Since his first convictions in 2004 on 51 charges of theft, Brosnan has been found guilty of more than 100 dishonesty offences. But throughout his deceptions, Brosnan, the son of a nun and Christian brother, has steadfastly attended a Pentecostal church. He has been a prominent member of Alcoholics Anonymous since 2008, with a judge once noting that his associates there “universally hold a high opinion of you” and "the assistance that you have provided to individuals”. One former boss blames the death of his father on stress inflicted by Brosnan, despite a reserved, religious exterior suggesting "you would never think he would steal from anyone in a million years". The strip club obsession

So ingrained was Brosnan’s propensity for manipulation, just days before he was sentenced for the $1.9 million theft he was locking horns with adult industry baroness Maxine Fensom in a bitter fight for control of her strip club in Brunswick. Ms Fensom says a dancer introduced Brosnan in June 2016 and he soon became a regular at Maxine’s – while continuing his involvement with CityLife Pentecostal church with his wife, Kelly, whom he described as "stable, straight, and strong in her Christian values". 'He was trying to take my business': Brosnan fought for control of Maxine's strip club until his last days before jail. Credit:Joe Armao When not at church, Ms Fensom says Brosnan would bring Kelly and his stepdaughter into the club. Soon Brosnan took over stocking and managing the bar, and began offering Ms Fensom business advice.

Ms Fensom wasn’t paying Brosnan for his work and when stock went missing Ms Fensom “started to think this guy is just not right”. When he threw the glass I was grateful, because I knew he’d be out of my life. Maxine Fensom, strip club owner “He was offering to take over my mother’s finances. The guy was trying to bully me into becoming a director of the company and getting on the licence … I said no, f--k off.” Brosnan was not the only unreliable character Ms Fensom became involved with at that time. It was reported last month that, between June and July 2016, cancer conwoman Belle Gibson did odd jobs at the Brunswick strip club, including running errands for Ms Fensom. Gibson did not work as a stripper. On September 9, 2016, three months after meeting Ms Fensom, Brosnan hurled a glass at a painting in Maxine’s.

Loading “It shattered all over another girl and me. I told him to get out and called the police straight away.” Brosnan was later found guilty of two charges of criminal damage, fined $500 and ordered to pay Ms Fensom $70 in compensation. “When he threw the glass I was grateful, because I knew he’d be out of my life,” she said. Instead, Brosnan had stepped up his offensive.

On September 15, six days after smashing the glass, Brosnan registered himself as the director and secretary of a “Maxines Gentlemens Club Pty Ltd”. Four days later, Brosnan did the same with “Miss Erotica Pty Ltd”, the name of the stripping pageant that Ms Fensom created. Brosnan was held in 'universally high regard' by his Pentecostal church and Alcoholics Anonymous associates. “I’m shocked … he was trying to take my business,” Ms Fensom said. Six months later, in March 2017, Brosnan was found guilty by a jury of 42 charges of funnelling $1.9 million from his employer, a Melbourne insurance broker, into a personal bank account over two years. Police were not prosecuting his chip shop scam at that stage.

As the judge sentenced Brosnan to eight years in jail, he commended the con artist for undertaking training that would allow him to teach year 9 to 11 students legal studies with a view “to impress upon them the importance of a law-abiding lifestyle”. However nine days earlier, Brosnan had targeted Ms Fensom once more. He filed a Supreme Court case against Ms Fensom’s business, Tight Candy Pty Ltd, claiming that she had failed to pay a $2750 debt for plumbing work. If a company owes a debt over $2000, it must generally either pay within 21 days or prove its solvency to avoid liquidation. But Ms Fensom's lawyers said they had never received the invoice. The case was dismissed, and Brosnan was ordered to pay Ms Fensom’s legal fees. Brosnan, speaking via his lawyer from prison, refused to comment for this story.

'We saw the money had gone to a bikie gang' Brosnan’s boss when he stole the $1.9 million, Mark Christoffelsz, said he was “extremely professional, very friendly, a silver-tongued devil” in the workplace. “He came across as a very religious person. If you met him you would never think he would steal from anyone in a million years.” Working with police, Mark and his father John – suffering from cancer as the case entered its final stages in 2017 – needed years to gather sufficient evidence to prosecute Brosnan. “It took up a lot of our time, and I suspect that’s what brought on my dad’s cancer,” Mr Christoffelsz said.

“He died at the age of 59, some weeks after the case finished … It had a huge impact on him.” Another former boss says he realised Brosnan had been stealing from his Melbourne construction business when tens of thousands of dollars disappeared. “Once we searched the bank account details, we saw the money had gone to a bikie gang. “We were just trying to run our business. Then all of a sudden a bikie gang gets a call from someone like me, 5 foot 10. There’s not much chance of that getting anywhere.”