Latest news with #Hafner
Sydney Morning Herald
14 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The downfall of a drug racket: An underworld drama
Soon it was obvious that Hafner was a bigger fish than first thought. Hafner had form, not so much in his criminal records but in his associates, including the notorious Tony Mokbel. Act One, Scene Two: A bizarre claim in the County Court In 2007, Hafner went to the County Court to argue that a house in Bulleen that had been seized as part of Tony's impressive real estate portfolio was, in fact, his. He explained that the house had been given to him by his generous grandmother and had somehow been scooped up as part of Mokbel's $55 million asset portfolio. An honest (well dishonest) mistake, he told the County Court. Hafner, you see, was going through a difficult divorce, and he wanted to make sure his partner could not get her hands on half the title. 'My words were that basically I was having domestics with my missus and, basically, I don't know what to do with my grandmother's house, and we ... came to the conclusion that I'd sign it over to him,' he said. The ever-helpful Tony was happy to oblige. Of course, Mokbel was not in a position to corroborate his mate because at that time he was sitting in a Greek cell having sailed away from Australia on the yacht, Edwena. Unfortunately, an argumentative lawyer for the prosecution suggested Hafner had handed over the house because he owed Mokbel $360,000 and the property was a square-off. The house was valued about $500,000 at the time, and on June 15, 2001, National Australia Bank records show the house was transferred to Tony, who forgave a $320,000 debt and in return transferred $50,000 to Hafner. Mokbel even paid the $17,000 stamp duty to make it all above board. A detective who worked on the Mokbel case said: 'Tony was the biggest dealer in town, and Darren owed him money from a drug debt. When he couldn't pay, Tony said, 'What have you got?' and that's why he signed over his grandmother's house.' But every cloud has a silver lining, and when the seized house was sold on July 12, 2008, it fetched $625,000, which went to the State Revenue Office. Hafner's story, unlike the Edwena, sank without trace. County Court judge Michael McInerney dismissed the case, adding: 'I do not accept [Hafner] as a credible or reliable witness.' Mokbel could afford to be generous because the Hafner debt was chump change. The suburban pizza shop owner, who police described on his file as 'lacking financial acumen', was now flying. By 2000, he was planning to build an $18 million, 10-storey 'winged keel' apartment tower over Sydney Road. The plan was to build 120 apartments and townhouses, offices, restaurants, a gym with pool and a four-storey car park on the old Whelan the Wrecker site. No one seemed to wonder how he could generate that sort of money. He was also developing 10 units in Templestowe, which he planned to sell for $300,000 each. In 2000, he owned the Brunswick market site and claimed to make $500,000 a year in rent money. His business portfolio was admirably diverse, including investments in shops, cafes, fashion houses, fragrances, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs and land in regional Victoria. He and his companies owned two white vans, two Commodores, a red Audi, a 2000 silver Mercedes, a Nissan Skyline and a red Ferrari Roadster, which he bought in September 1999. He even managed to give his wife a Kilmore pub as part of the family businesses. One of his fashion houses was appropriately named LSD – apparently an abbreviation for Love of Style and Design. His social network was also varied. It included an MP, a tame bank manager, a bent accountant, a newsagent who gratefully accepted $20,000 a week that Tony invested in Tattslotto, seven jockeys and trainers, and a handful of bookies. One jockey, who was in Mokbel's car when the drug dealer had a fender-bender with a tradie near the State Library, showed his athletic prowess, opening the door and making a dash for the shadows while a contrite Tony apologised and exchanged details with the second driver. One bookie opened a ghost betting account allowing Mokbel to punt under another name. In one week during the 2002 spring racing carnival, the account turned over $445,000. To Tony, it was just pocket money. The bets were made just weeks after Mokbel was finally granted $1 million bail on the serious drugs charges. When one bookie came to collect $80,000 at Tony's Port Melbourne home, they walked to Mokbel's car, where he opened the glove box. While forward-thinking motorists might have a roll of coins for parking meters, the bookie estimated the wad of stashed cash was 'at least $300,000'. Loading You might think that having lost a house to Mokbel, Hafner would have sought an alternative income stream. But he was nothing if not persistent. He did branch out, receiving workers' compensation for