Warrant issued for barrister Sam Di Carlo after court no-show

A barrister awaiting trial on a corruption charge related to former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale has been issued with a warrant after failing to appear at an unrelated hearing.

An arrest warrant has been issued to high-profile barrister Sam Di Carlo. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

A barrister awaiting trial on a corruption charge related to former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale is facing the prospect of being hauled before court after he was a no-show for a hearing over his failure to pay a debt.

Registrar Asha Gowreah issued a warrant to barrister Sam Di Carlo in Brisbane District Court on Thursday after he failed to appear in court to explain why he failed to pay $240,000 to corrupt ex-mayor Paul Pisasale’s brothel madam, Choonhwa “Pam” Lee.

Ms Gowreah said the warrant would lie in the registry until Di Carlo returns from China next week.

It will be activated if he does not appear then.

The enforcement hearing was set after Di Carlo failed to pay the money to Ms Lee, ordered by District Court Judge Suzanne Sheridan in June.

The $240,000 debt relates to amounts Ms Lee loaned Di Carlo between April and December 2015.

Di Carlo told her he would lend her money to his clients at high interest, and he did not repay $240,000 of the money.

Choonhwa Lee outside the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Lawyer Noel Barbi, for Di Carlo, told the court that his client was “in China” and would return “next Thursday” and filed an application for bankruptcy last Thursday.

“So why isn’t he here if there is a summons of the court issued for him to be here?” Ms Gowreah asked.

“He filed an application for bankruptcy last Thursday. I am waiting for the certificate to issue, the consent has been lodged by the trustee,” Mr Barbi told the court.

“He thought he would have the certificate by today, which means there would have been an application by me for a stay of these proceedings pursuant to the Bankruptcy Act,” Mr Barbi submitted.

“He is wrong in the calculation, if in fact, it is decided you want to proceed and issue a warrant, I will make submissions in relation to whether I think it should ... lie,” he said.

Mr Barbi added that if the bankruptcy certificate is issued in coming days his client would make another application for the debt enforcement to be stayed.

“It is not possible for him to join us via video link this morning?” Ms Gowreah asked.

“No, he is in China. He has not made any arrangements in that regard,” Mr Barbi replied.

Barrister Chris Templeton for Ms Lee told the court that Mr Di Carlo’s failure to appear in court was a surprise.

Barrister Sam Di Carlo. Picture: File photo/Liam Kidston

“We expected him to be here ... he is not a bankrupt as of today, so there is no basis for him not to be here,” Mr Templeton said.

“No evidence has been offered for why he is not here, other than a suggestion from the bar table that he is in another country, which is not a reason not to be here,” Mr Templeton said.

“So my submission is registrar, you should issue a warrant,” Mr Templeton said.

Mr Barbi told the court that the issue of a warrant would cause Mr Di Carlo undue embarrassment as he worked as a barrister.

Mr Templeton told the court that Mr Di Carlo had “made an absolute mockery of the requirements” by sending a completed statement of his financial position to Ms Lee’s lawyers but had failed to swear to it, as required.

Mr Templeton said the fact that Mr Di Carlo was a barrister was more of a reason to issue a warrant, as he was an officer of the court and understood the seriousness of a summons.

He said he had asked Mr Di Carlo to produce “any invoices he has issued to law firms” for his work as a barrister, as Ms Lee may wish to “seek redirection of those debts”.

Mr Di Carlo had not produced those documents to Ms Lee’s lawyers.

“I will issue a warrant... however, I will make an order that that warrant lie in the registry until further order,” Ms Gowreah ruled.

Ms Gowreah told the court that if Mr Di Carlo does not appear on that day the warrant will issue.

Mr Templeton said he was also seeking to question Mr Di Carlo’s wife Maria in court on Thursday.

“She is not here but I am told that she can be here within a period of time,” Mr Templeton said.

Ms Gowreah said the examination of Mrs Di Carlo could be adjourned until next week.

Last year Mr Di Carlo failed in his bid to gag the media from reporting on this civil $240,000 debt dispute, with Judge Sheridan ruling it was not necessary to block reporting until after his prosecution on a corruption charge is finalised.

Mr Di Carlo is awaiting a criminal jury trial in the District Court on a single charge of giving or offering a benefit to a public officer, and two counts of perjury.

His trial is listed for pre-trial hearing on December 12 and two-week trial on February 17.

The debt dispute will return to court on August 29.

In June 2019 Korean-born Ms Lee was convicted in the Brisbane Magistrates Court of a charge of conducting unlawful prostitution between November 2015 and December 2017 at Cloud 9 on Stanley Street, East Brisbane.

She was sentenced to one year in prison, wholly suspended for three years.

She appealed but this was rejected.

She was found by the Magistrate to have provided finance for the business of providing unlawful prostitution from the premises, and she lived on site, the court heard.

The police found $18,860 in a manhole in the ceiling of Ms Lee’s bedroom, the Magistrates Court heard.

Originally published as Warrant issued for barrister Sam Di Carlo after court no-show