A man accused of extortion admitted making dummy bids at a house auction to help a drug dealer sell his home and pay off a $110,000 debt, a jury has heard.
Rocco Arico is alleged to have made threats to Arthur Vouthas and his family members in 2014 and 2015 unless he was paid back money he was owed, after a 2010 drug deal between Mr Vouthas and Toby Mitchell went wrong.
The County Court has heard Mr Vouthas bought one kilogram of cocaine for $350,000 from Mr Arico and sold it to Mitchell for $375,000. But Mr Vouthas was left owing Mr Arico when Mitchell took the drugs without paying.
Mr Arico, 38, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of ex…
Read the full article at: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/extortion-accused-admitted-making-dummy-bids-to-help-dealer-sell-house-jury-hears-20161019-gs6586.html
