The Justin Hemmes story, by The Sydney Morning Herald

Most gents would have once aspired to be like him. The Sydney playboy born into wealth and successful in his own right wouldn’t find many men with those sentiments these days. This year has well and truly chewed Hemmes up and spat him out. But what exactly are the issues he now faces, how is he dealing with them and what does it mean for his company, Merivale, and its landmark club, the ivy?

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Nick O’Malley has executed a fine feature on Hemmes and his 2011 story. From Hemmes’ own drink driving charges and the ivy operating under level two restrictions to his security company, Our Security, and the arrest of some of the staff – it’s all laid bare.

As O’Malley writes, “Hemmes, who stands well over six foot tall, was bullet proof. Now he can’t seem to win a trick. The ivy was already operating under licensing restrictions developed to curb violence in hotspots when the allegations of torture in the ivy’s basement were made a fortnight ago.”

You can read the full story here.