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Good cop, bad cop: how corrupt police work with drug dealers
The Australia21 report on illicit drugs draws much-needed attention to many serious issues, including the major role played by corrupt police in drug distribution networks. The role played by drugs in…
AUTHOR
  1. RackMultipart20130915-10223-1yw1ocf.jpg
  2. Mike Pottenger
  3. Lecturer, Statistics & Political Economy at University of Melbourne
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Mike Pottenger does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.
width170_logo-1365118447.png
Provides funding as a Founding Partner of The Conversation.
unimelb.edu.au

j9hrjy97-1333521311.jpg
Shamed senior police officer Mark Standen is lead away from King St Supreme Court after being found guilty of attempting to import a massive haul of pseudoephedrine. AAP/Tracey Nearmy
The Australia21 report on illicit drugs draws much-needed attention to many serious issues, including the major role played by corrupt police in drug distribution networks.
The role played by drugs in police corruption is complex, and bears consideration when evaluating the report and arguments for a change in policy.
The connection between the illegal drugs markets and police corruption is well known. Booms in illegal drug markets in the US in the 1990s, for example, corresponded with a rise in police corruption and violent misconduct.
Similar connections between drugs and police corruption are found in many countries, and Australia is no exception, as demonstrated by the recent conviction of Mark Standen.
Illegal regulation
There are two common situations in which officers abuse (or choose not to use) their power in such a way as to benefit from the drug trade, each of which is often rationalised as an attempt to at least do something about the problem of illicit drugs - a form of “illegal regulation”.
The first of these is the theft of drugs or money from drug dealers.
When police officers are tasked with policing the prohibition of illicit drugs, first-hand experience leads many to believe they are unable to eliminate the industry, or that the people they steal from are unlikely to be arrested or convicted.
In this context, police officers in the UK, the US and Australia have justified stealing from drug dealers as a kind of tax or charge - an attempt to try and make it harder for dealers to do business.
The second common kind of police corruption is “green-lighting”, whereby police agree to turn a blind eye to dealers or groups that adhere to certain rules (e.g. no violence, no selling drugs to children).

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Richard Roxburgh played corrupt NSW Police detective Roger Rogerson in the ABC miniseries Blue Murder AAP
This often used with the professed intention of creating a level of control over the drugs trade. Anyone who has seen the ABC TV series Blue Murder) will be familiar with the events uncovered by the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Milloo Inquiry, which alleged that criminal Arthur “Neddy” Smith’s activities had been green-lit by officers including the former detective Roger Rogerson, and that police officers sometimes even assisted Smith in the commission of crimes.
Fans of US TV show The Wire will recall “Hamsterdam”, the free zone where drug dealing was allowed on the condition that the drugs or violence did not spill onto other streets.
The reality is less noble-minded or contained; in New South Wales, for example, green-lighting of different groups by different officers created increasingly organised territorially defined cartels, and did nothing to stop the growth of the drugs trade.
It’s all in the game
Apart from any rationalisation for their behaviour as having some kind of noble cause, officers in these situations also face substantial material incentives.
In the market for drugs the high levels of inelastic demand (particularly in the case of highly addictive substances) and high prices create an very lucrative industry, and officers involved in extorting or protecting dealers can make substantial sums doing so.
One New York police officer made ten times his annual salary in protection money from drug dealers - so much that he often forgot to collect his legitimate pay.
Tackling these problems requires considering the incentives that officers face to engage in corruption, not just weeding out the odd bad cop. Despite the persistence of “bad apple” explanations of police corruption, many officers who are found to be corrupt often began as officers with a good, clean record of successful work.
Draining the swamp
While there may, of course, be bad individuals, of greater concern is that all officers are working in a “bad barrel” or “bad orchard” which is itself a corrupting influence.
The fact, then, that more officers do not become entangled in such activity is a credit to their integrity.
Any policy response to the issues raised in the Australia21 report should take care to ensure it has a real effect on the market for drugs and that it makes it easier for such officers to maintain that integrity by considering the ramifications for police corruption.
3 October 2013,
Murders and acquisitions: the corporatisation of global organised crime


Australian motorcycle gang the Finks are expected to merge with US group the Mongols. Does this represent a new ‘corporatised’ world of organised crime? AAP/Eric Sands

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Australian motorcycle gang the Finks are expected to merge with US group the Mongols. Does this represent a new ‘corporatised’ world of organised crime? AAP/Eric Sands
In the world of illegal markets and organised crime, money is the prime mover. Legal or not, if someone’s willing to buy, odds are someone else is willing to supply.
In the two decades or so since the fall of the Iron Curtain, continued integration of world markets has presented new business opportunities for legal and illegal businesses alike. Not sure how best to distribute your product overseas? Don’t worry - let a local retailer take care of that while you focus on wholesale production! No more consumers in your domestic market? No matter - start focusing on exports! Even better, let tourism bring the consumers to you!
There’s just one problem: expanding your market share can get ugly.
Mergers and executions
In legitimate business, hostile takeovers are a serious threat. In illegal markets, they are a deadly one. While organised crime in the 21st century is organised more by the invisible hand than by clandestine gatherings of gangsters, there is still big money in mergers and acquisitions.
If a rival organisation wants your share of a market, then taking it by force is often one of the only ways to do it. This lesson was learnt the hard way in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, when Russian gangs took over Eastern European markets by force. Once the dust had settled and the bodies were buried, these gangs contracted jobs back to the locals while taking a share of the profits.
Effective as this may have been, and important as shows of strength are in establishing a reputation and making credible threats, actual violence can also attract unwanted attention, particularly from law enforcement. Sometimes a peaceful merger may be preferable to armed conquest.
But for this to work, each party has to have something the other wants, and a reason to take advantage of a mutually beneficial agreement rather than to take something by force. For example, take recent news about the potential merger of the Finks, an Australian Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG), with the US-based Mongols.
Why are they embracing each other with open arms instead of opening fire on each other with smuggled AK-47s like the Comancheros and Rebels in Melbourne? The merger has been reported as a move by the Finks to avoid the efforts of Queensland Police to have the club declared a criminal organisation by the Supreme Court, though Queensland police minister Jack Dempsey maintains such a move won’t help them.
Whether or not this is the case, there are other advantages.
Strength in numbers
In illegal markets the most fundamental business is protection. Without protection from rivals, traitors in your midst and/or law enforcement, you can’t operate an illegal enterprise for very long. Because the courts are unlikely to protect any illegal interests or property you have, that protection has to be provided through the use of (or willingness to use) coercive force.
Whatever the illegal market, however diversified the production of the good or service, whether you just want to take a cut for protection or get directly involved, there is money to be made controlling the turf on which illegal activity takes place. And because controlling even just a part of such markets requires using (or threatening) violence, exerting your influence over larger transnational markets is easier when there are more of you.


