Melbourne celebrity crime: Zig the Clown, Brynne Edelsten, Vince Colosimo and Orpheus Pledger
A famous clown almost ruled Moomba until his sex crimes were exposed. Find out how he and other Melbourne celebrities fell foul of the law.
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They say fame can open doors which us average beings can only dream of, but fall foul of the law and your fame brings unwanted attention.
Check-out the famed and shamed Melbourne celebrities who got in strife for various offences including drug driving, sex offences, drug possession and lying to the cops.
Zig the pedo clown
Jack Perry, better known as Zig, one half of the Zig and Zag clown duo, was convicted at the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court in 1994 of sex offences against a child.
However, Perry’s crimes weren’t known until 1999 just before and his partner were almost crowned Moomba Monarchs.
The formerly prominent duo stood down from Moomba and never worked again.
Perry, also famous for wearing a “Peter’s Ice Cream” bucket hat, died in 2006 aged 88 or 89.
Incredible Hulk’s deplorable driving record
Former VFL cult hero Rene Kink was told he faces a stint in the clink if he continues to be a menace on the roads.
The ex-Collingwood big rig known as The Incredible Hulk was warned by a magistrate another driving ruckus and he could be booted into jail.
Kink, who pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in April 2021 to two counts of driving while suspended, was pulled over unlicensed at Docklands in March 2019.
Kink — who also made his name playing fictional Magpie hard man “Tank O’Donohue” in the 1980 movie The Club — was unlicensed due to “breaching a demerit bond”.
Kink, who also pulled on the boots for Essendon and St Kilda during his 181-game career, told the cops he was “not aware” his licence was suspended.
Kink, who appeared via his lawyer’s office, confirmed he had activated the demerit option.
Kink was stung by police again driving unlicensed through Wangaratta North on November 29, 2020.
Again Kink told police he wasn’t aware his licence was suspended just after they pulled him over on Federation Way and activated bodycams.
Kink’s licence was disqualified by a magistrate in February 2021 after he failed to rock up to court.
But Kink, who kicked 280 VFL goals, convinced a magistrate to give him another shot.
Bernie Balmer, for Kink, said his client had broken up with his partner of 20 years and he had recently moved back to Melbourne from Wangaratta which caused him to miss court.
The court was told Kink shifted homes several times before landing a stable home in Port Melbourne.
Kink, who the court heard has other prior driving offences, hasn’t driven for 86 days but Mr Balmer urged the court to reinstate his client’s licence so he can get back to work.
Magistrate Angela Bolger let Kink back on the road but warned him this was his last chance.
“It’s his responsibility to make sure that he’s properly licensed on each occasion he gets back behind the wheel of a car,” Magistrate Bolger said.
“And if he were to come back again with a charge of driving while suspended or disqualified he faces the very real prospect of a term of imprisonment.”
Kink was convicted and fined an aggregate of $1200.
Driving, no … for Neville Bartos actor
Prominent Melbourne actor Vince Colosimo avoided jail time for driving while on meth and lying to police.
Colosimo pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in October to drug driving, unlicensed driving and giving police false details.
The Chopper actor was pulled over by police on St Kilda Rd in Melbourne in April 2021. Colosimo had meth in his system and his car was impounded on the spot.
The court heard Colosimo gave false name Tony “Anthony” Colosimo when police asked for his details.
Colosimo claimed he had a twin brother when police said they were “not satisfied” with his response.
Colosimo, who had previously been done drug driving in 2017, eventually identified himself after police threatened to arrest him.
Colosimo was disqualified from driving for 16 months and fined $2500
Colosimo hit the big time after playing drug dealer Neville Bartos in Andrew Dominic’s cult 2000 Melbourne crime drama ‘Chopper’.
Colosimo also starred in Underbelly and Hollywood films Body of Lies and The Great Gatsby.
He recently reprised his role in Wog Boys Forever.
Actor done with drugs at nightclub
Aussie soap star Orpheus Pledger was spared a conviction after he was caught with drugs at a popular Melbourne nightspot.
Pledger, who starred in Home And Away and House Husbands, admitted possessing half a gram of ice and 30 Valium tablets on Chapel St, Prahran.
Pledger was given six months to partake in a drug awareness course, pen a letter of “gratitude” to the police informant in the matter and donate $150 to the court fund.
The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court confirmed in May last year the TV hunk had complied with all requirements and his matters were formally dismissed.
The actor’s successful diversion course was signed off by a magistrate behind closed doors, without Pledger or any legal parties present.
Magistrate Tim Bourke revealed during the November 2021 hearing Pledger had already been granted a diversion in 2015 over an incident in which he was ordered to undergo an anger management course and write a letter of apology to his victim.
Mr Bourke said the earlier incident may ordinarily disqualify him from receiving another diversion, but ultimately granted the soap star a second chance.
The soap star was nabbed by police after members of the public observed him acting suspiciously in his car parked on Chapel St about 5.15pm on February 19.
When answering the officer’s questions, the actor had noticeably “slowed speech”, delayed reaction and a “general inability to communicate effectively” with police, a court summary states.
Officers – one of whom had dealt with Pledger on a previous occasion – quickly formed the opinion the TV star was drug-affected and began searching his grey BMW where they found the illicit drugs.
Pledger landed the role of Mason Morgan on the long running TV series Home And Away in 2016 before quitting three years later to pursue a career in music.
Socialite’s drug woes
Melbourne socialite Brynne Edelsten retains a clean criminal record despite being caught with meth.
The former wife of the late millionaire businessman Geoffrey Edelsten was given a chance to avoid a conviction when she was placed on a court diversion program in February last year after being caught with the deadly drug.
Edelsten was signed off as successfully completing the program at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court in August last year.
Edelsten, also known as Brynne Gordon, did not have to attend court to be given the all clear.
