Third business firebombed in suspected bikie extortion plot against Melbourne millionaire

A Melbourne business owned by millionaire entrepreneur and former boxer David “Hollywood” Deicke has been firebombed, marking the latest in a series of suspicious attacks on his properties amid a $1 million extortion plot.

Firefighters were called to a blaze at the Melbourne Collision Repair Centre on Ormond Road in Elwood around 3.35am on Thursday. It took crews 39 minutes to bring the fire under control.

Police believe offenders used a vehicle to force entry before fleeing the scene. The incident is being treated as suspicious, and investigations are ongoing.

The incident occurred about a week after a rare collectible Mercedes and several other luxury vehicles were removed from the Elwood business, which had recently closed down.

The attack follows revelations by The Age last month that Deicke is the target of a $1 million extortion plot by the leader of an outlaw motorcycle gang, believed to have ordered the July firebombing of two smash repair businesses controlled by Deicke.

The Age also revealed a notorious Melbourne bikie threatened to burn down Deicke’s $10 million Brighton mansion if he refuses to pay.

On Thursday morning, Deicke’s Brighton property appeared undamaged. A mobile police security unit remains stationed near the property.

Thursday morning’s blaze comes less than two months after an arson attack at Melbourne Collision Repair Centre’s Mentone site.

Fire from a torched car spread to the Nepean Highway business, prompting an emergency response around 3.20am on July 30. Around the same time – in what police believe was a coordinated attack – several vehicles were also torched at another smash repair business in Laverton.

A group of men were seen smashing car windows before setting them alight. One of the arsonists set himself on fire, according to witnesses.

Police said they suspected the fires were linked and were treating them as suspicious.

Just weeks earlier, on July 18, the Laverton business on Triholm Avenue had also been the target of a drive-by shooting.

All three Melbourne Smash Repairs locations have now been the subject of suspicious fires.

Deicke was revealed by The Age earlier this year to have connections to the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang.

The former boxer built his fortune through a chain of smash repair shops before expanding into property development, luxury car hire, and hospitality.

Speaking to The Age in July, Deicke denied he owned the smash repairs businesses, which are registered to his long-term partner, Belinda Pitts, according to records filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

He told this masthead he did not know why the businesses had been targeted.

“I’ve got no idea, but I’m not the owner. We’ve got four young children, and we need to be left alone,” he said.

Deicke’s businesses have a history of violent incidents. In 2014, two Comanchero members – one of them the now-slain crime figure Hawre Sherwani – broke a man’s arms at a Deicke-owned workshop after he tried to leave the club.

Other fire-damaged properties linked to him include a car wash in Brighton and another panel beating business in Moonee Ponds.

Deicke describes himself as the “embodiment of dedication, innovation, and entrepreneurial success”, according to a website promoting his business interests, which also include property development, hospitality and life coaching.

“His journey, spanning over two decades, showcases a remarkable trajectory from a competitive boxer to a business innovator, and ultimately, a connoisseur of luxury,” Deicke’s website states.

Deicke, who is the half-brother of five-time world boxing champion Lester Ellis, has been linked to multiple fire-damaged properties. In 2023, he agreed to purchase a Portsea mansion for $8 million from former pathology executive Wallace Cameron, but the property was destroyed by fire before the deal closed.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, and Deicke was refunded his $800,000 deposit.

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