A professional drift car racing world record holder and stuntman has confessed to his part in a the reselling of stolen Holden parts that amounted to a profit of $350,000.
Robin Bolger submitted a sworn affidavit to the court confessing to his crimes a full three months after a jury found him guilty and he had pleaded his innocence repeatedly.
Judge Steven Milsteed said it was unfortunate that Bolger had not decided to cooperate earlier in proceedings, The Advertiser reported.
Professional drift car racing world record holder and stuntman Robin Bolger has confessed to his part in a the reselling of stolen Holden parts that amounted to a profit of $350,000
Mr Bolger now faces a maximum 20-year jail term for 11 counts of property laundering and 54 counts of money laundering.
In a twist, Holden was a sponsor of Bolger’s racing career which Judge Milsteed pointed out.
‘He was receiving engines and transmissions stolen from the very people who were sponsoring him,’ he said.
‘There’s an element of breach of trust involved.’
In a twist, Holden was a sponsor of Bolger’s racing career which Judge Milsteed pointed out
Elizabeth Mansfield, the defence solicitor for Bolger, said her client had ‘willfully turned a blind eye’ to the stolen Holden V8 engines.
‘A very serious wilful blind eye because, in his words, all his Christmases had come at once and the temptation was simply too great,’ she said.
Jurors found Bolger guilty of buying and then reselling $700,000 worth of V8 engines and gearboxes to clients in Berri and Victoria between 2010 and 2011.
Elizabeth Mansfield, the defence solicitor for Bolger, said her client had ‘willfully turned a blind eye’ to the stolen Holden V8 engines (stock image)
It was discovered the parts had come form a now closed Holden factory and had been deemed ‘obsolete’.
As a result of his conviction and wilful cooperation in reselling the stolen engines, Bolger has been exiled by the racing industry.
Bolger was remanded on continued bail terms with a sentencing date yet to be set.