The Snitch: Pub baron Jon Adgemis to fight driving ban

Pub baron Jon Adgemis is going to court in a bid to keep his driving licence. But what did he do to warrant a police officer suspending his licence on the spot? The Snitch investigates.

He is the high-flying banker turned junior pub baron who is famous for driving expensive sports cars.

But Jon Adgemis will have to win a court battle if he wants to keep driving his beloved wheels around Sydney.

The 44-year-old is listed to face the Downing Centre Local Court on June 6 to appeal against an immediate suspension of his licence.

The mystery is what Adgemis did to warrant a police officer suspending his licence on the spot?

We contacted his lawyer who declined to comment.

Jon Adgemis and his current partner Megan MacKenzie.

Jon Adgemis and model Cheyenne Tozzi used to date.

NSW Police also said they could not comment because the matter is before court.

Which leaves us to speculate that it was likely to have been an accumulation of demerit points, because he is not facing any criminal charges.

Charges would have been laid if he had been accused of drink driving or a similar offence. What is likely not in dispute is that a suspended licence will be a severe impediment to developing his pub empire.

Better known on the social set as being the ex-boyfriend of model Cheyenne Tozzi, Adgemis was previously the head of mergers and acquisitions at Sydney accounting firm KPMG.

After leaving KPMG, the deal-maker has now set his sights on challenging Justin Hemmes and Stu Laundy as Sydney’s leading pub baron.

Since 2020, Adgemis’ company, Jaga Group, has spent more than $50 million on acquiring pubs.

This includes The Town Hall in Balmain and The Exchange in Darlinghurst.

And he looks every bit the successful businessman in head-turning sports cars, including a black Maserati. Tune in after June 6 to see if this continues to be the case.

Spilling his guts in court

Courts are often pressure cooker environments. And it is especially the case when witnesses agree to spill their guts and give evidence against their former friends and associates.

We got a front-row seat to this in one criminal case this week that involved a star witness.

The witness had done a rollover deal to give evidence to avoid being prosecuted.

The only problem was that the tension of the situation was making him need to spill his guts – literally.

We can’t tell you the full details of who they are or who they are giving evidence against because the following was revealed to the court when the jury was not in the room.

For several hours, the man sat in the witness stand and told all about his former associate’s alleged criminal exploits.

That was until his own lawyer had to put a stop to the action to reveal how much of an emotional toll it was taking on his client.

“Your Honour, giving this evidence is making (my client) physically sick,” the lawyer told the judge.

He then warned the judge that if his client was going to vomit in the witness dock he would attempt to pre-empt it by jumping to his feet to seek a five minute adjournment.

The judge replied: “We won’t tell the jury, but if you have to jump to your feet and ask for a short adjournment I’ll know what you are talking about.”

The witness lasted all of about five minutes before his lawyer was on his feet.

Not so smart phone

We’ve seen several examples lately of how police are turning Cipher phones against the crooks using them. The phones are heavily encrypted and are subscribed under aliases by criminals.

But in the cases we are aware of, there is one variable that tips the scales in favour of the cops: The stupidity of criminals.

From the evidence we have seen in several cases, investigating police can trace the movements of a Cipher phone, they just can’t identify who is using them.

But this all goes out the window when the crook is carrying their other phone, which the police can link to them, in their pocket with the Cipher phone.

So if the phones are going to the same places, it’s a safe bet as to who is using the Cipher phone.