A HARRODS worker who stole more than £15,000 worth of designer goods avoided jail — by blaming the cost of living.
Marco Taffoni, 29, swiped at least six Bottega Veneta handbags while working as a stockroom controller at the London department store.
A court heard he was struggling as his rent had gone up and he was supporting a jobless pal — so Judge Sarah Paneth handed down a suspended jail term.
She told Taffoni at Isleworth crown court: “London is a very expensive place and you could not make ends meet.
“I have every confidence this will not be repeated. I very much hope that I’m not wrong about this.”;
Taffoni had lost his job with Italian fashion house Fendi before going to work at the Bottega Veneta concession in Harrods in Knightsbridge.
He was caught walking out with a handbag, hidden in a sealed carrier bag inside his backpack.
He confessed to police he had stolen others from the store between November 2023 and July 2024, making £5,000 by selling them online.
Taffoni, of Barnet, North London, admitted theft. He was ordered to pay £11,740 compensation by September.
