Former media mogul Antony Catalano is now free to visit his home in Byron Bay after a court relaxed his bail conditions. Mr Catalano had previously been barred from leaving the state of Victoria, but magistrate Stephen Lee agreed to vary his bail in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, now allowing him to visit the family’s Byron Bay home on the NSW North Coast.
Mr Catalano appeared via video link wearing a dark suit, with defence lawyer Tony Hargreaves applying to vary bail and a separate court order. That court order was also “significantly altered … by consent”, allowing Mr Catalano to contact and visit his wife Stefanie Catalano and their four children, providing he is “sober”.
“You can’t do those things if you’re affected by drugs or alcohol,” Mr Lee told the court. “If you are affected by drugs and alcohol, all bets are off, OK?”
The 59-year-old former Australian Community Media (ACM) chairman was charged by police on March 13 with assault, making threats to kill and false imprisonment following an alleged incident with his wife Stefanie Catalano. Police allege Mr Catalano assaulted his wife in the couple’s St Kilda apartment in the early hours of March 13 after confronting her in a “severely drug-affected state”. It’s alleged she was able to flee the complex and was found by a passing motorist in a state of extreme distress. Mr Catalano was arrested later the same day, allegedly wearing a pair of underwear torn during the incident.
On May 11, Mr Catalano had been required to attend court in person but his lawyer argued a “throng of media downstairs” could negatively impact his client’s mental health, asking for permission for his client to remain online. He will return to court on July 1.
In a public statement released by Mr Catalano on March 14, he said he was “deeply ashamed and humiliated” by the alleged incident and would be stepping down from his professional roles. “I know that my actions have caused hurt and concern for others, including the woman involved, my family, friends, colleagues and the many people connected to the businesses I have been privileged to lead,” he said.
