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'Unacceptable risk': Porsche driver Richard Pusey refused bail

admin — Thu, 14 May 2020 05:00:35 +0000

In her decision, Ms Metcalf said she was satisfied that Mr Pusey’s lawyer had reached the threshold of compelling reasons for bail based on a combination of factors, “the chief of which is the likely delay in these charges being determined due to the ongoing pandemic”.

She said she believed there would be issues proving the more serious charges and said she held concerns any jail sentence he received would be shorter than time spent on remand.

“He is not charged with any offences relating to the deaths of the police officers nor does the informant allege Mr Pusey is responsible for or connected to the actions of the vehicle or its driver,” Ms Metcalf said.

“Mr Pusey is not charged with any offences for filming the scene. While his actions in seeking to record the scene were highly intrusive and morally repugnant, the filming was not illegal.

“Nevertheless the charges before the courts are serious.”

Ms Metcalf said it was difficult to make a definitive assessment about the strength of the prosecution case, but said there were clearly “arguable issues in relation to many of the charges”.

Richard Pusey’s lawyer, Vincent Peters, at the Magistrates Court on Monday.Credit:Eddie Jim

She said a committal was unlikely until 2021 and a trial could be as far away as late 2022.

She said she was not persuaded that Mr Pusey was a flight risk, or that he would contact or harass witnesses, those being the civilians who attended the collision scene.

However, she said she did hold concerns about his risk of committing offences on bail and of endangering the safety and welfare of members of the public, given his poor driving record and recreational drug use.

Richard Pusey is led from his home by police in Melbourne in April. Credit:AAP

Ms Metcalf also referred to a report by Mr Pusey’s treating psychologist that found there was a “high risk of further acting out behaviour” and of continued drug use.

That report also found that Mr Pusey struggles with anger management and a “narcissistic rage towards multiple parties”, as well as a daily fear of being arrested, being watching by police and at times “fantasising about killing people”.

She said the bail application had not addressed what treatment or support Mr Pusey would seek to address his drug habit and stop his mental health deteriorating.

“My view is that Mr Pusey poses an unacceptable risk of committing offences on bail and of endangering the safety and welfare of members of the public,” she said.

“Bail is therefore refused.”

Mr Pusey, wearing the same grey jumper he was arrested in, remained expressionless during Thursday’s hearing with his eyes closed at times.

He was pulled over for allegedly speeding on the Eastern Freeway on April 22 when a semi-trailer ploughed into the emergency lane, killing four police officers.

As Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor was dying, her body camera captured Mr Pusey allegedly saying to her: “There you go. Amazing, absolutely amazing. All I wanted to do was go home and have my sushi … Now you’ve f—ed my f—ing car.”

Mr Pusey filmed the scene for three minutes, zooming in on various aspects of the carnage while “continually making derogatory remarks in relation to what he was recording”, the court heard in Monday’s bail hearing.

During Monday’s hearing, the court was told Mr Pusey sent messages to a friend a month earlier, bragging about reaching speeds of 300km/h in his Porsche on the Eastern Freeway.

Dash cam footage captured Mr Pusey’s car weaving into the innermost lane of the Eastern Freeway at high speed on March 21. A video recovered from his phone showed him allegedly travelling at 247km/h on the Monash Freeway in a separate incident.

“This type of driving behaviour puts community safety at risk,” Ms Metcalf said on Thursday.

Mr Pusey has a long list of prior convictions, which were detailed in court on Monday.

He was sentenced to three months in prison and convicted of reckless conduct endangering serious injury after he opened a gas bottle inside the front door of a Fitzroy bar after he was refused service due to being drunk in December 2017.

Richard Pusey.Credit:

In September last year, he was convicted of offences in Brisbane after he became abusive on a Tigerair flight from Brisbane to Melbourne, filming the cabin crew and saying to one woman: ‘‘F— off, you fat cow’’. He had to be physically removed from the plane by police.

New recruits Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris were killed alongside senior colleagues Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Senior Constable Kevin King.

Mr Pusey has been charged with 12 offences, including driving at a dangerous speed, reckless conduct endangering life, failing to remain after a drug test and failing to render assistance over the Eastern Freeway crash.

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Why Richard Gates is a key player in the Mueller probe

admin — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 14:12:10 +0000

Richard Gates has emerged as a key figure in special counsel Robert MuellerRobert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE‘s investigation of Russia’s interference in the election.

