AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd still faces a plethora of charges in his alleged murder plot scandal, but has had the most significant of the lot withdrawn. A New Zealand crown solicitor has chosen not to proceed with the attempting to procure murder charge, but Rudd is still under fire on threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis charges, among others.

AC/DC
AC/DC's drummer Phil Rudd was absent from the band's recent press materials.

According to the New York Daily News, Rudd’s lawyer, Paul Mabey, had little to say about the case, when his client faced the crown court on Thursday. Mabey explained that the charge should never have been laid by the New Zealand Police, who allegedly pushed the case without consulting Tauranga Crown Solicitor Greg Hollister-Jones, who agreed Thursday to strike the attempting to procure murder charge.

More: AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd Accused Of Ordering Murder Of Two Men

"The charge alleging an Attempt to Procure Murder should never have been laid," Mabey said in a statement for the New York Daily News. "The Crown Solicitors opinion was not sought. The charge is now withdrawn — within 24 hours of Mr. Rudd's first appearance in court."

The prosecution claims that Rudd hired a hitman to resolve an alleged dispute with “working girls” according to The Sydney Morning Herald.  

The hitman in question told The Herald: .  "The girls that he gets, working girls and that, their partners get pissed off, he tells them 'Nah I'm not paying you' and then the partners come and say they want their money. The amount he spends on company is like someone's yearly wage."