The 34 year-old former manager of Fifteen restaurant, owned by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, has pleaded not guilty to arson and 16 counts of theft in Melbourne County Court.
Kevan Stralow is accused of starting the fire which caused millions of dollars' worth of damage to his office in June 2008. It's alleged that he started the blaze to hide the fact that he had pilfered up to $23,000 from the restaurant, according to a Brisbane Times report. Despite initially claiming he spent the evening of the fire tucked up with his girlfriend, he was shown on CCTV to have entered the building that evening.
But Stralow denies any wrong-doing, explaining that he had returned to his office to check his emails and left before the fire started. Although he did manage to leave $12,000 in takings in a folding file under his desk, which he says was subsequently destroyed by the flames. The prosecution lawyer, however, has called this claim "preposterous", bringing up Stralow's alleged status as a "big roller" on the Melbourne gambling scene to suggest he'd got himself into a spot of financial bother.
According to Stralow's defence lawyer, however, leaving the money in the office might have been a bit daft but was not a crime and "there's a real possibility....that the alleged theft did not occur at all."
But even if Stralow is found guilty, he may still be able to revive his restaurant career. There could be a spot for him on the wonderfully-named Conviction Kitchen - Channel Seven's new offering which gives convicted criminals the opportunity to "redeem themselves" by learning how to cook fancy food for rich people.
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Kevan Stralow is accused of starting the fire which caused millions of dollars' worth of damage to his office in June 2008. It's alleged that he started the blaze to hide the fact that he had pilfered up to $23,000 from the restaurant, according to a Brisbane Times report. Despite initially claiming he spent the evening of the fire tucked up with his girlfriend, he was shown on CCTV to have entered the building that evening.
But Stralow denies any wrong-doing, explaining that he had returned to his office to check his emails and left before the fire started. Although he did manage to leave $12,000 in takings in a folding file under his desk, which he says was subsequently destroyed by the flames. The prosecution lawyer, however, has called this claim "preposterous", bringing up Stralow's alleged status as a "big roller" on the Melbourne gambling scene to suggest he'd got himself into a spot of financial bother.
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Some other big rollers on the Melbourne gambling scene yesterday |
According to Stralow's defence lawyer, however, leaving the money in the office might have been a bit daft but was not a crime and "there's a real possibility....that the alleged theft did not occur at all."
But even if Stralow is found guilty, he may still be able to revive his restaurant career. There could be a spot for him on the wonderfully-named Conviction Kitchen - Channel Seven's new offering which gives convicted criminals the opportunity to "redeem themselves" by learning how to cook fancy food for rich people.