several years, doing cash jobs on the side (despite a bad back), then going on the dole for 10 years while selling drugs and using stolen credit cards in a fraud ring. In 10 court hearings he collected 36 convictions. Act Two, Scene One: The Fawkner cops get the green light The Fawkner detectives built up a case and went to their bosses, and it was at that point Operation Manic was established. Hafner was followed around the state, and soon a case was built that he was the middleman in an international syndicate. Federal police tracked three shipments of pure pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in speed, flown into Australia from Malaysia, India and Dubai, and identified two other key members, Sarah Baines and Abdul Diallo. At one point, police tracked the crew to a Thomastown service station, where they were to buy a kilogram of speed for $165,000. But, in a familiar story in a drug business that is riddled with rip-offs and no-shows, after the initial meeting, the deal fell through. By September, police had enough to move in and arrest the three. The finale: Courtroom justice If everyone has 15 minutes of fame, Baines, 33, must be truly annoyed at how she used hers. When she appeared in court as part of Hafner's syndicate, the Herald Sun wrote: 'A Melbourne party girl who peddled dildos for a living is down on her luck after she was accused of running a high-end drug-trafficking racket.' At court, it was found she had worked in a retail sex shop and ran a cleaning service, and in prison had become an unofficial carer for a disabled inmate. She had been using drugs from her early 20s, and when police raided her Southbank apartment they found evidence of drug transactions, and of the drug, 1,4-butanedoil. Diallo, the court was told, was an African leader in the community, having arrived in Australia as a young refugee from Sierra Leone after his father was murdered. Hafner had been examined in prison. Quoting the psychological report, the judge said: 'You looked and sounded despondent and depressed. You presented as being at least moderately depressed and mildly anxious.' Little wonder when you are looking at a long stretch and could well die in jail When it came to sentencing, no one was spared. County Court judge Richard Maidment gave Diallo 12 years with a minimum of eight years and eight months, while Hafner was sentenced to 12 years with a minimum of eight years and four months. Baines received 11 years with a minimum of seven.
The Age
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
The downfall of a drug racket: An underworld drama
Soon it was obvious that Hafner was a bigger fish than first thought. Hafner had form, not so much in his criminal records but in his associates, including the notorious Tony Mokbel. Act One, Scene Two: A bizarre claim in the County Court In 2007, Hafner went to the County Court to argue that a house in Bulleen that had been seized as part of Tony's impressive real estate portfolio was, in fact, his. He explained that the house had been given to him by his generous grandmother and had somehow been scooped up as part of Mokbel's $55 million asset portfolio. An honest (well dishonest) mistake, he told the County Court. Hafner, you see, was going through a difficult divorce, and he wanted to make sure his partner could not get her hands on half the title. 'My words were that basically I was having domestics with my missus and, basically, I don't know what to do with my grandmother's house, and we ... came to the conclusion that I'd sign it over to him,' he said. The ever-helpful Tony was happy to oblige. Of course, Mokbel was not in a position to corroborate his mate because at that time he was sitting in a Greek cell having sailed away from Australia on the yacht, Edwena. Unfortunately, an argumentative lawyer for the prosecution suggested Hafner had handed over the house because he owed Mokbel $360,000 and the property was a square-off. The house was valued about $500,000 at the time, and on June 15, 2001, National Australia Bank records show the house was transferred to Tony, who forgave a $320,000 debt and in return transferred $50,000 to Hafner. Mokbel even paid the $17,000 stamp duty to make it all above board. A detective who worked on the Mokbel case said: 'Tony was the biggest dealer in town, and Darren owed him money from a drug debt. When he couldn't pay, Tony said, 'What have you got?' and that's why he signed over his grandmother's house.' But every cloud has a silver lining, and when the seized house was sold on July 12, 2008, it fetched $625,000, which went to the State Revenue Office. Hafner's story, unlike the Edwena, sank without trace. County Court judge Michael McInerney dismissed the case, adding: 'I do not accept [Hafner] as a credible or reliable witness.' Mokbel could afford to be generous because the Hafner debt was chump change. The suburban pizza shop owner, who police described