However,he now claims the job at Wahlburgers’ first Australian outlet at Circular Quay has turned into his worst nightmare after his now former boss,Sam Mustaca,allegedly assaulted him during his shift back in March.
Roy and Sam Mustaca,owners and operators of United Cinemas and the Australian partners in the Wahlburgers operation.Steven Siewert
On Wednesday at the Downing Centre Court a lawyer representing Mustaca,42,entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of common assault.
Outside the court Mustaca’s lawyer said his client took his reputation “very seriously” and would vigorously defend the charge,claiming police had been negligent in their handling of the matter.
Mustaca later issued a statement to PS claiming police had charged the wrong man and he was the true victim of a “serious assault”.
Alleged assault victim Jaun-Paul Kalman.Supplied
Kalman confirmed he had been initially questioned and arrested by police following the incident,their subsequent further inquiries resulted in Mustaca being charged in October. Kalman confirmed he was also charged with possessing a knife in public,which he said was for his long-term bonsai tree hobby and happened to be in his possession at the time,which was dealt with in court as a technical breach with no conviction recorded.
Mustaca was last in PS in March 2021 over a leaking roof of the Bellagio apartments in Collaroy where his collection of luxury sports cars was garaged.
Mustaca is CEO of Sydney’s United Cinemas chain,which was founded and pioneered by his Calabrian-born fatherRoy “Rocco” Mustaca,80,who is also a renowned singer and composer,and sports an Elvis-style jet-black bouffant.
Rocco still performs regularly,and his works are well known to cinema-goers,including a five-minute masterpiece calledGod Kill The Coronavirus – which he performs wearing a shimmering metallic suit with matching silver bow-tie.
However,things have not been quite so glittering inside the Australian Wahlburgers operation. It was launched in a blaze of publicity two years ago with the Mustacas investing heavily after signing a multimillion-dollar licensing agreement with the American actor. There are now three outlets including Byron Bay and the Gold Coast.
A burger from Wahlburgers in Sydney.Supplied
Insiders have told PS about high staff turnover and senior managers going on months of extended stress leave.
“I was so excited to start that job. It really was a dream career opportunity for me,to be part of something new that was starting up in Australia,that had the star power of Mark Wahlberg behind it ... but ended up being a place where I no longer felt safe,” Kalman told PS,describing a “toxic” culture within the restaurant.
Driving into trouble
Happier times:Mark Cavanagh.Janie Barrett
By all accounts,it was quite a scene in the car park of the swanky Manar apartment complex on Macleay Street,Potts Point,just after 9.16am on Friday,September 2.
Neighbours were gobsmacked as they watched police smashing the window of a luxury black Audi A5 driven by long-time residentMark Cavanagh,a former A-list party planner who was once rated among Sydney’s most fashionable citizens and is now a society decorator.
They looked on in disbelief as the popular,well-connected and impeccably mannered social fixture was arrested,handcuffed and put into the “cage” of a police truck.
According to police facts tendered to the court,the officers had followed Cavanagh down the busy thoroughfare after seeing his vehicle cross Manning Street and ran a check on Cavanagh’s licence,which had been disqualified in August. He failed to stop after the police siren and lights were activated just metres from his home.
Cavanagh then pulled into the driveway of his apartment building and was waiting for a car in front to move forward. The police approached the vehicle and he refused to wind down his window. Police then smashed the driver’s window with a baton. Cavanagh continued driving into the rear of the car park.
The Manar apartments in Potts Point.Supplied
Cavanagh then put the vehicle into reverse,police took “evasive action”. The driver’s side door hit a pylon. One of the officers was injured.
Police arrested Cavanagh as he attempted to “flee” via the passenger side.
On Wednesday morning during a short hearing at the Downing Centre Court,Cavanagh,who declined to comment to PS,was supported by his partner,the prominent historian and Sydney folk music figureWarren Fahey.
He pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including driving while disqualified,driving while under the influence of an illicit drug,failing to obey a police direction,resisting arrest and two drug possession charges after police discovered two small plastic bags of methamphetamine – known commonly as “meth” or “ice” – and ketamine,often referred to as a “horse tranquilliser” and “Special K”.