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The Finks have previously been linked to large seizures of illicit drugs on the Gold Coast. AAP/Queensland Police Service
The high revenues associated with Australian drug markets are well-known, and local OMCGs are already said to be heavily involved in or associated with the drug trade, along with smuggling other goods such as illegal firearms. The Mongols do not have a history of operating in Australia, and bringing the Finks into the fold will allow them to exert their influence here, offering a potentially lucrative piece of the action.
While some Australian-based OMCGs such as the Comancheros and the Rebels show signs of expanding overseas, the Finks do not have much of an international presence. The merger with the Mongols (who already have well-established operations in both the US and Europe) offers them this. Given the Mongols' prominence, signing up with (or “patching over” to) them also promises to boost the reputation of Finks members.
The enemy of my enemy
The merger also offers each group the ability to improve their strength and position relative a rival gang and common foe - the Hells Angels (another OMCG originating from the US). The Mongols have been fighting with the Hells Angels since at least the 1970s, and the conflict continues today. There have been several high-profile clashes between the home-grown Finks (they hail from South Australia) and local chapters of the Hells Angels.
For a relatively small club like the Finks (they are not a club with international chapters), the support of a global gang such as the Mongols carries weight and access to resources. For the Mongols, absorbing a club that is allied with them against the Hells Angels allows them to put more pressure on the Hells Angels here without having to deploy their own manpower directly.
While globalisation has brought substantial gains, it has also presented great opportunities for transnational crime, whether expanding through conquering, colluding or combining with other groups.
This latest merger may not last forever (in illegal markets when power shifts or interests change, alliances break down), but for now it presents real potential benefits for both the Mongols and Finks, and a real problem for tackling OMCG-related violence and crime in Australia.
21 August 2013, 9.34pm BST
Footy, coffee and corruption: the Victorian disease


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Victorian premier Denis Napthine may need to expedite reform to the state’s anti-corruption practices if a recent ombudsman’s report is any guide. AAP/Joe Castro
To steal a line, there’s something rotten in the state of Victoria. It has a serious problem with corruption, and may find itself ill-equipped to fight it.
This might come as a surprise to Victorians, who have often looked down their noses at the questionable activities taking place elsewhere (for example, in police forces and governments in New South Wales and Queensland). But it is true, and increasingly difficult to deny.
Victoria Police has found members engaged in misconduct of their own volition (disbanding units like the Drug Squad and Armed Offenders Squad for problems ranging from ill discipline to corruption including drug trafficking). More recently, they have admitted large-scale leaks and discovered efforts to infiltrate their ranks and corrupt their officers.
And the Victorian government has not been immune from accusations of improper behaviour, either, as the Baillieu/Napthine Coalition administration has discovered on multiple occasions (see events involving MP Geoff Shaw, or Tristan Weston and Tony Nutt).
To make matters worse, the legislative architecture for investigating corruption in Victoria has serious shortcomings. Aspects of it may even be unconstitutional.
Does Victoria have the institutional wherewithal not just to inspect allegations of minor misconduct, but also to conduct investigations of more grand accusations, such as those levelled at former NSW Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid? Unanswered questions about the state’s integrity system, along with problems reiterated by the Victorian Ombudsman, give genuine cause for concern.
Debate about integrity reform in Victoria
Since its inception in late 2011, criticism about the legislation that established Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has been aired publicly on a regular basis from a range of experts. Concerns include the very high evidentiary threshold required for IBAC to conduct investigations, and the fact that IBAC is restricted to investigating “serious” corruption (even though what qualifies as “serious” is not defined).
In late 2012, shortly after penning a letter to then-premier Ted Baillieu, the Ombudsman released a report to Victorian state parliament on the legislation that established the new integrity system. Neither the letter nor the report were optimistic. Part 1 of the Ombudsman’s 2012-13 annual report, tabled in parliament, remains openly critical of the legislation, stating that it is “clumsy and presents operational problems for all concerned”.
The report also warns that the restriction of corruption investigations to “serious” corruption ignores the sorts of cases that create the bulk of the Ombudsman’s more significant work and investigations. The sort of problems with corrupt organisational cultures alleged to be troubling Customs, for example, are a common and substantial problem in when it comes to anti-corruption regimes. However, they would not necessarily be considered “serious” corruption in the context of Victorian legislation. And the problem is more complex than just restricting investigations to serious corruption.
The hole in the system
There is a substantial gap between the kinds of cases that IBAC and the Ombudsman can investigate at will. According to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Amendment (Investigative Functions) Act (2012), IBAC “must not” investigate a case unless it is “reasonably satisfied that the conduct is serious corrupt conduct” (the high evidentiary threshold which experts fear will leave the body open to jurisdictional challenges).
However, the Integrity and Accountability Legislation Amendment Bill (2012) amended the Ombudsman Act (1973) to state that the Ombudsman “must not conduct an own motion investigation into any administrative action that appears to involve corrupt conduct.”
The result is that while IBAC can only investigate cases where there is clear and “serious” corruption, the Ombudsman is now prohibited by law from starting an investigation into anything that bears even a whiff of corruption of any kind. There’s a pretty big gap in between the two.
There is an argument that says this gap isn’t a problem, because IBAC will work as a clearing house for complaints and, once someone refers a matter to IBAC, IBAC can pass it to the Ombudsman, who can investigate matters involving corruption if they are referred to the Ombudsman by IBAC.
While this doesn’t address the fact that there will be many cases of misconduct or corrupt conduct that neither IBAC nor the Ombudsman will be allowed to proactively investigate (a fundamental feature of effective investigative bodies around the world), it at least means that no complaints will fall between the cracks, right? Not exactly.
Time is of the essence
Consider the case of MP Geoff Shaw and the allegations that he used his parliamentary vehicle for commercial use. The Ombudsman received a complaint about Shaw in June 2012, began an investigation and presented a report on the matter in around four months.

