Catch us live on BlogTalkRadio every



Tuesday & Thursday at 6pm P.S.T.




Thursday, March 17, 2011

AUSTRALIA - Five men face extortion charges

OFF THE WIRE

Mark Berghoffer and Peter Hill (top right)
arrive at court yesterday with two friends.

FIVE men with an alleged association to the Rebels motorcycle club have appeared in court charged with extortion.
Adam Warwick McCrea, Gary Wayne Hyland, Mark Darren Berghoffer, Sean Edwin Foster and Peter Ross Hill are accused of threatening Maryborough couple Khristopher and Emma Bust in an effort to deter them from opening a body piercing business.
Mr Bust gave his testimony yesterday in the Hervey Bay District Court.
He told the court he moved to Maryborough with his wife and daughter in 2008 to open a piercing and clothing store on Kent Street.
He alleged that a man who referred to himself as “Big Adam” contacted him before he opened the store and warned him to stay out of Maryborough.
“Big Adam” was later identified as Adam McCrea by Mr Bust.
After determining that McCrea wanted to make sure Mr Bust was not affiliated with any rival gang, a meeting was arranged between the two for December 6, 2008, Mr Bust said.
It is alleged that at this meeting, McCrea and the other co-accused, along with one woman, arrived at the store and after a long conversation, McCrea threatened to throw Mr and Ms Bust “through their front window” if the store remained open.
Berghoffer and Hyland are also said to have made threatening comments during the incident.
In cross-examination, Mr Bust admitted to a number of errors in earlier statements regarding the other accused, apart from McCrea, including where they stood, what they wore and who made the additional threats attributed to Berghoffer and Hyland, but said he was confident his testimony yesterday was accurate.
He said his earlier confusion about the other four men was due to all of his attention at the time being fixed on “that giant (McCrea) in front of me".
Cross- examination of Mr Bust will continue today, before the other witnesses for the prosecution are called.
One of those witnesses will be a woman alleged to be McCrea’s ex-girlfriend, who is said to have been present at the incident.
http://www.frasercoastchronicle.com.au/story/2011/03/16/five-men-face-court-extortion-charges-hervey-bay/