Inside the turbulent life of Anthony Koletti, Melissa Caddick’s ‘toyboy’ husband
Conwoman Melissa Caddick’s toy boy husband has had a turbulent few years since his wife disappeared - but there was one moment his life changed forever.
The husband of notorious Sydney conwoman Melissa Caddick has had a turbulent few years since his wife went missing, from having just $1.95 to his name while being kicked out of his home.
But this week Anthony Koletti finally had a small victory after police dropped an apprehended violence order against him, which was initially taken out after he produced rap songs blaming the corporate regulator for his wife’s presumed death.
Since his wife’s disappearance, the spotlight has shone on Mr Koletti, Ms Caddick’s second husband, former hairdresser, DJ and part-time prawn farmer.
The 40-year-old is not accused of any wrongdoing.
HAIRDRESSER CAREER
Mr Koletti married Ms Caddick in 2013, with some regarding him as a “toyboy” husband.
In an affidavit submitted to ASIC in December 2020, Mr Koletti revealed he had no income after quitting his part-time job as a hairdresser.
He explained during the early days of the pandemic he and Ms Caddick agreed he would leave his job to reduce health risks and his wife would support him financially.
“At that time, (Ms Caddick), who was the primary bread winner in our family, and I had a discussion and agreed that, in order to reduce the health risk to the family, I would cease working and remain at home and attend to household duties, child care, and facilitating after school appointments,” Mr Koletti said in the affidavit.
“As a result, I currently do not earn an income.”
Mr Koletti had been receiving a $1700 weekly allowance throughout his marriage and was living in Ms Caddick’s $6.2 million clifftop mansion rent-free.
At the time of his wife’s disappearance he was unemployed.
ASIC INVESTIGATION
Ms Caddick’s Dover Heights home was raided in connection with ASIC’s investigation into the $23 million she had stolen from friends and family who believed she was investing shares on their behalf.
The corporate watchdog says Ms Caddick misappropriated investor money to fund her lavish lifestyle, with investigators seizing luxury items including jewellery, watches, designer clothing and shoes.
ASIC claims Ms Caddick stole from investors in an elaborate Ponzi scheme between 2012 and 2020.
It claims she posed as a financial adviser and pretended to invest millions of dollars for clients into fake CommSec portfolios but instead spent the money on herself.
The watchdog discovered 74 investors, many of whom were her friends and family, were fleeced by Ms Caddick of $23m.
Ms Caddick bought the lavish Dover Heights mansion for $6.2m in 2014 using money misappropriated from clients.
There is no suggestion Mr Koletti knew about Ms Caddick’s Ponzi scheme.
MISSING WIFE
Within hours of the raid, 49-year-old Ms Caddick vanished.
She was last seen leaving her Dover Heights home on foot about 5.30am on November 12, 2020.
Rumours circulated claiming she had either taken her own life, crossed the border into Queensland or sought refuge overseas.
The missing conwoman’s decomposed foot was found on a beach near Tathra on the NSW south coast, more than 400km south of Sydney and more than three months after her disappearance.
Ms Caddick was declared dead in March 2021.
Further remains have not been located and her family said their farewells at a private service in April last year.
Mr Koletti was effectively left destitute after his cash-cow wife’s disappearance, telling the Federal Court in December 2020 he was left with just $1.95 to his name.
Mr Koletti appealed to ASIC to be allowed to pay the family’s ongoing living expenses from Ms Caddick’s seized assets.
He claimed even “basic health and food requirements will be jeopardised” if the expenses usually covered by Ms Caddick were not paid.
“I am concerned that, if the immediate living expenses that would otherwise be paid by (Caddick) are not paid, (child’s name redacted) will not be able to return to his current school to commence his year 10 studies, insurance and security will not be able to be maintained in relation to (Caddick’s) assets, the basic utilities attached to the Dover Height property may not be paid and may be cut off,” he said in an affidavit submitted to the Federal Court.
Mr Koletti remained notoriously tight-lipped about his wife’s disappearance, but 11 months after her mysterious disappearance he appeared on Channel 7’s Spotlight program in an exclusive interview.
It is believed he was paid for the appearance.
ALBUM RELEASE
In the months following his wife’s disappearance, Mr Koletti waged a bitter campaign against ASIC and was critical of one of the lead investigators, Isabella Allen.
He created an album of music – titled Raid – waging war on ASIC, including baseless claims his wife was tortured and interrogated, under the moniker DJ “Paws Off” on Spotify.
The album’s cover art depicts a pair of ASICS running shoes – the same brand in which Caddick’s decomposed foot was found.
In the track Good Morning, Mr Koletti samples snoring sounds and mockingly impersonates a police officer saying: “No, no, no, we don’t have any proof or evidence, we’ll just get them.
