Spud king Tony Galati and brother Vince Galati to face court over charges connected to Parkfield farm

WA’s spud king and his brother are expected to admit illegally taking water above a licensed amount in the South West. Tony and Vince Galati were due to appear in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Thursday, where they each face a charge of being a person that has taken water from any watercourse, wetland or underground water source without a permit. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation allege that the Galatis, who run the WA family-owned business Spudshed, exceeded the annual water entitlement for a licence at their Parkfield farm between July 2020 and June 2021. While it was indicated that both men would plead guilty to the charges, Magistrate Joanne Andretich found more time was needed to consider all matters. She said a large quantity of material had been submitted in relation to the matters, including court transcripts from 2016 and 2017. The Galati brothers had their respective charges adjourned to Friday. It is understood they will appear via an audio link. It is not the first time the spud king has been in court, having previously been fined $40,000 for growing more potatoes than agreed under Potato Marketing Corporation regulations. The corporation has since shut down. Tony Galati has become a cult figure of WA, with the popular businessman even having a sellout Fringe World musical made about his legal battles.