Australian actor Vince Colosimo has avoided coughing up $61,858 in unpaid fines after convincing a magistrate he is mentally ill, flat broke and about to become homeless.
Colosimo, who as Neville Bartos famously told Eric Bana’s Chopper character he had ‘no cash’ during a standover job, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates Court via videolink on Thursday after failing to pay the mountain of fines.
The court heard Colosimo claimed he had suffered from the hideous affect of methamphetamine for the duration of his offending, which dates back to 2012.
Australian actor Vince Colosimo (pictured) was issued 169 traffic fines while disqualified from driving
Vince Colosimo was spotted out and about in Melbourne on Wednesday. He failed to front court in person on Thursday
Represented by top silk Julia Munster, the disgraced thespian was accused of racking up the whopping debt from 169 traffic fines, mostly while disqualified from driving.
About 150 of those fines were issued through the traffic camera office, with the court hearing a folder containing summaries of those incidents ran for 68 pages.
The majority of fines related to driving an unregistered vehicle on tollways and speeding, with at least two fines for failing to vote and blocking someone’s driveway.
Magistrate Guillaume Bailin said under the Fines Reform Act he could only discharge Colosimo’s fines if the actor proved ‘special circumstances’ existed.
The court heard Colosimo’s barrister claimed her client suffered from a ‘profound mental illness’.
Mr Bailin revealed Colosimo had told the doctor he had been abusing the deadly drug ice for more than a decade.
‘(The doctor) concludes he has ADHD, major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder and a stimulant use disorder as what I would term as a coping mechanism while also having the PTSD symptoms,’ he said.
‘What (the doctor) apines is that during the infringement conduct the applicant’s diagnosis was present … those disorders were present, they have not only been present during the infringement conduct but have been continuing and the subject of treatment.’
Australian actor Vince Colosimo (right) enjoyed a European holiday with girlfriend Sabella Sugar (left) last year. He was due in court at the same time
Australian actor Vince Colosimo (right) girlfriend Sabella Sugar (left) in better times. They appeared together in a Melbourne court on Thursday
Ms Munster submitted two psychiatric reports to the court, compiled in May and July, which went to explaining how and why Colosimo came to incur the fines.
‘He admits liability for all of the unpaid infringements,’ Ms Munster conceded.
The court heard the struggling actor had obtained government payments throughout the Covid pandemic, but had managed to repay just $6,025 of his fines with money he borrowed.
Here, there’s no cash, alright? Cash no. Robbo. Vince Colosimo in Chopper
Mr Bailin outlined the former Hollywood star’s dire financial situation, which had left him with no assets to his name.
‘Mr Colosimo has no assets, he has effectively no capacity to meet any of the financial commitments if there was a stay or otherwise … His rental and work situation remains precarious.” he said.
Ms Munster suggested Colosimo was on the verge of homelessness.
‘He’s living a meagre lifestyle with very limited financial capacity to really to meet his current obligations let alone anything else,’ she said.
‘Your honour can see the very difficult financial situation he is in and that is a relevant consideration when your honour is considering what disposition to make.’
Under any payment plan, Colosimo would have had to have worked one hour for every $40 he owed – about 64 full days working 24-hours a day.
In handing down his sentence, Mr Bailin addressed the shocking impact drugs had on the drug addled has been.
‘Illicit drug use contributed to emotional dysregulation, cognitive difficulties and generally added to the instability of the lifestyle and instability that Mr Colosimo was insufficiently equipped to manage,’ he said.
‘This culminated in the disregard of obligations with a range of infringements from parking to speeding to not voting.’
However, he ordered Colosimo was capable of performing 101 hours of unpaid community work over the next year, meaning Colosimo got out of paying $58,000.
In comical scenes, Colosimo was seen obeying the directions of his long-suffering partner Sabelle Sugar, who shooed him off camera while they waited for his matter to be called.
Sugar has continued to stand by the troubled star despite long-running allegations he has repeatedly cheated on her throughout their relationship.
The Aussie star hooked-up with Sugar in 2018 after doomed relationships with actors Jane Hall and Diana Glenn.
Colosimo missed a court appearance last year while touring Europe with Sugar, with the pair pictured in front of the Eiffel Tower after attended the Cannes film festival.
Ms Munster argued prison would be ‘excessively harsh’ on Colosimo due to his mental illness.
The court heard Colosimo continued to be treated by the psychologist, with ongoing treatment expected.
Ms Munster said Colosimo’s fines ought be discharged in full otherwise only paid in part with the remainder paid-off via unpaid community work.
Sheriff and Fines Victoria prosecutor Paul Ellis did not dispute Colosimo’s mental impairment plea, leaving it to the magistrate to decide.
Fines Victoria had applied for an enforcement warrant against Colosimo, which could have seen officers granted the power to search for and seize his property or vehicles to sell and settle the outstanding debts.
In October, Colosimo was forced to make an embarrassing exit from the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, rushing down a laneway in an effort to avoid a media pack.
Colosimo had pleaded guilty to drug and unlicensed driving and failing to give his real name to police.
The ugly 2021 incident during Melbourne’s harsh Covid-19 lockdowns saw him convicted and fined again – adding another $2500 to his growing tally of fines.
Vince Colosimo as Neville Bartos in the 2000 film Chopper
In an astonishing admission, the magistrate during that hearing said she feared Colosimo would simply ignore the fine she imposed on him.
‘I don’t have much confidence he’s going to pay,’ she said before handing down her sentence.
Prosecutors had asked for Colosimo to be jailed for his shocking driving history, which includes multiple priors for driving without a licence and a previous drug driving conviction.
‘Nothing short of prison is suffice,’ prosecutor Bianca Moleta urged then.
The court heard Colosimo had managed to be repeatedly fined for driving offences while never actually having a licence to drive.
Word of the unpaid fines appeared to come as a shock to both Colosimo and his then lawyer George Vassis, who quickly turned around to address his client seated behind him.
Prosecutor Bianca Moleta told the court Colosimo had lost his licence again twice through demerit points while disqualified for fines incurred and issued to him in recent years while his licence was cancelled.
‘Although he wasn’t charged, that’s a reflection of the Traffic Camera Office not essentially communicating with Victoria Police, but those are recorded on his demerit point history after his licence was cancelled,’ she said.
Vince Colosimo has also become a parody of his Underbelly character Alphonse Gangitano. He is pictured leaving a Melbourne court last year
Vince Colosimo avoided a media pack on Thursday by hiding in his barrister’s office. He was chased down the street by reporters last year during an in-person appearance
Colosimo assured the magistrate he had sought treatment for his drug problems, but had failed to ever complete a full program.
The actor addressed Ms Trumble directly to tell her he had also sought help from counsellors.
‘I’ve seen lots of counsellors in my time,’ he said from his seat in the courtroom.
Upon leaving the court, Colosimo refused to discuss just how he had dealt with his criminal ways.
Best known in Australia for playing underworld gangster Alphonse Gangitano and ‘ Bartos, the court heard then Colosimo had learnt from his mistakes.
In 2017, Colosimo’s was warned he faced a stint in jail after he was busted driving while suspended a third time – this time high on ice.
Magistrate David Starvaggi told Colosimo he should not have been on the roads and that driving under the influence of drugs was a basic issue that ‘even a kindergarten kid could understand’.
‘You’re building a nice little history for yourself here,’ he said.
‘You’re risking a jail term … if you’re back here for a fourth time it won’t be pretty.’
