Deadline: Respect the Gen Z hustle in inner-city McDonald’s store
Those boomers and millennials who think members of Gen Z are allergic to hard work haven’t visited the inner city McDonald’s store where one young entrepreneur is grinding away on a lucrative side hustle.
Police & Courts
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Olivia Jenkins and Mark Buttler with their weekly dose of scallywag scuttlebutt.
DIY liquor prices sky high
Those who believe Gen Z are adverse to hard work haven’t seen them toiling away at all hours to get their business ventures off the ground.
One young man has been filling a product gap at an inner-city McDonald’s store, offering parched diners something a little stronger than their usual offerings of orange juice and soft drink from the comfort of a dining booth.
His mobile setup has allowed him to set up shop wherever needed, with the lining of his jacket filled with a wide array of miniature spirits and liquors on sale for much taller prices.
When one Deadline reader queried the underage mogul about how he sourced his business supplies, the young man reassuringly told them: “don’t worry about it”, while fanning a large wad of bank notes.
The illicit side hustle may be a case of a battler doing whatever they can to keep their heads above the tide of soaring cost of living expenses and inflation.
In any case, the young man seems to be lovin’ the influx of extra cash.
Vic’s next top cop?
The hunt is on to find an embattled Victoria Police’s new top cop following Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent’s decision to quit the force just over a month after Premier and Police Minister parachuted him into his new gig.
It was said that the force would launch a global search for its new permanent chief, even when Nugent was the frontrunner to take on the job in two months’ time.
But the top brass’ leadership “circus” may have prompted the force to more closely scour home soil for a boss game enough to take on the “poison chalice”, as several senior cops have put it.
Deadline has heard that the name of one top cop being floated for the role is ex-Queensland deputy commissioner Tracy Linford.
With a policing career that spanned almost four decades, including 31 years at Victoria Police before she left the northern state’s police service in 2023, her experience spans counterterrorism, intelligence and detective work, having overseen the Crime, Counter Terrorism and Specialist Operations portfolios until her departure.
Her name has been thrown into a mix also made up of potential candidates from within Vicpol’s ranks, as well as New Zealander Mike Bush.
The wait will be over in June, and whoever steps into the top job will have spiralling youth crime and recruitment woes waiting for them.
Thanks for nothing
Never let it be said that Tony Mokbel is not a generous man.
A story reaches us about a period when the notorious drug boss was in a maximum-security prison with the late underworld hard-nut/nude-nut Gavin Preston.
Mokbel was to leave the unit but felt he needed to leave Preston a parting gift as a token of their friendship.
Shampoo and conditioner were just what Preston – a man who religiously shaved his head – needed.
It’s the thought that counts.
Police punish pedo Pie fan
Great news last week when it was revealed police were stripping the assets of depraved Geelong sex offender Alec Stephen West.
The Australian Federal Police’s criminal assets confiscation taskforce slapped him with an $850,000 pecuniary order after he pleaded guilty to creating and profiting from a sick online video game based on simulated child abuse.
Among the assets snatched at the Highton property were a couple of cars, high-end television and audio gear and furniture.
Also up for sale to eat into the $850,000 fee will be some swish looking Collingwood Football Club memorabilia.
The fancy-looking premierships collector’s items took pride of place in the lair where West did his worst work.
Hopefully, they collect top dollar.
More than $10K in rare gaming collectables stolen in brazen Reservoir heist
The owner of a rare memorabilia store in Melbourne’s north says he is heartbroken after thieves busted their way into his store before fleeing with high-value items in an early morning raid.
Rodney vanished from his home two years ago. Police now think he was murdered
Missing Kinglake resident Rodney McKenzie was last seen by a friend in March 2023. His wallet and phone was found at his unlocked home. Police now say they believe the 71-year-old was murdered.