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Despite a report into the conduct of MP Geoff Shaw having been completed by the ombudsman last year, no action has been taken by the parliamentary privileges committee. AAP/Julian Smith
On that report’s recommendation, the matter was referred to the Victorian parliament’s Privileges Committee. It’s approaching 11 months since that recommendation and there’s still no finding from the committee, which now has its third chair after its first, Denis Napthine, became premier in March and its second, Andrew McIntosh, resigned his position in April after admitting to “unacceptable” conduct.
Suppose the Ombudsman’s office received a similar complaint today. Before investigating, it would have to first consider whether the matter “appears to involve corrupt conduct” and, if so, refer it to the IBAC. IBAC would then need to consider whether or not the case meets its high evidentiary threshold. If not, IBAC would refer the matter back to the Ombudsman.
So what’s the difference if the Ombudsman ultimately still gets to investigate the complaint? Such investigations often hinge on the extent to which events are still fresh in the minds of parties involved. Delays frustrate the chances of a proper and full investigation, making it less likely a report would compel further action.
Matters that can’t be reported, and the big fish that can get away
The idea of having the Ombudsman investigate matters referred to it by IBAC may be fine in principle, but in practice new restrictions on the Ombudsman’s powers introduced by the proscriptive amendments in late 2012 may create additional problems and frustrate investigation. For example, the Ombudsman is now prohibited from reporting on Cabinet information: this could include cabinet documents and even notes to ministers from advisers.
Similarly, in a parliamentary report released last in May on an investigation into alleged improper conduct by a registrar of the Magistrates' Court, the Ombudsman notes that such an investigation would be unlikely to be able to be reported (by any of Victoria’s integrity bodies) had the allegations been made under the current legislation. The ability to publicly report on such findings is fundamental to a transparent and effective integrity system.

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Victoria Police has had to deal with corruption its ranks in the past. AAP/Julian Smith
But forget about Magistrates' Court registrars and MPs with government cars. Victoria’s watchdogs would be able to tackle really big cases of corruption, wouldn’t they? If an investigation like recently concluded ICAC inquiry into the Obeid saga in NSW were required south of the border, for example? Not according to Stephen Charles, QC, who chaired the Victorian government’s advisory panel on IBAC. He feels the evidentiary requirements and related problems are such that it is unlikely that IBAC would be able to investigate even an allegation as serious as this.
Possible patches, but bigger problems
Small changes could help fill the gap between the kinds of cases each body can investigate, and reduce the prospect of the kinds of jurisdictional challenges that experts are concerned about.
For example, change the wording of the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission Act (2011) to state that the body must not commence (rather than conduct) investigation unless reasonably satisfied that serious corruption took place.
In addition, allow the Ombudsman to commence investigations or respond to any and all complaints except when the matter involves serious corruption (rather than prohibiting them from investigating unless they are sure it doesn’t involve serious corruption), with the requirement that if, in the conduct of an investigation, the Ombudsman becomes reasonably satisfied that serious corruption took place, they must then notify IBAC.
This would help avoid delays, allowing the Ombudsman to start investigating in response to complaints while notifying IBAC if and when appropriate, and having IBAC take over if and when it decides that it should do so. This would allow prompt and appropriate commencement of investigation, but would still ensure that matters were ultimately referred to the desired bodies (though it still wouldn’t address the absence of a definition of “serious” corruption, or the challenges in even trying to establish such a definition).
Even if changes like this were made, however, one of the remaining unanswered questions in the Ombudsman’s 2012 report is about a broader problem. That report warned that the restrictions on the independence of the Ombudsman’s office may render sections of the Victoria’s integrity unit unconstitutional (given that the office’s independence is constitutionally enshrined) - a concern which has not since been addressed and which is restated in yesterday’s annual report.
If the constitutionality of sections of this legislation can be challenged, that
9 May 2013, 9.32pm BST
Police corruption: we should focus on the ranks, not the rats