“Yeah they’ve got millions of dollars of jewellery, luxury items, clothes and everything. I can’t wait,” the former hairdresser is heard saying.
In Intelligence Artificial, Mr Koletti claims his wife “died as a direct result of an ASIC investigation” and references an ASIC investigator by name.
“You can’t hide behind your government job forever,” Mr Koletti says on the track, while referring to the investigator as a “snake or a rat” and saying he will “buy the ugliest thing I can find”.
In Mr Koletti’s recent musical endeavour, “Liar Liars” in May, he continues to lash out at ASIC, the media and a podcast about his wife’s disappearance.
WAR AGAINST ASIC
Mr Koletti also posted a series of social media posts in which he blamed ASIC for his wife’s presumed death.
In a scathing letter to the Federal Court, Mr Koletti denied ASIC’s claims and said: “Melissa lost investor funds trading on the stock market, which is clearly visible through her AustralianCommSec trading account”.
In the same letter, Mr Koletti accused ASIC investigator Ms Allen of ‘severe negligence and inhumane treatment’ of his wife and of being the reason that people may never know if she was murdered or took her life.
On the anniversary of Ms Caddick’s disappearance, he put up a poster outside ASIC’s office on Market Street in Sydney’s CBD.
“ASIC=womanslaughter,” the poster read.
Mr Koletti took to LinkedIn where he frequently posted unfounded accusations suggesting ASIC was responsible for his wife’s death.
“An investigator at your company and her team of white collar crooks caused the death of my wife. Put an end to ‘Pre emptive Slaughter’,” he wrote in one post.
AVO ALLEGATIONS
In February, Ms Allen had grown tired of Mr Koletti’s unfounded claims and police filed an apprehended violence order against him.
According to court documents, Ms Allen was fearful that Mr Koletti’s allegedly intimidating behaviour could escalate if he was evicted from the home the couple shared so liquidators could sell it.
In an email to the Federal Court, in which Mr Koletti copied in Ms Allen and the liquidators, he slammed the AVO and claimed it was an “attempt to defame” his character.
He also claimed police were trying to hinder his musical rights.
Mr Koletti had multiple court appearances at the Downing Centre Local Court since February regarding the AVO.
However, ahead of a scheduled appearance on Friday, it was revealed police had dropped the order.
BOOTED FROM HOME
The Federal Court ordered Mr Koletti to vacate his late wife’s multimillion-dollar home with just a couple of weeks’ notice as liquidators were successful in seizing the property.
Federal Court Justice Brigitte Markovic ordered him to vacate the Dover Heights mansion on or before May 18.
“Anthony Koletti is to be granted liberty to apply on two days’ written notice in respect of any dispute regarding the removal of personal property items from the Dover Heights property,” Justice Markovic said.
Two weeks prior to the ruling, Mr Koletti submitted a statement to the court demanding full ownership of five paintings by Australian artist John Olsen, Ms Caddick’s Gucci wedding dress, several items of 18 carat gold jewellery including his own wedding band, a Louis Vuitton digital watch valued at almost $5,000 and a diamond ring worth $33,960.
In the statement submitted to the court, Mr Koletti claims his financial contribution to the household between 2017-2020, such as performing duties as a homemaker and caring for his wife’s son, meant he was entitled to some of Ms Caddick’s assets.
He is seeking a cut from the sale of the $15-17 million Dover Heights house, the three-bedroom apartment in Edgecliff worth about $4 million, various luxury cars already sold for $360,000 and $7 million in shares.
When he was leaving the home on May 18 for a two-bedroom apartment in the neighbouring suburb of Vaucluse, Mr Koletti told Channel 7 he had been planning legal action against the corporate regulator.
“I’m going to sue them for everything they’ve got,” he said.
“Look, I’d be happy with a few million dollars so that I can get on in my life … Yeah, a few million dollars would do that.”
MANSION FOR SALE
As multiple real estate agents battle to sell the luxurious Dover Heights mansion, it has been revealed Ms Caddick did not bother maintaining the home.
The home is now valued at around $15 million but the missing conwoman nabbed it for $6.2 million in 2014.
Liquidator Bruce Gleeson this week told the Federal Court “lots of work” needs to be done before it can be placed on the market.
The court was told Mr Koletti also left a “number of items” at the property when he left in late May, which delayed efforts to get it on the market.
“On May 27 2022, I obtained a quote for the storage of the items left at the property and cleaning,” Mr Gleeson’s statement said.
“The Receivers have not yet approved the quote for the cleaning as the remaining chattels need to be removed first.”
An inquest into Caddick’s presumed death will begin on September 12.
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