Moving out of mortgage fraud and into property seemed like a safe bet for John Gizzi but now he faces an extra eight years in jail because of the credit crunch.

Gizzi, a career criminal, was jailed two years ago and ordered to repay £2.6 million of his ill-gotten gains or face a further long stretch in prison. Among the assets that he put up for sale was his mansion in North Wales. The five-acre property, which has a tennis court and indoor pool, was put on the market at £1.75 million. The asking price is now £900,000 and the agents are “open to offers”.

Gizzi, 36, described by one associate as an “up-and-coming Al Capone”, was jailed for 5½ years in 2006 for a series of frauds and attacks on homeless people in Rhyl, North Wales. A confiscation hearing was told that crime had made him nearly £7 million, with which he had bought Bronwylfa Hall at St Asaph’s, Denbyshire. If he does not sell the property his sentence will be more than doubled.

House prices are falling at their fastest rate since the early 1990s. Buyers are having difficulty finding finance and some properties are not selling at all.

One agent in the area said: “Gizzi could not be trying to sell at a worse time. The housing market has collapsed. It’s an impressive looking property and a bit nicer than where he is currently living but just because he’s behind bars doesn’t mean he’s immune from the drop in house prices.”

At his trial Gizzi was described as a thug and bully who assaulted the homeless and preyed on the weak. The court ruled that he would avoid an extra eight-year sentence if he handed over assets of £2.6 million under a confiscation order. Gizzi’s lawyers plan to go back to court to ask the judge to take into account the plunging value of his property.

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