An oral fluid test later revealed traces of methamphetamine in the 59-year-old’s system.
Cavanagh,who was described in court documents as having a poor driving record and earning between $1000 and $2000 a week,was fined a total of $800,received a further six-month driving disqualification and was placed on a 16-month conditional release order,which included complying with a treatment plan for mental health and drug issues.
It is understood Cavanagh recently completed a program in a Sydney rehabilitation facility.
Back to his roots
Anthony Koletti’s days as a “freelance hairdresser” appear to have come to an end with reports he is working in a Balmain salon and taking client bookings this week.
Back on the tools:Anthony Koletti,husband of missing fraudster Melissa Caddick.Dean Sewell
A week ago it emerged Koletti had moved into a two-bedroom rented flat in Vaucluse,a far cry from the multimillion-dollar luxury home he once shared with his now presumed dead fraudster wifeMelissa Caddick.
Last month Koletti’s for more than $10 million,almost two years to the day since Caddick vanished.
Caddick’s – including Canturi necklaces worth up to $500,000 each and a John Olsen painting valued at more than $25,000 – as liquidators try to pay back some of the $23 million Caddick stole from victims.
Baubles and bling
What cost of living crisis? It was a case of the “haves” and the “have even more” on Wednesday night as French jewellery house Cartier put on a grand soirée to open its new,multimillion-dollar store on George Street.
Time’s up:Cartier hosted a lavish soirée to launch its new Sydney store.Supplied
But,as is the case with so many of these big bashes in Sydney these days,it appears the event was mostly a case of “rent-a-crowd” guests barely anyone recognised,apart from mid-level celebs likeKarl Stefanovic andJustin Hemmes it was pretty much the same faces turning up at all these parties,week after week. All a bit of a yawn,really.
However,there was some merriment when it came to one of the social media influencers who made it into the coverage of the not-so-luxuriousDaily Mail. Someone calledJade Brycki,which her Instagram helpfully instructs her unbelievable 478,000 followers is pronounced “Jar-day”.
Meanwhile,reports were coming in thick and fast on Thursday morning about a few awkward moments when guests wearing “loaner” pieces from Cartier were getting tapped on the shoulder by staff throughout the evening.
The Cartier crew politely – but firmly – instructed those adorned in the borrowed bling when their time was up,shadowing them to the “undressing” suite at the after-party in Hyde Park Barracks,which once housed convicts,to “disrobe” the baubles at their allotted time. Eat your heart out Cinderella.
Strong wind-up words
Beleaguered creditors of impresarioStan Sarris’ financially troubled company GT Wine Magazine Pty Ltd are being urged by administrators to vote to wind up the business after it once again failed to meet debt repayments.
Stan Sarris and wife Judy at a social event in 2019.Estaban La Tessa
In September PS revealed Sarris’s company had lost the right to use the prestigiousGourmet Traveller Wine masthead when publishing giant Are Media prematurely ended a 10-year licensing deal.
It has rebranded itself asWine,but its future looks bleak. Creditors were alerted this week by joint administratorsAnthony Elkington andCameron Gray that Sarris’ non-payment of the deed fund was a breach of the deed of company arrangement. The administrators wrote to Sarris in August “noting our serious concerns regarding the current financial position of the company and its ability to meet the deed fund instalments”.
“We advised Mr Sarris that it was abundantly clear from the information in our possession the company was hopelessly insolvent and requested,in the event our assessment of the company’s financial position is not correct,that he provides his reasonsin writing together with supporting documentation,” creditors were informed.
Despite follow-up requests to Sarris,who told administrators he was seeking advice on October 27,they had received no further contact from him as of November 15.
More than a year ago,creditors voted in favour of Sarris’ schedule of payments after more than $1 million worth of debt crippled the publication,leaving many former employees and contractors out of pocket thousands of dollars. Creditors had accepted a deed of arrangement to be paid 10 cents in the dollar.
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