Block billionaire Adrian Portelli has denied allegations he did donuts and burned himself at work in circles while allegedly touring Melbourne’s northwest.
Portelli, 35, yawned in court as he was alleged to have carelessly driven his gray Mercedes Benz C63 coupe around a roundabout at Digger’s Rest on a rainy afternoon.
Portelli is accused of driving like a thug just before Christmas 2020, and police charged him with careless driving, failure to have proper control of a vehicle, and driving in a manner that caused the vehicle to lose traction.
But his legal defense team claims police were too far away to know if he was burned and couldn’t see if his wheels were spinning in the rain.
The court heard Portelli was stopped near the intersection of Silk Drive and Diggers Rest-Coimadai Rd, and his Merc was impounded on the spot.
Portelli was charged more than a month after the incident, which allegedly occurred in an undeveloped section of Digger’s Rest, on January 30, 2021.
Constable Glen Hutton told the court he saw Portelli doing “circle work”, which the court heard was a term for hoon-style donut burnout.
The highway patrol officer also said he saw Portelli’s $400,000 high-powered luxury sports car “drifting” around the roundabout.
Adrian Portelli, 35, (pictured in Sydney last week) yawned in court as allegations that he carelessly drove his gray Mercedes Benz C63 coupe through a roundabout at Digger’s Rest were aired in court.
Portelli is accused of driving like a thug just before Christmas 2020, and police are charging him with multiple traffic violations.
Officer Hutton told the court he had discretion over whether to impound the Mercedes and decided to tow it despite Portelli’s claim that it belonged to his partner.
The police officer told Portelli: ‘You will be left here in the rain if you don’t get someone to pick it up (the Merc)’ before allowing Portelli to remove a baby seat from the coupe.
Portelli’s defense attorney, Penny Marcou, disputed the officer’s claims, saying, “You were too quick to make assumptions.”
‘You made the decision to take the beautiful Mercedes-Benz… you said: ‘You have two houses’ and you decided to take it (the Merc).
“You told him, ‘They’ll leave you here in the rain if you don’t get someone to pick him up.'”
Another Highway Patrol officer told the court that he had sworn ‘damn’ when Officer Hutton asked him if he thought they had witnessed Portelli’s luxury car lose traction.
But Marcou said there was “no way” police could make that claim from 255 meters away while trying to discredit police evidence.
Marcou suggested the police officer “created a memory” because Portelli was “well known in the community.”
He asked how the police officer could remember the incident after four years and “several hundred police interceptions later.”
Portelli lives a luxurious lifestyle
Portelli has a garage full of luxury vehicles
“It was a pretty distinctive incident,” he said. “I didn’t know who he (Portelli) was.”
“But you did it in January 2021, right?” Ms. Marcou responded.
‘Your memory was set aside and you created a memory because Mr. Portelli was someone known in the community…’
Marcou also highlighted an expert report that concluded it was unlikely police could see Portelli’s wheels turning from their vantage point.
He also claimed there was “no way” police could detect Portelli’s wheels losing traction from more than 250 meters away.
“I suggest you make this up as you go, Senior,” Ms. Marcou said.
‘I’m telling you, it was a horrible rainy day… you have the windshield wipers on and it’s pouring rain.
Marcou also said the police officer’s statement that it was not raining much was “misleading” because there was “flooding on the other side of the road.”
The police officer, with 11 years of experience in the Highway Patrol, disagreed and He said Portelli’s skid at the roundabout was a “driver-controlled slide.”
Marcou also said there was no recorded footage of the alleged incident and that police had noted that Portelli’s Mercedes was a sedan, not a coupe.
The flamboyant billionaire playboy, known for his publicity stunts, had attempted to keep his court case under wraps before Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed his shocking hoon charges in May last year.
Portelli’s former lawyer, Angelika Yianoulatos, attempted to hide the details of his alleged crime from public scrutiny.
Portelli hosted a lavish party at his Melbourne penthouse
“Before I begin to make any presentation, I will ask Your Honor to close this court by virtue of the fact that Mr. Portelli is a public figure and I can see that there are some journalists in the (video) link,” he said during a conference. prior court hearing.
“My opinion is that any publication of these matters may harm Mr. Portelli and the proper administration of justice.”
While the court was closed to allow Portelli’s lawyer to argue his case, a magistrate dismissed any thoughts of issuing a suppression order, opening the court and providing Portelli’s charge sheets to Daily Mail Australia.
Portelli is facing a legal war on a second front after the South Australian Consumer and Business Service launched an investigation into the operations of the Melbourne businessman’s lottery business in September last year.
South Africa’s government department confirmed it was prosecuting Portelli and Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, trading as LMCT+ just a day after Portelli handed out $150,000 worth of Coles vouchers to western Sydney residents struggling to buy groceries.
Portelli faces nine counts of conducting/aiding to conduct an illegal 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 case is scheduled for its first mention on January 15 in the South Australian Magistrates Court.
Portelli has an estimated net worth of over $1 billion and made much of his fortune through LMCT+, a subscription-based lottery.
Portelli spent big money throwing a lavish party at his multi-million dollar penthouse in Melbourne’s financial district on Thursday night, just hours after facing charges.
The hearing on driving charges before Magistrate Michael McNamara at Sunshine Court remains ongoing.