HE was the drug lord who boasted that he and his “crew’’ were ready for war in Newcastle, but Kurt Toole looked meek and despondent yesterday as another year was added to his already lengthy jail term.
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Toole, 22, pleaded guilty to breaking into a Dora Creek home and stealing a gun safe with three firearms inside. This occurred a month before he and his brother Joshua were arrested and charged with supply of cannabis and methylamphetamine.
Joshua was previously jailed for 14 years with a non-parole period of nine years.
Kurt was serving 10 years and nine months with a non-parole period of seven years, until Judge Peter Maiden added another year to his sentence yesterday.
Kurt will now be eligible for parole in September 2018.
While Toole was in Newcastle District Court, his brother, Bathurst MP Paul Toole, was hosting family and community services minister Pru Goward in the Central West.
Toole’s father, former mayor of Evans Shire Council Trevor Toole, girlfriend and at least one of his eight siblings attended the hearing.
Police were listening in when someone approached Toole to help with the raid on the Dora Creek property in the early hours of August 25, 2010.
They entered the property and removed the safe that contained two rifles and a shotgun.
The guns were never found.
Toole texted a mate to say, “hopefully have yu a hand bang bang tomorrow’’.
In September 2010, Toole and his brother were arrested and charged with the large commercial supply of cannabis and methylamphetamine.
Kurt supplied 17 kilograms of cannabis and one kilogram of methylamphetamine while he was under investigation, while Joshua supplied 25 kilograms of cannabis and six kilograms of methylamphetamine.
The NSW Crime Commission found $200,000 cash in a deposit box in the Charlestown branch of Westpac in Joshua’s name.
A courier drove the drugs from Sydney to Newcastle for the Tooles to distribute to their dealers.
When the brothers suspected one of their dealers was a “dog” who’d spoken to police, Kurt had the dealer’s car torched.
He then sent a text message to the men who committed the arson that read: “Much respect thanks bro me and my brother and our crew up here are always ready 4 war and to have yur backs when needed”.
