A New Zealand conman, who was arrested last year on a yacht near Palm Beach after more than a decade on the run, has admitted in court that he forged payslips stating he earned $120,000 a year as actor Russell Crowe's helicopter pilot.
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In the District Court on Wednesday, Paul James Bennett, 53, pleaded guilty to four counts of obtaining money by deception.
In April and May 2001, he created false payslips headed with the title "Crowe Family Trust" and used them to get finance to buy a Jeep Cherokee and to get Grace Bros. and American Express credit cards.
When, in April 2001, Bennett applied for an American Express Gold Card, he also falsely claimed that his previous address was care of the Crowe Farm in Nana Glen near Coffs Harbour and that he had been at that address for eight years.
Bennett, who piloted Mr Crowe only a few times and was never the actor's full-time employee, was arrested and charged in June 2001 but vanished while on bail later that year. He was arrested again in February 2015 aboard a stolen $140,000 yacht on Broken Bay near Palm Beach.
Appearing before Judge Andrew Scotting, Bennett also pleaded guilty to one charge of intimidating a former girlfriend with the intention of causing mental harm.
Bennett met Diane Tyndall through a dating service in May 2001 and started to stay with her at her Killarney Heights home.
After his arrest in June 2001, she was the guarantor for his bail but became concerned that her boyfriend was likely to abscond and withdrew her $2000 surety. In September 2001, Bennett was returned to custody.
While in jail he sent a number of threatening letters to Ms Tyndall. According to the statement of facts tendered to the court, in early letters to Ms Tyndall, he told her that he still loved her and included poems and intimate thoughts.
In subsequent letters however, he demanded she re-lodge the surety so he could be released and threatened to report her for a range of alleged crimes.
He also threatened to release a video he had recorded of Ms Tyndall engaging in sexual acts and reveal her past to any future boyfriends.
In December, 2001, Bennett's brother deposited $2000 in bail. He failed to appear in court in late 2003 for his trial.
Fairfax Media understands that during an earlier prison sentence, Bennett had become friends with a member of a bikie gang. Later, out of jail, he convinced the bikie and his associates to pay a deposit on a helicopter in excess of $100,000.
When the money disappeared, it is believed that the gang kidnapped him.
In court on Wednesday, Bennett also pleaded not guilty to two charges of making false statements that he was the holder of an appropriate pilot's licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. Those matters will be finalised on Friday when he returns to court for sentencing.
