The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli has fronted a court hearing denying allegations he hooned through Melbourne’s north west.
Portelli, 35, yawned while allegations he carelessly drove his grey Mercedes Benz c63 coupe through a roundabout at Digger’s Rest were aired in court.
Portelli is accused of hooning just before Christmas of 2020, with police hitting him with a charge each of careless driving, failing to have proper control of a vehicle and driving in a manner causing a vehicle to lose traction.
The court heard Portelli was intercepted near the Silk Drive and Diggers Rest-Coimadai Rd intersection and his Merc was impounded on the spot.
Portelli was charged on January 30, 2021, more than a month after the alleged hoon offence.
A Victoria Police Highway Patrol cop told the court he said ‘f**** oath’ when his partner asked if he thought they witnessed Portelli’s luxury car lose traction.
Lawyers for Portelli submitted there was ‘no way’ police could make that assertion from 255m away.
Experienced criminal barrister Penny Marcou, for Portelli, attempted to discredit the police witness’s evidence.
Ms Marcou suggested the cop ‘created a memory’ because Portelli was ‘well known in the community’.
She asked how the cop could remember the incident after four years and ‘several hundred police intercepts later’.
‘It was quite distinctive incident,’ he said.
‘I didn’t know who he (Portelli) was.’
‘But you did in January 2021 didn’t you,’ Ms Marcou responded.
‘Your memory was put aside and you created a memory because Mr Portelli was someone who was known in the community…’
Ms Marcou also highlighted an expert report which concluded it was unlikely police could see Portelli’s wheels spinning from their vantage point.
She also asserted there was ‘no way’ police could spot Portelli’s wheels lose traction while 255m away.
‘I suggest you’re just making this up as you go along Senior,’ Ms Marcou said.
‘I’m putting it to you that it was a horrible rainy day… you’ve got your windscreen wipers on and its pouring rain.
Ms Marcou also asserted the cop’s statement that it wasn’t raining heavy was ‘misleading’ because there was ‘flooding across the road’.
The cop who has 11 years experience in the Highway Patrol, disagreed with Ms Name’s assertions.
The Leading Senior Constable said Portelli’s action through the roundabout was a ‘controlled slide by the driver’.
Ms Marcou also highlighted there was no recorded footage of the alleged incident and police had noted Portelli’s Mercedes was a sedan not a coupe.
Portelli, a flamboyant billionaire playboy known for his outrageous publicity stunts, had previously attempted to keep his court case a secret before Daily Mail exclusively revealed his shock hoon charges in May last year.
Portelli’s former barrister Angelika Yianoulatos attempted to suppress details of his alleged offending from public scrutiny.
‘Before I commence making any submissions, I will ask that your honour close this court by virtue of the fact that Mr Portelli is a public figure and I can see that there are some journalists on the (video) link,’ she said during a previous court hearing.
‘It’s my submission that any publication of these matters may prejudice Mr Portelli and the proper administration of justice.’
While the court was closed to allow Portelli’s barrister to plead her case, a magistrate dismissed any notion of issuing a suppression order, opening the court and providing Portelli’s charge sheets to Daily Mail .
Portelli is facing a legal war on a second front after South ‘s Consumer and Business Services launched an investigation into the operations of the Melbourne businessman’s lottery business in September last year.
The SA government department confirmed it was prosecuting Portelli and Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which trades as LMCT+ just one day after Portelli handed out $150,000 worth of Coles vouchers to struggling western Sydney residents to buy groceries.
Portelli faces nine counts of conducting/assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery, and the company faces ten counts of the same charge, the courts confirmed.
If convicted on all charges, Portelli could face a maximum penalty of $190,000. The first mention of the case is scheduled for January 15 in the South n Magistrates Court.
Portelli has an estimated net worth of more than $1billion – and he made much of his fortune through LMCT+, a subscription based lottery.
Portelli splashed major cash hosting a lavish bash at his multimillion dollar penthouse in Melbourne’s CBD on Thursday night just hours after he copped charges.
The driving charges hearing before Magistrate Michael McNamara at Sunshine court continues.