Former real estate agent Gerardo Penna charged with money laundering over Mazda cash purchase

Gerardo Penna, aged in his 40s, was already accused of involvement in the importation of methamphetamine said to be worth more than $4 million.

He was previously granted bail to await his trial in the ACT Supreme Court, having denied charges of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of unlawfully imported methamphetamine, drug trafficking, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Penna was arrested again on Tuesday, however, after allegedly breaching bail by using a mobile phone in April and committing a new offence by defying a magistrate's order to provide police with its passcode.

When he faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, he was also freshly charged with money laundering, dealing with proceeds of crime and receiving stolen property.

Penna, who later pleaded not guilty to these charges, was quickly sent to the Supreme Court, where a federal prosecutor applied to have his bail revoked.

The prosecutor told that court it was alleged that Penna had, with co-accused Priscilla Palombi, attempted last November to possess a consignment that contained, in pure weight, 790 grams of methamphetamine.

Penna spent about a month behind bars on remand following his initial arrest, with bail first being granted last December.

The prosecutor said the allegation of attempting to pervert the course of justice arose from Penna's time in custody.

He said the unemployed man had called his partner, Krissia Martinez, and "directed [her] to reset a device" that was relevant to the drug importation.

The court heard that when Penna was released on "incredibly strict" bail conditions, he was banned from using a mobile phone or any device capable of connecting to the internet.

However, when police executed a search warrant at Penna's home in Page on April 20, officers found a mobile phone on his bedside table.

Penna told police the device belonged to Martinez, who was "preparing to give it to the children".

Investigators allege this was a lie and that phone in fact belonged to Penna, with this claim based partly on the fact a game had been downloaded on the device that morning while Martinez was apparently not home.

The prosecutor told the court the device also contained applications like Session, an encrypted messaging platform, which was consistent with Penna's alleged drug offending and not intended for use by children.

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He said most of the new charges alleged crimes committed last November, with the money laundering claim related to the $20,000 cash purchase of a Mazda RX-7.

The prosecutor said Penna, who was in receipt of Centrelink benefits, had only declared income of a little more than $17,000 in 2021.

He alleged Penna's premises had also contained about $35,000 worth of electric bikes, which were the subject of the stolen property charge, demonstrating the man's "use of illicit means to support himself".

Defence barrister Duncan Berents opposed the application to revoke bail, urging Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson not to lock Penna up "on the basis a game was being downloaded".

Mr Berents said the downloading of the game was entirely consistent with the explanation about the children.

Justice Loukas-Karlsson ultimately declined the revocation bid, and Penna had to go back to the Magistrates Court to determine bail on the new charges.

There, the prosecutor opposed bail by arguing Penna was likely to interfere with evidence and commit offences if released again.

But Mr Berents successfully applied for Penna to be released again, with magistrate Glenn Theakston finding factors like man's role as a carer for his elderly parents were special or exceptional circumstances in favour of bail.

Mr Theakston also said Penna had been on bail for a considerable period, with any opportunity to interfere with evidence likely to have passed by now.

Penna is due back in the Supreme Court on June 30 and the Magistrates Court on August 24.

Co-accused Palombi has also been committed to the Supreme Court for trial after pleading not guilty over her alleged role in the drug importation.

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