Mark Horne’s co-accused Michael Lazzarini pleads guilty to attempt to pervert the course of justice

A man charged alongside fugitive alleged bikie associate Mark Horne says he wants to face the music in the Supreme Court ‘as soon as we can get there’.

Wanted fugitive Mark Horne was found crouched under a yacht’s fuel tank in Cullen Bay in January.

A man arrested alongside NSW fugitive Mark Horne in January has admitted to his role in a plot to smuggle the alleged bikie associate out of the country.

Michael Lazzarini, 43, faced the Darwin Local Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice following his arrest on January 25.

No facts were read onto the record but his lawyer, Peter Maley, said “the allegations are accepted” and his client wanted to face the music in the Supreme Court “as soon as we can get there”.

Lazzarini was remanded in custody and committed to face the Supreme Court for sentencing in April.

At the time of the pair’s arrest, Horne had been one of Australia’s most wanted fugitives until his alleged three-month plot to escape the country was unravelled in a ritzy Darwin suburb.

The alleged bikie associate was tracked down at 5.20pm on January 25, with the 32-year-old located in the hull of a yacht floating at Cullen Bay, one of Darwin’s most expensive suburbs.

Police found the 32-year-old alleged bikie associate crouched under the vessel’s fuel tank, clutching a blue vape.

It is understood the raid boarded the boat just hours before it was due to set sail for Indonesia.

When Horne faced court two days later, his lawyer Christina White told judge Tanya Fong Lim her client did not object to his extradition home and he was remanded in custody to be extradited back to NSW.

It was alleged the Sydney-based man cut off his ankle monitoring bracelet in the back seat of an Uber at Riverwood on October 21 last year.

Police suspect Horne fled on a private jet from Bankstown Airport to a regional location.

The fugitive was due to face trial charged with robbery in company causing wounding and taking a person in company with intent to commit a serious indictable offence over the $550,000 robbery of a truck driver in the NSW Blue Mountains in 2020.

The driver of the truck was allegedly shot, but survived the incident.

Lazzarini is not accused of any involvement in the alleged robbery.

Under his NSW bail conditions Horne surrendered his passport, leading police to suspect he may use a fake identity to aid his escape, or that he would attempt to flee by water.

At the time, NT Police Commander Matt Hollamby said an overlapping investigation sparked the boat raid at Cullen Bay.

“I think it’s safe to say a man hiding in the bilge of a yacht is a little bit suspicious,” Mr Hollamby said.

“He wasn’t on the boat very long. It was a very small space, most of us wouldn’t have fit into it but somehow he managed to squeeze in.”

Originally published as Mark Horne’s co-accused Michael Lazzarini pleads guilty to attempt to pervert the course of justice