A career criminal with access to guns regularly travelled to Liverpool to commit burglaries at affluent homes.
Peter Paradi, from Manchester, journeyed into Merseyside determined to target plush properties around Calderstones Park, in one case plundering a safe and stealing valuable jewellery.
The 44-year-old hour targeted four separate homes in the same day, and then returned the following month to break into another address.
Today, police in Liverpool described Paradi, who will at some stage be deported, as "shameful."
The career criminal also carried out 10 burglaries and a robbery in Greater Manchester, one in which he brandished a handgun at a terrified mum in front of her children, both girls, aged three and three months.
Baseless Paradi told the mum, in Bolton: "Don't make me use this."
The robber and thief was so brazen while he ransacked the home to pocket £100,000, that one of the children began to cry, telling her parent: "Mummy, I don't like it."
Over in Liverpool, the Hungarian-born robber visited a home in Dudlow Lane, on September 20, and tried to break in, when he was spotted in the back garden.
Hours later, he broke into an address on Dowsefield Lane, stealing a yellow drill and jewellery.
Still determined to plunder more, he moved onto a house on Calder Grange, pinching cash and jewellery.
And he finished off his day's work at a house on Menlove Avenue, taking a safe, containing money, and more jewellery.
A month later, Paradi was back in the city, this time targeting a home on Church Road in Woolton, on October 29, taking cash, jewellery and other items.
The criminal has now been jailed for 15 years for all his offences, including four counts of burglary and one count of attempt burglary in Liverpool.
Detective Sergeant Darren Hankin, of Merseyside Police, said: “Paradi travelled to Liverpool on 20 September with the sole intention of breaking into homes and taking what did not belong to him.
"He returned on 29 October to continue his heartless campaign, leaving a trail of distress and hurt in his wake.
“Burglars like Paradi think nothing of taking items of great financial and sentimental value to their owners.
"By breaking into homes they violate the place where people should feel most safe.
“We recognise and understand the huge impact burglaries have on our communities, which is why we launched Operation Castle, our targeted operation to prevent burglaries and put offenders before the courts.
“Paradi is the latest in a long line of burglars to be caught and jailed as part of the operation.
"I have a message for anyone considering such a shameful crime: we have the resources and the determination to catch you and put you before the courts, and you too could end up facing a long prison sentence like Paradi.
“I also want to reassure all victims that we will do everything we can to target burglars, with investigations and community policing teams continuing during the Covid-19 pandemic to work hard to develop intelligence from the community and partners, and will act on all information to pursue offenders.
“With less crimes being reported overall, we have more officers available to do proactive policing work and regularly stop-check people acting suspiciously. We know this deters criminals from operating in these areas, so together we can make these areas hostile places for criminals to operate.”
Paradi's accomplice, who he operated with in Greater Manchester, is yet to be brought to justice.
The Mancunian, of Queens Road, has signed a voluntary deportation order and "knows that his life in the UK is over."
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He has stage two prostate cancer and is awaiting treatment.
Paradi was born in Hungary and has also lived in USA and has committed crimes in Liverpool, Greater Manchester, and Cheshire.
His lawyer claimed his client's life had "fallen apart at the seams" following the death of his father and breakdown of his marriage.
Mohammed Nawaz said: "He has previous convictions but before this period, he could not be described as prolific. It was the culmination of a series of depressing events in his personal life - a perfect storm if you will.
"He moved to the UK in 2012 and worked as a hotel manager for over a year, then other cafes and restaurants. His wife joined him in 2014 and things were generally settled.
"In March 2019, his father died of cancer and at the same time he began to experience marital problems. His wife left suddenly to Hungary and took his six-year-old daughter, who he had bonded with, with her.
"That depression led to drug and alcohol abuse. He then began to gamble and these activities put him in the wrong and led him to be in massive debt."
Judge Graeme Smith told Paradi: "Your selfish acts have had devastating effect on many lives."
