Richard Schaaf applies to vary his Supreme Court bail
A man who allegedly masterminded a drug racket out of a western Sydney home has applied to vary his bail conditions, with the accused’s lawyer claiming the man’s “in a very perilous situation”.
Penrith
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The alleged ringleader of an alleged drug syndicate that ran out of a Doonside home has told a court he needs to work to afford an electronic tracking bracelet.
Richard Schaaf, 28, of Sylvania, is facing 17 charges over the alleged organised supply of cocaine and methylamphetamine throughout western Sydney in 2018 and 2019.
Schaaf was arrested in an early morning raid at his Sylvania home in May last year after police allege he led a group that dealt 250 grams of cocaine from a Doonside house between November 2018 and May 2019.
During a search of the Doonside property, police allegedly found 71 bottles of unopened liquor, 26 boxes of brand-new shoes, 62 unopened bottles of perfume and cologne, and 60 items of clothing with security tags still attached.
They will allege these were proceeds of the drug-supply racket, along with a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE63 worth $120,000 and a Toyota HiLux worth $15,000.
Schaaf was also allegedly found with $109,177.10 in cash, as well as 3.74 grams of cannabis and 15mm of Trenbolone.
He is facing three counts of supplying a prohibited drug, five counts of dealing with the proceeds of crime, four counts of possession of unlawfully obtained goods, possessing a prohibited drug, possessing a prescribed restricted substance, and knowingly direct activities of a criminal group.
He received bail from the Supreme Court in March after serving almost 10 months in custody on remand.
In Penrith Local Court on Friday, Schaaf’s lawyer attempted to vary his bail to allow him to leave his home for work purposes.
He told Magistrate Geoffrey Hiatt that Schaaf operated an excavation company, and needed to find work to afford the $15,000 monitoring bracelet.
“Without an ability to source income, he’s in a very perilous situation,” Schaaf’s lawyer said.
“The DPP has proposed a condition where the applicant would notify the officer in charge each morning of the exact address of his work location each day.
“That would be fine when he has work, but at the moment he’s having to compete for it.”
The DPP opposed the variation, saying they’d already “bent over backwards” trying to accommodate him.
“This application was only filed yesterday,” the DPP prosecutor said.
“We understood the situation had been resolved, then as of yesterday we’re told that position is abandoned and they want a full application.”
Magistrate Hiatt refused the application.
“One might think your client is very lucky to be on bail,” he said.
“This court is concerned about the number of applications made to water down bail from the Supreme Court after a refusal at this jurisdiction.”
Schaaf will next appear in court on October 16.