Love Machine nightclub boss has charges dropped over CCTV footage claims

The director of Love Machine nightclub has had charges of hindering police withdrawn after claims he failed to provide CCTV footage that sparked a wild shootout.

The boss of the embattled Love Machine nightclub has had charges dropped over allegations he failed to hand over CCTV footage of a fight linked to a suburban shooting.

Max Porritt was charged with obstructing and hindering police after he allegedly failed to provide police with security footage of a glassing in the Prahran nightclub’s VIP lounge that was linked to a Greenvale shooting hours later.

But the charges were withdrawn at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

An earlier hearing was told of a violent tiff between two warring sides that led to a drive-by shooting on a Greenvale property in the early hours of July 11, 2021.

The boss of Love Machine nightclub has had charges against him withdrawn. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Three men were charged over the shooting including the accused triggerman Douglas Mikhaeel, who was shot in Deer Park earlier this year.

The troubled nightclub has been linked to a number of incidents including an infamous drive-by double-fatal drive-by shooting that claimed the lives of a patron and security guard in April 2019.

Jacob Elliott, the son of slain underworld figure Nabil Maghnie, was last year jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years after he was found guilty of the murders.

Several sex offences have also been linked to the club, including two alleged rapes in the same cubicle on New Year’s Day in 2020.