Former Donnybrook Hotel owner Glenn Williams threatens to kill man’s cat

A former Whittlesea pub operator embroiled in a scheme to kidnap a man’s cat and hold it to ransom has faced court. The money was never paid and the fate of the cat remains a mystery.

The victim refused to pay the cat-nappers’ $10,000 ransom fee and his furry feline was never found, the court heard. Picture: GENERIC

A failed Whittlesea pub operator who kidnapped a man’s cat and held it to ransom has been jailed for his part in the “cruel” scheme.

Glenn Williams, 48, former owner of the Donnybrook Hotel, was sentenced by the County Court to 22 months’ jail last month after pleading guilty to theft and blackmail.

The court heard Williams teamed up with his co-accused, Joseph Mazzeo, whose trial is still pending, to steal Mr Mazzeo’s neighbour’s cat while he was at work on April 23 last year.

Mr Mazzeo had allegedly coerced his neighbour into giving him money in the past by threatening to break his jaw and telling him he had connections with the Hells Angels bikie gang, Judge Anne Hassan told the court.

But things escalated when the two mates decided to abduct their victim’s beloved cat and use it to extort even more money from him.

When the neighbour arrived home from work to find his cat missing, he panicked and called police before later talking to Williams, who told him he’d never see his cat alive again if he didn’t pay him and Mr Mazzeo $10,000, the court heard.

The money was not paid and the cat has never been found, and Judge Hassan said she took Williams’ claims of remorse for his actions with a grain of salt.

“You said (to him), ‘You have two choices. You can either give me $10,000 by 10am tomorrow or we will kill your cat’,” Judge Hassan told the court.

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“I regard your offending as a particularly cruel example of both blackmail and theft.

“Your remorse is highly qualified by your refusal to provide any information about (the) pet cat’s fate or whereabouts,” she said.

Williams, who ran the Donnybrook Hotel for 12 years until he gave up the business in 2014 due to financial troubles, must serve at least 15 months of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.