Roberta Williams,The former wife of gangland murderer Carl Williams, emerged smiling from court after the nine counts of failing to lodge a tax return were quashed.When asked by reporters if she had lodged her tax returns she replied "no, have you?".
Crown Prosecutor Linda Skoblar made an application at the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court this morning to have the nine counts of failing to lodge a tax return between June 1998 and June 2006 stamped out, meaning Ms Williams, 39, was free to go.
Outside court Ms Williams said she was happy with the decision but refused to detail how or why the charges were dropped. Ms Williams appeared in court wearing a white t-shirt with the silhouette of a woman holding a gun on the front. This week, it was reported she had launched a fashion label trading on the notoriety of former husband Carl and featuring his five-digit Victorian prisoner number.The new business has printed 1200 gangland-themed T-shirts under the label name Robya C.R.E.A.M -- standing for Cash Rules Everything Around Me. But angry crime victims' advocates say the shirts glamorise and profit from crime. Crime Victims Support Association president Noel McNamara said the line should be offensive to all reasonable people.
"Instead of trying to bludge on their disgusting pasts, they need to get off their backsides and get a real job,'' he said. But Ms Williams said she would donate some profits to homeless and domestic violence charities and needed the income for a ``getting square'' life of rent, food, supporting her children and one day getting a home loan. "I'm trying to get a real job,'' she said. Ms Williams said she would sell the T-shirts to "friends on Facebook'' and four shops had expressed interest in them. The $50 T-shirts are decorated with slogans such as ``Williams Crew'' and ``Gangland War'' and feature images including bullet holes, handcuffs, a gun, a pile of powder on a scale and a tombstone. The number 35 is shown in reference to the number of years' jail given to Williams for the murders of three underworld rivals, along with his prisoner number, 88986.