The My Bedazzled Life reality star made headlines when she was caught up in a police raid on the Boronia home of a drug dealer in May, 2021.
Edelsten was at the property with the dealer, with detectives arresting and charging the pair with drug trafficking and possession after a stash of ice and pharmaceutical drugs were found.
Police also slapped Edelsten with possessing a schedule 4 poison and property suspected as being the proceeds of crime charges.
Edelsten vehemently denied the allegations and in a deal with the prosecution, agreed to admit to a single charge of using ice under the diversion program.
All other charges were dropped.
The court considered her personal circumstances, including that she had turned her life around since her arrest, had been drug-free and was expecting her first child, Starr, who was subsequently born in April last year
It was also the first time she had come to the attention of police.
The former SAS Australia show recruit has previously spoken of how her life spiralled out of control and was plagued with issues since her 2009 marriage to Edelsten ended in divorce in 2014.
The drug dealer pleaded guilty to trafficking charges and was jailed for five months.
Grubby YouTuber exposed
Disgraced YouTube comedian Marcus Dibble groomed a 13-year-old girl for sex but avoided a jail term.
Dibble was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in August 2021 to an 18-month community correction order after pleading guilty to charges including grooming a child under 16 to engage in sexual conduct.
Dibble violated his 13-year-old victim after she contacted him via his Instagram account for nude model photography business dibbleprime.
Dibble had posted a “questionnaire” to attract new models to his business, according to a summary of offending submitted to the court.
The girl told Dibble she was “13 turning 14” but the fiend said that was “fine”.
Dibble, who also pleaded guilty to produce, possess and distribute child abuse material, told his victim he wanted to “meet up” to photograph her.
Dibble communicated with the victim via Snapchat, Instagram, email and phone between April 2019 and July last year.
Moya O’Brien, for Dibble, said her client made a lot of money from his 500,000 YouTube subscribers but ceased his “business” after he was arrested.
Dibble, a “call out” and prank video comedian, lost earnings including advert royalties and merchandise income after he halted his YouTube account and withdrew from social media, the court heard.
The court was told “salacious rumours” regarding Dibble’s disappearance swirled on the internet.
Dibble worked as a “consultant” for gamer energy drink Juicd but was “let go” after his offending was exposed by the Herald Sun in May this year.
Dibble was convicted and made a registered sex offender for 15 years.
Soap star’s police fib
Neighbours star Bonnie Anderson has found herself on the wrong side of the law after trying to cover up for her bad boy ex-boyfriend.
The Logie nominee fronted Ringwood Magistrates’ Court in July 2019 where she admitted failing to give information to police as to who was driving her car.
Police charged the actor following a probe into her former boyfriend and a dangerous driving incident in Mount Evelyn on October 22, 2017.
Anderson lied to investigators, claiming her drug-addicted ex had been with her at the time.
Magistrate Tim Walsh eventually convicted and ordered the ex to undergo a 12-month Community Correction Order after he pleaded guilty to one count of driving in a dangerous manner over the incident.
Facing the same magistrate, Anderson avoided a conviction for her deceit.
Instead, Mr Walsh placed her on a good behaviour bond for three months.
Anderson was also ordered to donate $500 to The Father Bob Maguire Foundation, a charity dedicated to ending homelessness and disadvantage.
Anderson first rose to fame when she was just 12 after winning Australia’s Got Talent in 2007.
The powerhouse singer-songwriter has not looked back since releasing her first solo single, Raise the Bar, in 2013.
The talented musician also appeared in a musical theatre production before making her TV debut on soap opera Neighbours in May last year, playing Beatrix Nilsson.
Batman turns villain
A man who masqueraded around Melbourne as Batman was exposed as a villainous conman.
Taylor Tangas promised he could help people beat the COVID-19 blues after he was spotted looking over city traffic in a homemade Batman suit early on in the pandemic.
The South Morang concreter unmasked himself as the city’s Batman who became the talk of the town after he was snapped perched over the Kings Way and City Rd intersection
Tangas told media he wore the suit to show his mum the city was safe from COVID-19 and had “nothing to worry about”.
The unemployed tradie claimed a friend had dared him to venture out in his homemade superhero costume in public
Tangas also claimed on radio that a group of tradies let him into a city building to retrieve his phone.
Tangas told the Herald Sun he was happy to help anyone during lockdown by bringing out the costume again.
However, Tangas proved to be more supervillain than superhero when he was later nabbed rorting $6500 via a sophisticated retail and betting racket.
Tangas should consider rebranding himself as a Batman villain such as the Riddler or the Joker after his full criminality was laid bare in court in April, 2021.
The hero Melbourne didn’t want and in the end didn’t really need created a bogus JB Hi-Fi account with a stolen bank card and purchased goods worth more than $3770.
Tangas and his female partner-in-crime then hightailed to Northland where the clipped crusader presented dodgy ID to collect his ill-gotten loot from JB staff.
The dubious duo also splashed down on two bets worth a combined $2800 via Sportsbet and another gambling outlet.
Police raided the crony sidekick’s Thomastown home and found Tangas with stolen IDs and a doctored driver’s licence just days later.
The real crime fighters also discovered an embossing machine and a list of the stolen electronic devices on a whiteboard inside the dodgy duo’s criminal cave.
The non-criminal mastermind was also pinched showcasing his amazing superpower which was attempting to break into cars in Kew on June 25.
Magistrate Hayley Bate said Tangas committed “quite sophisticated offending”.
“(It) was an absolute disgrace,” Magistrate Bate said.
Ms Bate said Tangas’ “selfish behaviour” would have caused his victims to “feel sick”.
Tangas was sentenced to an 18-month correction order after pleading guilty to charges including obtaining financial advantage by deception.
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