Police corruption: we should focus on the ranks, not the rats
A police officer meets someone in a bar, one thing leads to another and within a few weeks a relationship blossoms. The officer then discovers that the person’s brother is a known criminal. Or an officer…
AUTHOR
  1. RackMultipart20130915-10223-1yw1ocf.jpg
  2. Mike Pottenger
  3. Lecturer, Statistics & Political Economy at University of Melbourne
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Mike Pottenger does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.
width170_logo-1365118447.png
Provides funding as a Founding Partner of The Conversation.
unimelb.edu.au


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Victoria Police arrest a Hells Angels member. Links between bikies and police have come under intense scrutiny after a series of leaks from inside the police. AAP/Julian Smith
A police officer meets someone in a bar, one thing leads to another and within a few weeks a relationship blossoms. The officer then discovers that the person’s brother is a known criminal.
Or an officer befriends someone at their local gym only to learn, after a few weeks spotting each other in the weights room, that they’re a bikie.
Should he or she report the relationship even if it is not yet directly related to their duties as an officer? Should he or she have to?
Given the job we entrust them to do, any police officer can find themselves in a situation which, while perhaps initially innocent enough, exposes them to risks of being compromised and corrupted.
In March, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay warned that outlaw motorcycle gangs were cultivating relationships with officers. This week news broke that informant and police identities have been leaked to an outlaw motorcycle gang.
While the scale of this particular leak is huge, leaks in general are all too familiar. On AFL Grand Final weekend in 2003 football wasn’t the only game being played in Melbourne. That weekend, files on police informant Terrence Hodson disappeared from the St Kilda drug squad offices. Hodson and his wife were subsequently murdered at their home in May 2004.
Files on another informant vanished from the same office during the 1996 Boxing Day test. John Higgs (a founder of the Black Uhlans motorcycle gang) is alleged to have bribed an officer to steal them. Higgs, who has since been convicted for drug trafficking, boasted of being tipped off about being under investigation, and has been linked to other high-profile cases of alleged murderers and drug traffickers being tipped off.

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Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay has warned that infiltration of police by organised crime groups like bikies poses a huge risk. AAP/Julian Smith
John Silvester suggests the most recent leaks reveal that though “veteran squad men beaten down by the system and lazy ones who were never any good” have always engaged in corruption, we’re now facing “drug-using coppers who will sell out their mates at the first opportunity”. But to understand the nature of corruption, we must look beyond the officers themselves, to the system as a whole.
There will always be bad apples, no matter the barrel or orchard they come from. But officers don’t have to be rotten to the core to end up corrupt.
In the 1970s, the New York Knapp Commission distinguished between two kinds of corruption. “Meat-eating” referred to the deliberate exploitation of power on a large scale. “Grass-eating” referred to accepting minor bribes or engage in other acts of relatively petty corruption or misconduct. This second kind was often normalised and rationalised by the behaviour of other officers and the culture of the organisation as a justifiable perk of the job.
Grass-eaters can be just as much a problem for a police force as meat-eaters, particularly as the former often mature into the latter when given the opportunity and/or after becoming cynical and jaded (both tend to occur when policing intractable problems like the market for illegal narcotics).
There will always be pressures to engage in grass-eating and opportunities for meat-eating (and a tendency for one to grow into the other). When we ask officers to enforce the law, we are asking them to routinely put themselves in harm’s way, not just physically, but ethically, because simply putting on the uniform exposes police to the risks of being corrupted. The cultivation of inappropriate relationships between officers and organised criminals, whether deliberate or incidental, is one source of that risk.
Criminal organisations have natural motives to ingratiate themselves with police and gain leverage over them. A common trend is to start small with gifts such as free drinks or entry to bars and nightclubs - things that are easier for an officer to accept and rationalise.
Once a relationship is established, the officer may be inclined to accept what is presented as a mutually beneficial exchange, or even just do a friend a favour. An officer may also, however, be put in a position where refusal is difficult, if not impossible. In either scenario, the integrity of the officer is compromised, and the consequences can be severe.
While leaks are just one possible outcome of inappropriate relationships (and the reasons for leaking are varied and complex) the results are clear. In the case of Hodson and in cases linked to Higgs, people lost their lives.

yksyyggz-1368079343.jpg
Murdered drug kingpin Carl Williams is alleged to have had relationships with corrupt police. AAP/Shaney Balcombe
Chief Commissioner Lay is not overstating the problem when he describes the leaks as “one of the most serious types of corruption that could occur”. Leaks do lasting damage not just to individuals, but to the integrity and operational security of the whole organisation.
Unfortunately, corruption is not a problem that can ever be solved, but rather a threat that must be persistently fought. A focus on the risk of and opportunities for corruption to occur is fundamental.
In any workplace, an employer should protect employees exposed to toxic environments. In any organisation, employees have a responsibility to declare potential conflicts of interest.
Officers are already required to declare conflicts of interest when they arise (for example, if they are called to act on a matter involving someone with whom they have an association that may jeopardise their impartiality), and in some cases to formally register those conflicts of interest.
Can requiring officers to formally disclose any associations with criminals as potentially compromising relationships protect both the officer and the organisation as a whole from the risk of corruption?
Such a procedure can help the many officers of good integrity disclose the reasons for and context of such associations, insuring themselves against unwarranted suspicion.
It can also provide police with information on patterns of behaviour from officers at risk, better allowing the organisation to understand the way corrupting relationships develop and to protect their officers from it.
31 July 2013, 5.38am BST
It’s the (illegal) economy, stupid: the ACC on organised crime