Mueller on Thursday unveiled new criminal charges against Gates and Paul ManafortPaul John ManafortOvernight Cybersecurity: Lawyer charged in Mueller probe pleads guilty to lying | Sessions launches cyber task force | White House tallies economic impact of cyber crime Lawyer charged in Mueller probe pleads guilty to lying to federal investigators The Hill’s 12:30 Report MORE, his longtime business partner, accusing them of a series of financial crimes including tax evasion, bank fraud and money laundering.

Observers for weeks had been expecting that Gates, a one-time Trump campaign aide, might strike an agreement with Mueller to avoid going to trial.

The superseding indictment released Thursday deepens the legal peril for Gates.

Seth Waxman, a former federal prosecutor, said the timing of the filing likely aims to maximize the pressure on Gates, in case he is wavering on whether to cooperate with the investigation.

“It is designed to continue to ratchet up the pressure on Manafort and Gates to flip,” he said.

Waxman said the new filings suggest Mueller is likely sending a clear signal to Gates “that he is not messing around.”

Gates is a key figure for Mueller because of his close relationship with Manafort, President TrumpDonald John TrumpAccuser says Trump should be afraid of the truth Woman behind pro-Trump Facebook page denies being influenced by Russians Shulkin says he has White House approval to root out ‘subversion’ at VA MORE’s former campaign chairman.

Gates and Manafort worked hand-in-hand for more than a decade, including on lobbying work for pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, so his testimony at trial could prove especially damaging for Manafort.

“If Manafort really did have a second in command comparable to a close confidante, you don’t get much better than that,” said Steven Cash a lawyer at Day Pitney who specializes in criminal litigation and national security-related matters. “It’s like having the second-in-command of a company testify against the CEO.”

A plea agreement with Gates would put heavy pressure on Manafort to cut a deal of his own. If he flipped, it’s possible he could give Mueller inside information about any contact between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the summer of 2016, a key period when Russia began orchestrating the release of hacked Democratic emails.

“The Manafort indictment is serious, is ugly and is very likely backed by large volumes of evidence,” said Ron Hosko, a former FBI assistant director. “Gates can drive a final nail.”

President Trump has flatly denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia, describing the allegations as a “hoax.”

Mueller’s team first unveiled an indictment Manafort and Gates in late October.

That indictment, which included bank transactions, accused Manafort and Gates of money laundering, bank fraud and other financial crimes stemming from work overseas that predated their involvement in Trump’s presidential campaign.

Both men pleaded not guilty last year.

Former prosecutors say Gates’s testimony, should he choose to cooperate, could help prosecutors sort through their evidence against Manafort. He could also fill in holes in timelines and help walk prosecutors through some of the complex financial transactions that he and Manafort are accused of carrying out.

“In most businesses and white-collar cases, the government really needs a cooperator to explain events,” said Jack Sharman, a former Whitewater special counsel.

The possibility of Gates on the witness stand could be enough to get Manafort to cooperate with Mueller’s prosecutors, which is likely their main goal.

Manafort worked for Trump’s campaign for six months before resigning under pressure in August 2016 over reports of his dealings with a pro-Russian oligarch in Ukraine. He was in the room for a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer who had promised Donald Trump Jr.Donald (Don) John TrumpTrump Jr. praises ‘spirit’ of poverty-stricken Indians: ‘Still a smile on a face’ State Dept. says it did not coordinate with Trump Jr. on India speech The Hill’s 12:30 Report MORE damaging information on Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonWoman behind pro-Trump Facebook page denies being influenced by Russians Trump: CNN, MSNBC ‘got scammed’ into covering Russian-organized rally Pennsylvania Democrats set to win big with new district map MORE’s campaign, and could provide inside information about any contact between the campaign and Russia.

If Gates were to strike a plea deal, he would be the fourth known witness to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation, in addition to former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump campaign adviser George PapadopoulosGeorge Demetrios PapadopoulosGates agrees to testify against Manafort in Mueller probe: report Mueller indictments still miss the mark on Trump-Russia collusion Five key takeaways from the Russian indictments MORE, and a California man ensnared in the probe for selling bank account numbers to foreigners committing identity fraud.

“I think the question is not, are there going to be more indictments and guilty pleas. I think there will be,” Sharman said.

“The larger question is ultimately what is the relation of any of those offenses to the original core mission of the special counsel, who was appointed because of concerns over presidential campaign involvement.”

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