Matthew Fonti pleads guilty in Moorabbin Court to firebombing major weapons manufacturer twice
An Oakleigh man who attempted to firebomb a weapons manufacturing facility gave police a fake name after being busted throwing molotov cocktails through broken windows.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
An anti-war activist who tried to firebomb a major weapons manufacturer used multiple homemade molotov cocktails in two attempts before using a fake name when he was busted by cops.
Oakleigh man Matthew Fonti, 30, pleaded guilty in the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Monday to two counts of arson after two attempts to light up a Moorabbin factory.
In October last year Fonti attempted to firebomb a Marand Precision Engineering factory on Keys Rd using multiple home made molotov cocktails.
Marand supplies multinational defence companies including BAE and Lockheed Martin.
The court heard the two storey brick factory had more than 17 people inside when Fonti scaled the 2m fence with a green bag over his shoulder.
Once inside, he smashed a glass window with a hammer before lighting two homemade bombs and throwing them through the broken glass.
The court heard neither bottle smashed, however a small fire did light, with the smoke attracting attention.
Fonti fled the scene, only to return on October 31 to try to light the factory ablaze a second time.
At 10.40pm he climbed the fence, this time spray painting the message “tell your kids you wage war for wages” on the outer wall of the factory.
Fonti lit three molotov cocktails before tossing them through newly smashed glass, then walked further down the side of the factory where he broke another window, poured flammable liquid on the walls and outside of the building and lit it on fire.
There were at least 19 workers inside the factory at the time.
Get the latest news straight to your inbox. Subscribe to our newsletters.
A witness called police after they saw Fonti fleeing from the scene and the smoke rising from the factory.
He was arrested a short time later wearing clear rubber gloves and smelling of petrol.
Fonti assumed a fake identity for more than 10 hours, telling police his name was Jim Fine.
On Monday, the court heard he had been remanded in custody for 37 days after he was arrested.
His lawyer told Magistrate David Starvaggi the time behind bars had been a “scary and daunting experience” and that he wanted to “get his life back on track”.
Mr Starvaggi sentenced Fonti to time served and ordered him to pay $10,000 in restitution for the damage caused by the fire.