kwxdn92p-1375244030.jpg
Organised crime is a ‘market’ for illicit goods and services just as any other market, and should be treated as such, according to a new ACC report. AAP/Paul Miller
We all know how organised crime works, right?
Form a shadowy group (think the Japanese Yakuza, the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, the Sinaloa Cartel, an outlaw motorcycle gang - take your pick), preferably one shrouded in secrecy and ritual. Then, establish a reputation for violence and use it to become the underworld’s one-stop shop for something illegal (drugs or extortion are popular choices).
Only that’s not how organised crime works. At least, not entirely. That’s not how it has worked for some time now.
The release yesterday of the Australian Crime Commission’s (ACC) report on organised crime in Australia signals an important shift in the way the ACC explains and presents the problem to the Australian public. It highlights the role of individual entrepreneurs in meeting demand in international markets for illegal goods and services.
Make no mistake about it - criminal organisations are very real. But increasingly, “organised” criminal activity is being organised not by structured hierarchies with mythical codes of honour and silence, but rather by that supposedly most efficient of allocation mechanisms - the market.
Focusing on illegal markets
Think about the effects of global economic integration on legal economic activity in the modern era. Instead of one single company producing something, the production process becomes spread across different companies and countries. Individuals and groups specialise in parts of the supply chain. Intermediaries broker deals between parties in that supply chain. Those same patterns can be observed in illegal markets.
Wholesaler-retailer relationships are common, as with the Sicilian Mafia and Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta acting as distributors of Colombian cocaine. There are many examples of sub-contracting: groups with an established expertise in violence offer their services to other organisations: see, for example, Russian Mafiya groups forged in the tumultuous post-Soviet period. Third-party services to facilitate transactions are also well-known: if you’re negotiating with another gang, a third party can take hostages from each of you to reduce the risk of reneging.
The prominence of large bureaucratic criminal structures varies in different industries. In some, like human trafficking across Europe, you can see networks of individuals and small groups are connected by little more than a profit motive. Business is business, and the broad trends in the way we chase profits are the same regardless of whether someone makes a law against the product you’re selling.
The essence of the ACC’s report is that rather than targeting a specific organisation or industry, we need to think about the factors that help facilitate illegal markets: what the ACC refers to as enablers. Two good examples of such enablers are corruption and technology.
Why corruption and organised crime go hand-in-hand
The ACC’s last report on organised crime from 2011 contained just six brief mentions of corruption. Yesterday’s report focuses more directly on corruption as a major factor enabling illegal markets and organised crime, and rightly so.
Operating in an illegal market for a prolonged period of time requires being able to protect yourself from the authorities tasked with finding and prosecuting you. If you can’t protect yourself, you need to buy that protection from someone else. Otherwise, you go out of business.
The most direct and common way that those involved in criminal enterprise insure against being caught is to corrupt a public official. This is old news, and criminal organisations have long had an incentive to do this. As production chains in illegal markets become atomised, however - and demand for illegal goods and services is met not by one group, but by looser coalitions of smaller groups and individuals - then access to corrupt or corruptible public officials becomes a commodity in itself.
Those with the right contacts can specialise in producing protection for others - selling information that can be used to avoid investigation and prosecution. When you read news about outlaw motorcycle gangs allegedly corrupting or infiltrating police ranks, this doesn’t just mean that bikies have access to information, it means they’re able to sell it on to others. In the modern illegal economy, corruption (or more specifically, corrupt protection) can be considered a fundamental market in the production of almost any other illegal good or service.
Technological progress and productivity in illegal markets
Just as advances in communications and computer technology have provided substantial improvements for business and individuals engaged in legitimate economic activity, so too have they provided benefits for criminal enterprise.
Until recently, when Apple improved the iPhone’s encryption technology, it was often the case that if you worked for a big company and were given a company phone, it’d be a Blackberry. The encryption technology used in RIM’s Blackberry made it a popular choice because of the additional security it provided for users.
This security also gave rise to a new phenomenon: bikies with Blackberries. Using encrypted phones made it easier for Canadian outlaw motorcycle gangs to coordinate cannabis trafficking into the US because it was harder for law enforcement to spy on their communication. Bikies in Australia have found the Blackberry popular for the same reason.

