Blackmail charge dropped against ex-CFMEU delegate Joel Leavitt

A former CFMEU delegate with alleged links to criminal bikie gangs has had a blackmail charge dropped against him, and will instead pay a $2,000 fine. Joel Leavitt was charged with blackmailing a business owner for $663,000 in January.

Leavitt, along with several others, were arrested by detectives from Taskforce Hawk, the Victoria Police squad investigating corruption in the building sector. On Thursday, Leavitt pleaded guilty to failing to provide his phone PIN code to police and being a prohibited person engaging in debt collection.

According to police, Leavitt is a patched member of the Bandidos. He was arrested at an Eltham property in February 2026. An assault conviction from 2023 meant Leavitt was not allowed to work as a debt collector.

Magistrate Donna Bakos convicted Leavitt and fined him $2,000. During the hearing, prosecutors withdrew the more serious charge of blackmail, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years' jail. Blackmail charges were also dropped against co-accused Thomas Sheehan, Emin Mehmedovic, Napoleon Brown, and Jared Davis.

The court heard that Leavitt and several other men turned up at the Cedar Meats abattoir in Brooklyn to meet with its chief executive officer, Jason Hopp. Mr. Hopp was the director of a company linked to a land development project that had racked up large debts to Mr. Sheehan's earthmoving business, the prosecutor said.

During the meeting, which was recorded, Leavitt questioned why Mr. Sheehan had gone unpaid. "That needs to be fixed up. I'm told you're the man who pays all the bills," he said.

Mr. Hopp said he was not responsible for the debt. When Mr. Hopp asked Leavitt what his role was, Leavitt replied he was "a consultant", the court heard. "What I would like you to do is to have a talk with the financiers. Tell them there is people chasing debts to you because they are owed money," Leavitt told him.

Defence barrister Christopher Terry said his client had not been threatening or violent during the interaction. "If anything, he's polite and reasonable," he said.

However, the prosecutor said Mr. Hopp was "terrified" by the encounter and moved his family into a hotel.

Mr. Terry said work for his client's demolition company had dried up after the scrutiny by Taskforce Hawk and media reporting. "He really is living off his wife's income, but he wants to change that with a move to somewhere he can go and earn a living again," Mr. Terry said.

A report into the CFMEU, titled Rotting From The Top, included claims Joel Leavitt earned more than $200,000 as a union official and was given a government-funded car.