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Extortion case collapses against Bandidos boss Joel Leavitt, exposing gaps in building industry laws

Prosecutors withdraw blackmail charge against former CFMEU official as royal commission examines police warnings ignored since 2014

By LineZotpaper
Published
Updated
Read Time2 min
Sources3 outlets
A high-profile extortion case against the Melbourne boss of the Bandidos outlaw bikie gang and former CFMEU Big Build official has collapsed, with Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions withdrawing a blackmail charge this week. The development is a major setback for authorities seeking to clean up Victoria's building sector and is set to be referred to the royal commission into the industry.

The case against Joel Leavitt, the Bandidos president who also worked as a CFMEU Big Build official, ended abruptly when prosecutors moved to drop the charge laid by Victoria Police's Taskforce Hawk. Leavitt had been accused of demanding a building industry financier pay more than $650,000 to a construction firm owner.

Detectives had secured a covert recording in which Leavitt told his alleged victim he could be "very convincing when he needed to be". According to the recording, after the victim said he owed no debt, Leavitt responded: "Someone has to pay."

The decision to withdraw the charge raises questions about why the state Labor government has failed to act on repeated police requests, first issued in 2014 and most recently again this year, to toughen laws aimed at forcing gangland figures out of the construction sector. The matter is now expected to be examined by the royal commission into the building industry.

The collapse comes as authorities appear to struggle to make headway against alleged organised crime infiltration of Victoria's construction sector. An earlier arrest of a key bikie figure in February had raised hopes of progress, but the failure to sustain this prosecution highlights the difficulties in building cases under current legal frameworks.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The collapse of a high-profile prosecution undermines efforts to address alleged organised crime infiltration of Victoria's multi-billion-dollar building sector.
  • The case exposes a decade-long gap between police warnings about the need for stronger laws and government inaction.
  • The referral to the royal commission could increase political pressure on the state government to overhaul construction industry regulation.

Background

Victoria's construction industry has long faced allegations of corruption and organised crime links, particularly on major government building projects. The Big Build program, a series of large-scale infrastructure projects, has been a focus of scrutiny. Police established Taskforce Hawk to investigate bikie influence in the sector. Despite repeated requests from law enforcement for legislative changes to make it easier to exclude gang members from the industry, successive state governments have not introduced the proposed reforms. The current royal commission was established to investigate these issues.

Key Perspectives

Victoria Police: Have repeatedly requested stronger laws to force gangland figures out of the construction sector, first in 2014 and again this year, indicating they see existing powers as insufficient to address the problem.

State Labor government: Has not acted on the police requests, leaving it open to criticism that it is not taking the issue seriously enough. The government has not commented on this specific case.

Royal commission into the building industry: Will now examine the decision to withdraw the charge and the broader question of whether current laws are adequate, potentially recommending reforms.

Critics and observers: The collapse of this case will be seen as evidence that existing legal frameworks are too weak to tackle organised crime in construction, and that political will is lacking to fix the problem.

What to Watch

  • Whether the royal commission's inquiry into the case leads to specific legislative recommendations.
  • Any further police requests or public statements from the state government about new laws.
  • The outcome of any related cases being pursued by Taskforce Hawk.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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