kynyk56q-1375243231.jpg
ACC head John Lawler at the launch of yesterday’s report into organised crime, which may mark a turning point for how it is presented to the wider public. AAP/Dan Peled
Online fraud has also become an increasingly lucrative industry owing to the economies of scale involved. Spam a few hundred thousand email accounts, and even if you only have a success rate of 1-2%, there’s money to be made. As the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s report on scam activity in 2012 makes clear, the success rates are often much higher than this.
Another example of the way technology helps bring together disparate groups and individuals in illegal markets for pharmaceuticals (identified by the ACC as a growing problem). Through websites like Silk Road, consumers of illegal drugs can now order products online and take delivery at home. Of course, as in all illegal markets, you might not always get what you pay for.
The supply side is an even better example of the role of technology. In the grey and black markets for pharmaceuticals, real drugs that go missing from factories end up in the warehouses of illegitimate online pharmacies. They are then advertised to consumers via spam sent to mailing lists which are purchased online from hackers who have hacked company databases for contact details: for instance, when Sony was hacked in 2011 and over 24 million accounts were compromised.
Focus on the market, not the mob
The reframing of the problem of the ACC in yesterday’s report may seem like a minor issue, or a matter of rhetoric. It is not.
In the modern era, combating organised crime and corruption is as much about understanding the nature of the supply and demand for the goods and services being traded, and learning about the structure of those industries, as it is about targeting specific notorious criminal groups.
31 July 2013, 5.38am BST
It’s the (illegal) economy, stupid: the ACC on organised crime
kwxdn92p-1375244030.jpg
Organised crime is a ‘market’ for illicit goods and services just as any other market, and should be treated as such, according to a new ACC report. AAP/Paul Miller
We all know how organised crime works, right?
Form a shadowy group (think the Japanese Yakuza, the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, the Sinaloa Cartel, an outlaw motorcycle gang - take your pick), preferably one shrouded in secrecy and ritual. Then, establish a reputation for violence and use it to become the underworld’s one-stop shop for something illegal (drugs or extortion are popular choices).
Only that’s not how organised crime works. At least, not entirely. That’s not how it has worked for some time now.
The release yesterday of the Australian Crime Commission’s (ACC) report on organised crime in Australia signals an important shift in the way the ACC explains and presents the problem to the Australian public. It highlights the role of individual entrepreneurs in meeting demand in international markets for illegal goods and services.
Make no mistake about it - criminal organisations are very real. But increasingly, “organised” criminal activity is being organised not by structured hierarchies with mythical codes of honour and silence, but rather by that supposedly most efficient of allocation mechanisms - the market.
Focusing on illegal markets
Think about the effects of global economic integration on legal economic activity in the modern era. Instead of one single company producing something, the production process becomes spread across different companies and countries. Individuals and groups specialise in parts of the supply chain. Intermediaries broker deals between parties in that supply chain. Those same patterns can be observed in illegal markets.
Wholesaler-retailer relationships are common, as with the Sicilian Mafia and Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta acting as distributors of Colombian cocaine. There are many examples of sub-contracting: groups with an established expertise in violence offer their services to other organisations: see, for example, Russian Mafiya groups forged in the tumultuous post-Soviet period. Third-party services to facilitate transactions are also well-known: if you’re negotiating with another gang, a third party can take hostages from each of you to reduce the risk of reneging.
The prominence of large bureaucratic criminal structures varies in different industries. In some, like human trafficking across Europe, you can see networks of individuals and small groups are connected by little more than a profit motive. Business is business, and the broad trends in the way we chase profits are the same regardless of whether someone makes a law against the product you’re selling.
The essence of the ACC’s report is that rather than targeting a specific organisation or industry, we need to think about the factors that help facilitate illegal markets: what the ACC refers to as enablers. Two good examples of such enablers are corruption and technology.
Why corruption and organised crime go hand-in-hand
The ACC’s last report on organised crime from 2011 contained just six brief mentions of corruption. Yesterday’s report focuses more directly on corruption as a major factor enabling illegal markets and organised crime, and rightly so.
Operating in an illegal market for a prolonged period of time requires being able to protect yourself from the authorities tasked with finding and prosecuting you. If you can’t protect yourself, you need to buy that protection from someone else. Otherwise, you go out of business.
The most direct and common way that those involved in criminal enterprise insure against being caught is to corrupt a public official. This is old news, and criminal organisations have long had an incentive to do this. As production chains in illegal markets become atomised, however - and demand for illegal goods and services is met not by one group, but by looser coalitions of smaller groups and individuals - then access to corrupt or corruptible public officials becomes a commodity in itself.
Those with the right contacts can specialise in producing protection for others - selling information that can be used to avoid investigation and prosecution. When you read news about outlaw motorcycle gangs allegedly corrupting or infiltrating police ranks, this doesn’t just mean that bikies have access to information, it means they’re able to sell it on to others. In the modern illegal economy, corruption (or more specifically, corrupt protection) can be considered a fundamental market in the production of almost any other illegal good or service.
Technological progress and productivity in illegal markets
Just as advances in communications and computer technology have provided substantial improvements for business and individuals engaged in legitimate economic activity, so too have they provided benefits for criminal enterprise.
Until recently, when Apple improved the iPhone’s encryption technology, it was often the case that if you worked for a big company and were given a company phone, it’d be a Blackberry. The encryption technology used in RIM’s Blackberry made it a popular choice because of the additional security it provided for users.
This security also gave rise to a new phenomenon: bikies with Blackberries. Using encrypted phones made it easier for Canadian outlaw motorcycle gangs to coordinate cannabis trafficking into the US because it was harder for law enforcement to spy on their communication. Bikies in Australia have found the Blackberry popular for the same reason.
kynyk56q-1375243231.jpg
ACC head John Lawler at the launch of yesterday’s report into organised crime, which may mark a turning point for how it is presented to the wider public. AAP/Dan Peled
Online fraud has also become an increasingly lucrative industry owing to the economies of scale involved. Spam a few hundred thousand email accounts, and even if you only have a success rate of 1-2%, there’s money to be made. As the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s report on scam activity in 2012 makes clear, the success rates are often much higher than this.
Another example of the way technology helps bring together disparate groups and individuals in illegal markets for pharmaceuticals (identified by the ACC as a growing problem). Through websites like Silk Road, consumers of illegal drugs can now order products online and take delivery at home. Of course, as in all illegal markets, you might not always get what you pay for.
The supply side is an even better example of the role of technology. In the grey and black markets for pharmaceuticals, real drugs that go missing from factories end up in the warehouses of illegitimate online pharmacies. They are then advertised to consumers via spam sent to mailing lists which are purchased online from hackers who have hacked company databases for contact details: for instance, when Sony was hacked in 2011 and over 24 million accounts were compromised.
Focus on the market, not the mob
The reframing of the problem of the ACC in yesterday’s report may seem like a minor issue, or a matter of rhetoric. It is not.
In the modern era, combating organised crime and corruption is as much about understanding the nature of the supply and demand for the goods and services being traded, and learning about the structure of those industries, as it is about targeting specific notorious criminal groups.
ARTICLES ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR




 
The Perth Mint Swindle- The Movie Part One

 
The Perth Mint Swindle- The Movie Part Two

 
The Perth Mint Swindle- The Movie Part Three





 
The Perth Mint Swindle- The Movie Part Four

 


The Perth Mint Swindle- The Movie Part FIVE

 

The Perth Mint Swindle- The Movie Part Six


 
The Perth Mint Swindle- The Movie Part NINE

 
The Perth Mint Swindle- The Movie Part Five

more Perth Mint Swindle videos below on this page

 
Court rejects Appeal On Perth Mint Swindle
Friday 3rd November 1989
By Edmund Doogue, Perth Western Australia
The Age Newspaper
 
Raymond, left, and Peter Mickelberg ... protested they were "stitched up" with fake confessions and evidence.
 
