Despite being discovered with cocaine in her hands and trafficking it around Brisbane, the daughter of former AFL great Mark Zanotti has escaped going to jail.
Tala Zanotti, 27, pleaded guilty to a number of offenses, including selling cocaine through home deliveries and in a McDonald’s parking lot, as well as possession of cocaine and MDMA.
At Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Monday, Zanotti received a four-year prison sentence with a suspended term for offenses she committed between February 4 and July 19, 2020.
In the 1980s and 1990s, her father played nine AFL seasons with West Coast, Fitzroy, and the Brisbane Bears.
The Courier Mail reported that on May 31, 2020, Zanoitti was apprehended after being found in her car at Chermside McDonald’s parking lot with 7.45kg of cocaine in ziplock bags and $1,960 in cash.
Three weeks later, police searched her residence and discovered a cell phone that contained proof of five months of narcotics trafficking.
Zanotti sold drugs to 23 separate customers on 34 different occasions, charging $400 for a gram of pure cocaine and $350 for cocaine that had been chopped. If customers requested home delivery, there was a $50 cost.
She prepared to deliver drugs on an additional seven instances, and she also volunteered to furnish drugs on one other occasion, Justice Thomas Bradly informed the court.
The day before the police searched her home, she sold seven grams of cocaine in a single transaction, the court was told.
Officers also discovered 5.147g of MDMA for $1,020 and another 20.396g of cocaine worth $7,350 during the operation.
In addition to the $900 in cash, investigators reportedly allegedly discovered tiny amounts of methylamphetamine, ketamine, diazepam, and GBL.
At least one supplier provided the medications to the former athlete.
The court heard that Zanotti kept thorough records of her operations, including the credit she extended to consumers.
Gavin Webber, her defense attorney, testified before the court that once her sports career ended, she turned to drugs during a trying time in her life.
He claimed she was homeless for a while after being left behind by her mother when she was 13 years old.
In a letter to the court, Zanotti claimed that she had quit using drugs and severed links with her companions who engaged in criminal activity.
Father Mark played 157 games as a quick rebounding defender and scored 19 goals.
On her Facebook page, Zanotti has shared photos of herself with her father while also thanking him for his previous assistance.
With Subiaco, he won the 1986 WAFL Premiership, and in the championship game, he took home the Simpson Medal as the game’s best player.