Albert Victor Epere has failed in his appeal against a community work sentence. Photo / Facebook
Albert Victor Epere has failed in his appeal against a community work sentence. Photo / Facebook
A gang boss has been told he has to do his time after he gained a motorcycle licence from an instructor who was jailed for issuing fraudulent documents to hundreds of people.
Albert Victor Epere, 58, appealed against his community work sentence, on the grounds that most of Petre Kalinowski’s other customers received no punishment, other than having their bogus licences cancelled.
Kalinowski was formerly one of only two motorcycle instructors on the West Coast of the South Island who were authorised by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to test motorcycle riders and issue assessment certificates for licences.
In 2022, he was jailed for 31 and a half months after being convicted of 24 representative charges of dishonestly falsifying documents used to obtain motorcycle licences, many issued to gang members.
His customers included members of the Hells Angels, King Cobras, Mongrel Mob, Head Hunters, Black Power and Killer Beez gangs.
He was paroled last year.
Court documents say that at least 180 riders did not sit the required practical test to prove they had the skills necessary to safely ride a motorcycle among other road users.
In the case of Epere, who is president of the Mangu Kaha Black Power chapter in Dunedin, the licence plate of the motorcycle he was supposedly tested on had been used in 80 other licence applications.
It belonged to a black Suzuki, the owner of which said only he and his wife rode it.
Epere was convicted of two charges of dishonestly using a document after a judge-alone trial before District Court Judge Dominic Flatley.
When sentencing Epere, Judge Flatley said other similar cases involved prison terms “at a lower level”, which were ultimately converted into community-based sentences.
He sentenced Epere to 80 hours of community work.
Epere appealed against his sentence to the High Court, where his lawyer, Brendan Stephenson, argued that for the “overwhelming majority” of people who dishonestly used Kalinowski’s services their only punishment was to have their licences invalidated.
About 160 riders had their licences revoked but did not face further consequences.
Stephenson contended that an order to come up if called upon, or a discharge without conviction, was the more appropriate outcome for Epere.
Compared to what had been given to the others, Epere’s sentence was “manifestly excessive”.
However, Craig Power for the police said that the parity principle in the Sentencing Act did not apply to those people who had not been charged in the Kalinowski operation.
High Court Justice Jason McHerron agreed with Power that Section 8(e) of the Sentencing Act, which requires consistency with similar offenders, could not apply in the way suggested by the defence.
Petre Kalinowski falsified licence documentation for members of several gangs, including the Hells Angels, King Cobras, Mongrel Mob, Head Hunters, Black Power, and Killer Beez.
He said the sentencing judge did not need to evaluate any decisions not to prosecute other people who benefitted from Kalinowski’s “illegitimate qualifications” in determining Epere’s sentence.
“The test under Section 8(e) can only extend to assessing whether those who have come before the court as offenders have been sentenced similarly,” Justice McHerron said.
This meant there was no material error in Judge Flatley’s decision not to consider those involved in Kalinowski’s scheme who were not dealt with by the courts.
“The appeal is dismissed. The District Court’s sentence is upheld. Mr Epere is required to complete his 80 hours’ community work,” Justice McHerron said.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME's Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke's Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.