 
Court rejects Appeal On Perth Mint Swindle
Friday 3rd November 1989
By Edmund Doogue, Perth Western Australia
The Age newspaper#
 
Raymond, left, and Peter Mickelberg ... protested they were "stitched up" with fake confessions and evidence.
 
 
The Western Australian police commissioner, mr Brian Bull, last night defended police under investigation for their part in the arrest and conviction of the three Mickleberg brothers for the 1982 Perth Mint swindle in which 2185 ounces odf gold were brought with forged cheques for $653,000.
Mr Bull said yesterday’sa unanimous rejection by the Court of Criminal Appeal of an appeal by Peter Mickleberg “totally vindicates the actions of the police in their investigation into the Perth Mint Swindle”.
Mickleberg had appealed against his conviction and 14-year jail term for the swindle.
 Mickleberg and his two brothers, Raym,ond and Brian, were jailed for a total of 48 years in 1983 for the swindle. Brian Mickleberg was later aquited on appeal and his tweo brothers have continued, form jail, to protest their innocence.
 
 
 
The Western Australian police commissioner, Mr Brian Bull, last night defended police under investigation for their part in the arrest and conviction of the three Mickleberg brothers for the 1982 Perth Mint swindle in which 2185 ounces of gold were brought with forged cheques for $653,000.
Mr Bull said yesterday’s  unanimous rejection by the Court of Criminal Appeal of an appeal by Peter Mickleberg “totally vindicates the actions of the police in their investigation into the Perth Mint Swindle”. Mickleberg had appealed against his conviction and 14-year jail term for the swindle.
 Mickleberg and his two brothers, Raym,ond and Brian, were jailed for a total of 48 years in 1983 for the swindle. Brian Mickleberg was later aquited on appeal and his tweo brothers have continued, form jail, to protest their innocence.
 
Late yesterday, Perth police were still unable to confirm whether 55 kiolgrams of gold pellets left in the grounds of a Perth television station on Tuesday morning were part of the haul from the Perth Mint Swindle. Te gold pellets and a gold ingot sent to the television station (Channel 7)  in July, 1989 were accompanies by anonymous letters claiming that the Micklebergs were innocent and that a Perth businessman was behind the daring crime.
Peter Mickleberg, who had been released on bail last week pending the result of his appeal, was taken into custody against after yesterday’s decision was handed down.
Mr Lawton said the only legal action open now was a second approach to the High Court of Australia.  Peter Mickleberg was yet to decide whether to adopt the plan suggested by his lawyer Mr Lawton….Mr Lawton said.
Mr Brian Bull, (the Western Australian Police Commissioner – effectively appointed behind the scenes by Catholic Mafia Boss Sam Franchina and his strong political, legal and business connections in Western Australa) said: “ Numerous very serious allegations against individual police officers, witnesses and members of the public have been made during the period by the Mickleberg brothers and some of their supporters…”
“… All of those allegations have either been later abandoned by them or have not withstood judicial scrutiny by the Court of Criminal Appeal or the High Court of Australia…”
But police said last night that an internal police inquiry into the squad responsible for the arrest of the Mickleberg brothers would go ahead as part of a wide ranging investigation into the discovery of the gold last week..


Neddy Smith drama for ABC

 

Blue Murder Sydney Australia Part One

Blue Murder (miniseries)


http://www.australiantelevision.net/bm/articles.html

Neddy Smith drama for ABC

 

 

CAREER criminal Neddy Smith has been given the green light to save struggling ABC boss Jonathan Shier.

The Director of Public Prosecutions last night cleared the way for the network to screen its award-winning mini-series Blue Murder in NSW, by no billing an indictment against Smith, 56, for the murder of drug dealer Lewton Shu in 1983.

The decision comes in the nick of time for the ABC with OzTAM figures showing the network has hit rock bottom under Mr Shier.

Blue Murder is based on the exploits of corrupt NSW police and criminals during the '80s.

It stars Tony Martin as Neddy Smith, Gary Sweet as hit man Christopher Dale Flannery and Richard Roxburgh as Roger Rogerson. Since 1995 it has screened in all other Australian states twice, but it could not be shown in NSW because of the charges outstanding against Smith.

According to the ABC, pirate videotapes of the series have been in hot demand around Sydney. Critics consider it one of the best programs ever screened on Australian television.

The head of publicity at the ABC said the program would be scheduled nationally and probably would not go to air for another six weeks.

The decision by the DPP means little to Smith who is serving life for murdering brothel owner Harvey Jones in 1983.

It was the only conviction to arise out of seven murder charges against Smith after a cellmate secretly recorded their conversations and went to the police.

By Peter Lalor And Anthony Peterson
Daily Telegraph
July 13, 2001

Blue Murder: Media Release

AT LAST… 

 

THE STORY NSW AND THE ACT WAS NEVER ALLOWED TO SEE!


BLUE MURDER

 

The most controversial drama series ever made in Australia, BLUE MURDER, will finally screen in NSW and the ACT six years after it was prevented from broadcast. The two part series will begin Tuesday 31 July at 9.30pm, concluding Wednesday 1 August at 9.30pm.

