‘People need to know if they do abuse that trust this is how the court will respond,’’ she told him. Kalic dropped his head when he learned he would be jailed, but afterwards told the judge he was ‘‘disgusted’’ with what he did and had let himself and his family, friends and former employer down. ‘‘I accept my responsibility and I will do whatever things need to be done to move forward,’’ he said. ‘‘I can guarantee you will never see me again.’’ Once released Kalic must serve a two-year community corrections order made up of mental health treatment and 250 hours of unpaid work.

Citywide said the four men no longer worked for the company. "At Citywide we strive for, and demand, the highest standards of behaviour and integrity of all our people and we take our obligations to our customers and the communities we serve extremely seriously," the company said in a statement. "If we find any employees whose values are not aligned with ours, we will always take swift and decisive action to remedy such breaches." A City of Melbourne spokeswoman said the council's meter maintenance contract with Citywide expired in January.