Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Bergamin avoids jail

Source: Wangaratta Chronicle - 10.09.08

Cheshunt man receives suspended sentence over Gapsted Winery bomb plot

A FORMER Cheshunt grape grower has narrowly avoided jail after facing court for plotting to have Gapsted Winery blown up.

County Court judge Pamela Jenkins this week sentenced Steven Bergamin, of Grattan Street in Parkville, to a 12-month jail term wholly suspended for two years, and fined him $4000.

Bergamin, now 25, had pleaded guilty before Wangaratta County Court to one charge of incitement to cause criminal damage, occurring in late 2002 and early 2003.

In sentencing, via videolink to Wangaratta from Melbourne County Court, Judge Jenkins denounced Bergamin’s plan as "evil", saying that even though he did not go through with it, it demonstrated “an extremely grave example of this offence”.

"Your offending was clearly premeditated and you had engaged in detailed conversations as to the execution of your plan," she said.

"Your only apparent motive was to achieve a commercial advantage by effectively destroying a competitor."

The court had heard that Bergamin (then 19) contacted an associate late November 2002, telling him he would be paid to blow up the winery by an initial deadline of December 15, because he perceived Gapsted had a monopoly on the local industry and was undercutting the cost of grapes.

The deadline passed with little contact between the two, though Bergamin had said he wanted the winery "levelled, lock stock and barrel", and to look like terrorists had done it.

The associate contacted police soon after their first conversation, and he was told to pass on the number of an undercover police officer who would pose as someone able to arrange the job.

The undercover officer met with Bergamin on January 15, when Bergamin asked for details regarding the kind of chemicals required, and said the best time would be after vintage, in April "so they have all the product tanked... be more of an effect".

Despite numerous attempts by the officer to speak with Bergamin over the next month, he did not get any further instructions from him until late February, with Bergamin saying he wanted to wait until May or June.

Bergamin last spoke to the officer on March 14 to tell him he no longer wanted anything done and "the problem is fixed", as he believed the winery was going broke.

He was arrested in June 2006, almost three and a half years after the offences occurred.

Bergamin’s defence counsel, Greg Lyon SC, had told the court his client had been suffering an adjustment disorder due to the disappearance of his mother - Kath Bergamin, who disappeared in August 2002 - and was stressed about suspicions that he and his father, John Bergamin, were involved in the matter.

Dr Lyon said these factors, combined with his immaturity, had led him to behave out of character, and that he never fully wished to go through with the plan, with the undercover officer frequently attempting to contact Bergamin first.

But Judge Jenkins said she did not accept there was reluctance for the job to be done - rather, she said it appeared Bergamin was taking "careful consideration of timing".

"The tenure of your conversations right up until your last was still enthusiastic and purposeful toward your stated end," she said.

"At no stage in your dealings... did you express any hesitation or misgivings about the criminal nature of your plan."

However, Judge Jenkins said she also took into consideration Bergamin’s plea of guilty, the delay in the matter coming to court, his prior good history, low-risk of reoffending, and excellent prospects of rehabilitation.

Character witnesses had told the court Bergamin was away from his family’s business and was very focussed on completing his studies, a masters in agribusiness, and had expressed deep regret for his actions.

Judge Jenkins said if it were not for his guilty plea, Bergamin would have been sentenced to 18 months jail with a nine-month non-parole period.

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