Ex-bodybuilder Helmut Cerncic not guilty of heroin supply
A 79-year-old’s former career as a bodybuilder – which saw him once defeat a young Arnold Schwarzenegger – has helped him escape a jail term.
Central Sydney
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He made his name lifting bars now his reputation as a champion bodybuilder has helped him avoid being locked behind them.
Helmut Cerncic, a former rival of Arnold Schwarzenegger, was found not guilty of supplying nearly 1kg of heroin from his Darlinghurst home four years ago.
Cerncic on Monday pleaded not guilty to a charge of supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, more than three years following his arrest in June 2016.
The 79-year-old’s trial hinged on the analysis of a 2015 diary found in the study of his old Womerah Lane home, which the Crown alleged held “coded entries” recording eight months of drug supply.
Judge Philip Ingram ruled on Friday that the Crown had not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the well-known public speaker had dealt drugs, saying Cerncic’s version of events countered the Crown’s “circumstantial case”.
Discovered during a raid on the Darlinghurst property on August 5, 2015, the Crown alleged the diary detailed the sale of 971.4g of heroin using numbers and symbols in tables.
The alleged supply took place between January 1 and August 4, 2015, Judge Ingram heard during the trial.
The Crown largely relied on a 1039-page statement from expert witness Detective Sergeant Mark Carter, who the court heard analysed the diary and found its entries to be “consistent” with street heroin supply.
Judge Ingram, however, ruled that Cerncic’s evidence given in an electronic interview with police that the markings were “sets” and “reps” of bodybuilding exercises “gives rise to doubt”.
The pensioner told police he had “been undertaking such a regime for many years” explaining why similar entries were found in eight other diaries also found in his study.
Judge Ingram said the court could not find the defendant guilty beyond reasonable doubt “even if the court prefers" the Crown's argument "or does not positively believe” Cerncic’s statement.
Of the 2.5g white powder allegedly found inside his study, which was alleged to be heroin, resealable bags and a set of scales Cerncic told police: “Someone put it there.”
When asked about the $16,800 found in the back and front covers of books in his study, stashed in bundles of $1000 and $2000, he told police the cash was his savings “from working”.
Defence barrister Michael Ainsworth argued Det Serg Carter’s report was “deeply flawed” and “assumed” one column of the alleged drug ledger represented heroin.
Cerncic did not give evidence in the trial.