on his file as 'lacking financial acumen', was now flying. By 2000, he was planning to build an $18 million, 10-storey 'winged keel' apartment tower over Sydney Road. The plan was to build 120 apartments and townhouses, offices, restaurants, a gym with pool and a four-storey car park on the old Whelan the Wrecker site. No one seemed to wonder how he could generate that sort of money. He was also developing 10 units in Templestowe, which he planned to sell for $300,000 each. In 2000, he owned the Brunswick market site and claimed to make $500,000 a year in rent money. His business portfolio was admirably diverse, including investments in shops, cafes, fashion houses, fragrances, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs and land in regional Victoria. He and his companies owned two white vans, two Commodores, a red Audi, a 2000 silver Mercedes, a Nissan Skyline and a red Ferrari Roadster, which he bought in September 1999. He even managed to give his wife a Kilmore pub as part of the family businesses. One of his fashion houses was appropriately named LSD – apparently an abbreviation for Love of Style and Design. His social network was also varied. It included an MP, a tame bank manager, a bent accountant, a newsagent who gratefully accepted $20,000 a week that Tony invested in Tattslotto, seven jockeys and trainers, and a handful of bookies. One jockey, who was in Mokbel's car when the drug dealer had a fender-bender with a tradie near the State Library, showed his athletic prowess, opening the door and making a dash for the shadows while a contrite Tony apologised and exchanged details with the second driver. One bookie opened a ghost betting account allowing Mokbel to punt under another name. In one week during the 2002 spring racing carnival, the account turned over $445,000. To Tony, it was just pocket money. The bets were made just weeks after Mokbel was finally granted $1 million bail on the serious drugs charges. When one bookie came to collect $80,000 at Tony's Port Melbourne home, they walked to Mokbel's car, where he opened the glove box. While forward-thinking motorists might have a roll of coins for parking meters, the bookie estimated the wad of stashed cash was 'at least $300,000'. Loading You might think that having lost a house to Mokbel, Hafner would have sought an alternative income stream. But he was nothing if not persistent. He did branch out, receiving workers' compensation for several years, doing cash jobs on the side (despite a bad back), then going on the dole for 10 years while selling drugs and using stolen credit cards in a fraud ring. In 10 court hearings he collected 36 convictions. Act Two, Scene One: The Fawkner cops get the green light The Fawkner detectives built up a case and went to their bosses, and it was at that point Operation Manic was established. Hafner was followed around the state, and soon a case was built that he was the middleman in an international syndicate. Federal police tracked three shipments of pure pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in speed, flown into Australia from Malaysia, India and Dubai, and identified two other key members, Sarah Baines and Abdul Diallo. At one point, police tracked the crew to a Thomastown service station, where they were to buy a kilogram of speed for $165,000. But, in a familiar story in a drug business that is riddled with rip-offs and no-shows, after the initial meeting, the deal fell through. By September, police had enough to move in and arrest the three. The finale: Courtroom justice If everyone has 15 minutes of fame, Baines, 33, must be truly annoyed at how she used hers. When she appeared in court as part of Hafner's syndicate, the Herald Sun wrote: 'A Melbourne party girl who peddled dildos for a living is down on her luck after she was accused of running a high-end drug-trafficking racket.' At court, it was found she had worked in a retail sex shop and ran a cleaning service, and in prison had become an unofficial carer for a disabled inmate. She had been using drugs from her early 20s, and when police raided her Southbank apartment they found evidence of drug transactions, and of the drug, 1,4-butanedoil. Diallo, the court was told, was an African leader in the community, having arrived in Australia as a young refugee from Sierra Leone after his father was murdered. Hafner had been examined in prison. Quoting the psychological report, the judge said: 'You looked and sounded despondent and depressed. You presented as being at least moderately depressed and mildly anxious.' Little wonder when you are looking at a long stretch and could well die in jail When it came to sentencing, no one was spared. County Court judge Richard Maidment gave Diallo 12 years with a minimum of eight years and eight months, while Hafner was sentenced to 12 years with a minimum of eight years and four months. Baines received 11 years with a minimum of seven.
