Dad escapes prison term 

Dad escapes prison term

A FILM producer who admitted his role in a cocaine ring that allegedly supplied a famous rock star and negotiated to sell the drug to a Hollywood film crew has escaped jail.


Barry Wayne Hall, 54, a Melbourne father of two, avoided any financial penalty after a judge yesterday accepted he had already "suffered a considerable financial penalty" as a result of a media report.


Hall, who pleaded guilty this year to supplying a commercial quantity of cocaine, claimed a report about his crime had an adverse affect on him getting work in the film and television industry.

NSW District Court judge Colin Charteris agreed "the story certainly has been given prominence" and said a letter tendered to the court confirmed a job opportunity for Hall "fell away" because of the story.

The court heard Hall was part of an interstate drug trafficking operation that was foiled after police officers intercepted phone calls.

Hall was yesterday sentenced to 16 months' jail, with a non-parole period of eight months.

But Judge Charteris suspended his sentence and put him on a one-year good behaviour bond. He said Hall, who the court heard had become a dishwasher, was a good husband and father and had no criminal record.

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