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Pasquale Lanciana, who masterminded a $2.3 million Armaguard van heist three decades ago, has had his appeal denied.
The former kickboxer was jailed for 14 years after a jury found him guilty over the June 1994 robbery that involved five thieves posing as workmen on an elaborate roadworks site, set up to distract the van driver.
Three security guards were handcuffed at gunpoint and imprisoned in the back of the van, which was driven through the back streets of Richmond.
The money was never recovered.
He was convicted in 2021 of armed robbery, false imprisonment and money laundering.
Lanciana challenged the conviction and his prison sentence - including a minimum 10 years to be served before he's eligible for parole - in Victoria's County Court.
The jury verdict revealed they accepted he organised or participated in the crime.
His barrister Tim Game SC claimed the jury was improperly directed before retiring to consider their verdicts, which may have resulted in them reaching the same verdict for different reasons.
"You could have any number of jurors, say seven, find him guilty of being present but not organising, and any number of jurors (find him) not present but organised," he said.
The appeal justices, in a judgment handed down on Thursday, said the essential facts underpinning the two ways prosecutors put the case were sufficiently similar to not require the direction Lanciana sought through his appeal.
They also noted that at no point during Lanciana's trial was that direction sought.
Lanciana is the only person to have been charged.