Miami Herald
12-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Man fled cops on mule, later released raccoon in bar he was banned from, KY cops say
A Kentucky man accused of taking police on a chase while riding a mule was arrested after police said he released a raccoon into a bar he was banned from. Around 9:15 p.m. June 6, the Murray Police Department was called for reports of a man who intentionally released a raccoon into a business, according to a June 10 Facebook post by police. Police found the 40-year-old man driving his car and pulled him over, but he refused to roll his window down for officers, police said. They then removed him from his vehicle, according to police. Mary Hafner, a bartender who works at the business, told the New York Post the man had already been drinking when he showed up, and he was asked to leave since he was previously banned from the bar. That's when the man decided to release the raccoon, police said. 'Apparently he had trapped a raccoon earlier in the day on his farm and he had been carrying it around with him,' Hafner told The Post. Police learned the raccoon bit someone inside. 'It was more scared than anything,' Hafner told the New York Post. 'It was pretty upsetting for him.' The man was arrested and charged with assault, criminal trespassing, resisting arrest and failure of owner to maintain required insurance. The man was involved in an incident at the same bar in December involving a mule, according to WDKY. On Dec. 7, police were called to the bar for an 'unruly individual,' a Dec. 9 Facebook post by police said. The man was asked to leave but wouldn't, police said. When police arrived, the man was drunk and on a mule he had ridden to the bar, according to officers. Police ordered him to stop, but he refused, the release said. Eventually, the man was arrested and witnesses told police they saw the man 'whip the mule at a different establishment an 'unnecessary amount' of times,' police said. The man was taken to jail and the mule was stabled. However, two days later, the man showed up drunk to where the mule was stabled and began riding it down the street, police said. Officers tried to stop him, but he took off on the mule and refused to stop, according to police. He was arrested.
Miami Herald
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
How Coral Gables plans to bring Taylor Swift into our minds and souls in 2025
Coral Gables just may be holy ground for a double shot of Taylor Swift this spring and fall. No, the superstar isn't retooling the Eras Tour for a Miami concert reprise. But Swift's spirit, her messages and her brand are going to be felt within a few miles of one another in the City Beautiful — the first set inside a church and the next in the higher education halls of academia. Think of it as food for your soul and for your brain, Swiftie style. Swift in church and university The first shot of Swift, open to all, is 'The Gospel According to Taylor Swift,' a 60-minute sermon using her music as a theme at Coral Gables Congregational Church on April 27. The sermon will be led by the Rev. Laurinda 'Laurie' Hafner, who has become a community star for her imaginative sermons that blend tradition with the not-so-traditional. 'It seems like the right time to lift Taylor Swift up and to celebrate her music as there is probably not a more timely musician who speaks to the many issues that are confronting us as individuals and even as a nation these days,' Hafner said. 'Issues such as loneliness, community, creating strong young women, courage, truthfulness, grief, changes and love.' The second appearance is in late August when Alyse Lancaster, the University of Miami's vice dean for academic affairs, brings back her popular Mastermind of the Taylor Swift Brand class to UM. Last fall, her initial STC 290 class used Swift's career to teach marketing, advertising and the use of social and traditional media. The class filled nearly 200 seats and was featured on two episodes of Peacock's recent docuseries 'The Swift Effect.' Lancaster's first Mastermind class capitalized on the excitement surrounding Swift's Eras Tour that played three sold-out shows at Miami Gardens' Hard Rock Stadium. Even without a mega tour as a lure, Lancaster is confident the second semester this August, which is open to enrollment for all majors, should do well. Swift certainly has something exciting planned for 2025, Lancaster said, laughing, even if it's just the release of the oft-discussed 'Reputation (Taylor's Version)' album package. Sharing Taylor's message Hafner's annual 'The Gospel According to ...' themed sermons utilize the sounds of pop music to spread the gospel, but we're not exactly referencing the catalogs of contemporary Christian pop stars like TobyMac, Chris Tomlin, MercyMe or even yesteryear's Amy Grant. That would be too obvious. Rather, it's the secular music of Jimmy Buffett last year and previously tapped bodies of work from Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Gloria Estefan, Fleetwood Mac and Elton John that inspire Hafner's all-ages sermons. Here's how the church flier is touting this year's attraction: Get out the friendship bracelets and your finest glitter clothes and join us for Sunday worship filled with music by this extraordinary storyteller whose honest lyrics provide powerful sermons about loving, losing, grieving, changing, and growing up. 'Many of her songs are inspiring and meaningful sermons in their own right and while she doesn't necessarily write 'religious songs,' many of her songs hold the values, morality and hope of our faith tradition,' Hafner said. And, like UM's Lancaster, she has seen the allure of Swift in person and can capitalize on her brand to feed the mind and the soul. Both women took their daughters to last October's Eras concerts at Hard Rock Stadium. 