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Queensland motorsport identity and stuntman Robin Bolger has been jailed for his involvement in the theft of hundreds of engines and gearboxes from Holden’s old Adelaide factory.
Bolger, who had been sponsored by Holden, was involved in a scheme which saw over 200 engines and gearboxes stolen from the Elizabeth plant in 2010 and 2011, according to the ABC.
The Irish-born man, who is known in Queensland motorsport circles and won the 2007 Drift Australia Series, has been sentenced in South Australia’s District Court to six years’ and three months’ jail time.
His earnings from the scheme, $330,000 out of a total of more than $780,000, will be recovered under proceeds of crime laws.
The theft was carried out by a Holden employee loading the units into courier van under the pretence of normal business.
They were eventually sold predominantly in South Australia but also in Victoria.
Bolger, who was one of seven arrested over the scheme, denied knowledge that the units were stolen during his trial but admitted so after the jury found him guilty.
Judge Steven Millseed described the admission as “probably nothing more than an attempt to gain leniency.”
Bolger’s sentence relates to 11 counts of property laundering and 54 counts of money laundering pertaining to the proceeds.
A Holden employee was jailed for six years in 2014 due to his involvement while two other men were handed suspended sentences for money laundering and storage of the engines and gearboxes.
The fate of another accused man still rests with the court as he was deemed not fit to stand trial with Bolger.
Bolger will be eligible for parole in July 2021.
