Love Machine boss charged with obstructing bikie police

The manager of Love Machine nightclub is accused of failing to hand over CCTV of a brawl that sparked a wild shootout.

Max Porritt, owner of Love machine. Picture: Facebook

The boss of the popular Love Machine nightclub in Prahran has been charged by bikie detectives after allegedly failing to hand over CCTV footage of a nightclub affray in July last year.

Max Porritt, who also manages the Lux venue in South Yarra, is due to front court in April charged with obstructing police.

It is understood the charge relates to a shootout between two warring parties in Greenvale on July 11 that was sparked by a fight in the VIP lounge of the infamous club hours earlier.

Three men have since been charged over the suburban shooting.

Mr Porritt gave evidence in court last month in a case where the club’s operator, Sterling Nightclubs Pty Ltd, faced a charge of permitting a drunk person on licenced premises.

That related to Love Machine security escorting a drunk man into a staff-only room after he had vomited on the dancefloor and a private booth.

Mr Porritt told the court he had asked security to put the man in the “first aid room” because of safety reasons after two men who had been fighting at a bar were ejected.

He told the court he was punched and suffered an injury as the pair were led out in the August, 2019, incident.

This is not Love Machine’s first run in with law enforcement.

The Malvern Rd venue has been a factor in a number of police investigations in recent years, including the July 2021 incident.

Douglas Mikhaeel was in a VIP area of Love Machine when he was allegedly approached aggressively by Hasan Gunes and others shortly after 2am.

Melbourne Magistrates Court was told last August that Mikhaeel was accused of then assaulting and glassing his rivals.

Police alleged Gunes and associates then drove in convoy to Mr Mikhaeel’s Greenvale home where a passenger in Gunes’ Mercedes-Benz fired seven 9mm rounds into the property.

The court heard Mr Mikhaeel then allegedly opened fire before jumping in his own Mercedes and searching for Gunes and company.

Mr Mikhaeel was charged with shooting offences and faces a committal hearing in May. No other charges were laid over the shootings.

And in November last year, a man faced court charged with raping a woman in a Love Machine toilet cubicle on New Year’s Day 2020.

During those proceedings, it emerged police were investigating a separate complaint by a woman who said she was raped in the same cubicle 10 minutes later. The proceedings remain before the court.

There was a shooting incident outside Love Machine Nightclub in Prahran in 2019. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

In April, 2019, crowd controller Aaron Osmani and patron Richard Arow died in a drive-by shooting in front of Love Machine.

Jacob Elliott, the son of underworld triggerman Nabil Maghnie, is one of two men charged over the alleged murders and is awaiting trial.

Police later examined claims there had been friction between Love Machine staff and members of the Maghnie family, including the ejection of Nabil’s daughter Sabrine.

In April last year, the Herald Sun revealed Love Machine’s stocks of vodka had been confiscated by divisional licensing officers for analysis.

In 2020, Love Machine was fined for breaching Covid regulations.

Mr Porritt was contacted for comment.