'I have never received so many requests from our congregation's young people than I have about doing 'The Gospel According to Taylor Swift.' I usually do music that comes from my life — '70s and '80s music because I know and love it best — but Taylor transcends generations,' Hafner said. 'The fact that my 70-year-old self was with my 26-year-old daughter at her concert and we were surrounded by folks of all ages in between and beyond, talks about Taylor's appeal and ability to speak to common issues confronting people of all ages.' If you go ▪ The Gospel According to Taylor Swift sermon is at 11 a.m. to noon, Sunday, April 27, inside the sanctuary at Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 DeSoto Blvd., and will stream online at There is no charge. ▪ Mastermind of the Taylor Swift Brand enrollment has begun for UM students. The fall 2025 semester begins Aug. 18.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teen helps nonprofit pay off portion of Utah's $2.8M school lunch debt
When an Alta High School student reached out to the Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation to donate $2,500 to help relieve students' school lunch debt, DJ Bracken was in disbelief. "That was the most incredible thing I'd ever heard," said Bracken, the nonprofit's founder and executive director. High school junior David "Van" Hafner used his savings, combined with funds from the Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation, to help pay off Butler Elementary School's over $6,000 school lunch debt. Bracken and Hafner presented the school with the check on Friday, March 21, marking the 12th school the foundation has helped make debt-free. Now, Hafner is planning to continue working with the Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation to help raise the funds necessary to erase three more schools' school lunch debt by the end of the summer. "We certainly hope, going forward, that if more students want to come and help their community thrive, and help their fellow students pay down this debt, that is something we can facilitate and would love to do," Bracken said. Bracken created the Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation in July 2024 and has since raised about $50,000 to address Utah's $2.8 million school lunch debt. He said it all began when he first learned about the state's school lunch debt in a news article and couldn't believe it was true. "I called my local school district to verify that debt, and they said, 'Not only is it true that there is that much debt in state; just in your school district, just the elementary schools, there's $88,000 in debt,'" said Bracken. "And I said, 'OK, great; send me a list of the schools, and I'm just gonna start paying them off one by one.'" He began by using his own money to pay Bluffdale Elementary School's $835 school lunch debt. Bracken then started the nonprofit in hopes others would feel inspired to help the cause. At first, he was worried the issue wouldn't gain traction in the community, but he was pleasantly surprised when the foundation raised $5,000 on Day 1. Since then, it has continued to gather donations to relieve schools of their lunch debt one by one. However, the foundation does not only intend to pay off school lunch debt; its goal is to eliminate the problem as a whole by advocating for policy change. The Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation worked with advocates and state representatives during the recent legislative session to introduce HB100, a bill that would allow students who are currently eligible for reduced-price lunch to receive free lunch and breakfast at school. "The number is just so significant that even if I had a corporate donor come in today and say, 'I'll give you $2.8 million,' it would just be back next year," Bracken said. "So we can get things like this passed and still help kids at the same time. That's how I know the organization is doing what it needs to do." Sponsored by Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, the bill also includes provisions that would prevent students from being publicly stigmatized due to having a meal debt. According to Bracken, some school districts will send students' meal debt to collections in order to receive payment and then send students home with a collections notice to give to their parents. But this bill requires schools to communicate with parents directly rather than through students. HB100 gained favor from both the Senate and the House during the legislative session and was signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday. "It's just really significant; I'm really proud to have been a part of the process," Bracken said. While he feels significant progress has been made in the last year, he says Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation will continue to work as long as there is even $1 of student lunch debt. He expressed that the support the foundation has received is evidence to him that members of the community can work together to make change. "I think, right now, there's a lot of cynicism out there — just the current environment we live in — and founding (Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation) really showed me that one person can make a difference with the power of other people, too," Bracken said. "Sometimes, you just take one step in the right direction, and everybody decides to come with you, and it's really been the case here." More information about the Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation can be found at
