AC/DC drummer accused of hiring hits

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The drummer for rock band AC/DC was accused today of trying to arrange two killings.

Phil Rudd made a brief appearance at the Tauranga District Court in his adopted home of New Zealand and was charged with attempting to procure murder, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years.

He was released on bail.

The Bay of Plenty Times newspaper reported that Rudd was accused of trying to hire a hit man to carry out two killings. The 60-year-old has also been charged with threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana.

Rudd’s lawyer Paul Mabey said he was still getting up to speed on the case and had no comment.

Court staff said Rudd was due to make a second appearance Nov. 27, although that date could change. He has yet to enter a plea.

Rudd and the other members of AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 in Cleveland.

According to the Hall of Fame biography, Rudd first joined AC/DC in 1974, the year after it was started. He left in the 1980s but rejoined again in the 1990s.

The Bay of Plenty Times reported that Australian-born Rudd first moved to New Zealand in 1983, when he left the band, and in 2011 bought a Tauranga restaurant he named Phil’s Place.