Former Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation CEO Shane Lucas loses Berry Street job before starting
A chief executive has been sentenced after his decision to drink-drive to an “entertainment venue” cost him his new job. Here’s the latest from court.
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A high-flying chief executive lost a job before he had even started, after he was busted drink-driving on his way to an “entertainment venue”.
Shane Peter Lucas, 55, was convicted of drink-driving by the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday, when he was also fined $1200 and disqualified from driving for six months.
The former Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation boss had been due to take up the position of chief executive at Berry Street, a family service organisation, in late April.
However, on Monday, defence lawyer Tim Sharman told the court Lucas had “lost the opportunity” after disclosing his offence.
The court heard police in Canberra pulled Lucas over after spotting his Subaru Forester turning away from a random breath testing site on April 11.
Officers quickly noticed “a strong smell of intoxicating liquor” coming from inside the car.
Lucas returned a positive roadside breath test result before blowing 0.195, which is nearly four times the legal limit, during a subsequent analysis at a police station.
Court documents state Lucas told police he was driving to “an entertainment venue in Fyshwick”, and that he had drunk six glasses of white wine in the previous five hours.
Police kept Lucas in custody until he faced court the following morning, having formed the view he was incapable of caring for himself as a result of his “extreme level of intoxication”.
Lucas, a former Administrative Appeals Tribunal member from Brunswick East in Melbourne, pleaded guilty and attended Monday’s sentencing via audiovisual link from Victoria.
Mr Sharman told the court the 55-year-old was “at a loss to explain his actions”, the consequences of which had been “far-reaching”.
The defence lawyer said Lucas had found it very difficult to disclose his offending, which was “the subject of great shame and the acute embarrassment that goes with that”.
He also told the court Lucas’ alcohol consumption had increased during Victoria’s harsh Covid lockdowns, escalating until his arrest prompted him to stop drinking.
Mr Sharman tendered to the court a large number of character references, which he described as painting a picture of a man with “a clear commitment to community”.
“He’s obviously held in very high regard by his peers,” Mr Sharman said.
Prosecutor Mark Wadsworth conceded Lucas was of otherwise “excellent character”.
But Mr Wadsworth said the 55-year-old would have been “well on notice” that he should not have been behind the wheel.
In sentencing, magistrate Glenn Theakston described Lucas’ reading as “very, very high”.
Mr Theakston also said material before the court suggested Lucas had been drinking “a bottle of wine or so each evening” at the height of his problematic alcohol consumption.
He noted Lucas had abstained from alcohol since being arrested and kept in custody for a night, which would have been “a significant wake-up call”.
“He’s had a significant fall from grace from this offence,” the magistrate said.
After being sentenced, Lucas thanked Mr Theakston for his “consideration of my situation”.
The father of three previously told this masthead he had “made a silly mistake” and he would “have to pay the price”.
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