The highly acclaimed drama that delves into corruption in the NSW police force and crime underworld of the 80's, was legally embargoed from screening in NSW and the ACT because underworld identity Neddy Smith, one of the key characters in the series, was charged with seven counts of murder just before the program was due to be broadcast in 1995.

Earlier this month, the Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to prosecute Neddy Smith for the murder of Lewton Shu, clearing the way for the first ever screening of BLUE MURDER in NSW and the ACT.

In all other States and Territories, the BBC drama CARE will screen at the same time.

BLUE MURDER begins with Sydney criminal Neddy Smith's activities in the late 1970's, charting his gradual acceptance into a circle of corrupt police officers led by top cop Rogerson and culminates with the shooting of policeman Michael Drury and the crumbling of Rogerson's empire in the late 80's. The series features an outstanding cast including Richard Roxburgh as Dt Sgt Roger Rogerson, Tony Martin as Needy Smith and Steve Bastoni as Michael Drury, with Gary Sweet, Alex Dimitriades, Peter Phelps, Marcus Graham and Bill Hunter.

BLUE MURDER is an ABC / Southern Star Entertainment Production. Written by Ian David. Directed by Michael Jenkins. Produced by Rod Allan.

BLUE MURDER (NSW AND ACT ONLY)
Screens Tuesday 31 July and Wednesday 1 August at 9.30pm

ABC Media Release
Thursday 26 July 2001

 

Blue Murder hits ABC next week

The award-winning drama series Blue Murder, which colourfully re-creates Sydney's 1980s underworld, will screen on television in NSW for the first time next week.

The ABC's legal and scheduling departments finally gave Blue Murder the green light to be screened here and in the ACT yesterday, six years after it was shown in the rest of Australia.

Featuring Tony Martin as notorious criminal Neddy Smith and Richard Roxburgh as infamous detective-sergeant Roger Rogerson, it will air in two parts at 9.30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Already widely viewed on bootleg copies by police, lawyers, criminals and anyone else interested in such fare, the program is still expected to be a ratings success for the ABC.

Blue Murder was pulled from screening in NSW in 1995 when Smith was charged with seven 1980s murders, all of which have now been dealt with by courts.

Four of those murder charges were dropped at committal, one led to conviction at trial, one was "no billed" by the Director of Public Prosecutions earlier this month and one, that of Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, ended in acquittal by jury.

Despite that verdict, Blue Murder will still go to air with a scene in which Smith kills Huckstepp.

The first part of the series features Smith being awarded a "green light" to commit crimes by police grateful for Smith's favourable evidence at the inquest into the death of drug dealer Warren Lanfranchi, whom Rogerson shot in 1981.

It culminates with the shooting of drug squad detective Michael Drury by hitman Chris Flannery, in a conspiracy involving Melbourne drug dealer Alan Williams and Rogerson, who in real-life was cleared of involvement. The second part follows the flawed investigation into Drury's shooting, Flannery's and Huckstepp's murders, Rogerson's career downfall and Smith's descent to prison, where he has remained since.

By Stephen Gibbs
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday, July 26, 2001




ABC rushes Blue Murder

THE ABC's controversial award-winning miniseries Blue Murder about Sydney's underworld will be shown nearly a month ahead of schedule in NSW next week.

The program was due to air in late August but an ABC spokeswoman said the threat of legal action forced the network to screen it early.

"We have to move quickly to screen it because there may be charges pending against some other well-known people portrayed in the show which might stop us from screening it," she said.

"We've been given a small window of opportunity and our lawyers have given us clearance to screen it, but we have to do it quickly."

The 1995 production, which has been shown twice in all states except NSW, dramatises police corruption and underworld activities in the 1980s. It could not be shown in NSW because of outstanding charges against Neddy Smith, who is serving a life sentence for murdering brothel owner Harvey Jones in 1983.

Two weeks ago the Director of Public Prosecutions cleared the way for the series to be screened in NSW by no-billing an indictment against Smith, 56, for the murder of drug dealer Lewton Shu in 1983.

Based on Smith's autobiography and the book Line of Fire about the 1984 shooting of drug squad cop Michael Drury, Blue Murder depicts various underworld killings.

It stars Tony Martin as Neddy Smith, Gary Sweet as hit man Christopher Dale Flannery and Richard Roxburgh as Roger Rogerson.

* Blue Murder airs on the ABC next Tuesday and Wednesday at 9.30pm




Better late than never

As Blue Murder gets the all-clear to screen in NSW, Tony Davis takes a personal look at the events covered in the controversial drama.

It is truly odd that one of the best pieces of television drama ever produced in Australia has never screened in NSW, the country's most populous State and the one in which 90 per cent of the story is set. But that's the case with Blue Murder, winner of multiple AFI awards, which screened in the rest of the country in 1995. Now, following a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions not to pursue Neddy Smith over a 1983 murder, the ABC will air the miniseries over two nights, from Tuesday.

Those who have not managed to beg, borrow or otherwise obtain an interstate video of Blue Murder during the past six years should get ready for an absolutely compelling re-creation of real-life events from the early 1980s.

With brilliant and appalling ferocity, Blue Murder recalls an era unlike any other in Australian criminal history, one in which certain police and crooks formed a partnership to more effectively commit crimes that at least one side of the equation was meant to prevent.

Blue Murder is a masterful piece of scripting, direction and acting. Rapid-fire conversations overlap while cameras follow the action in documentary-style, always giving you the sense you are moving among real and dangerous people rather than having scripted lines delivered to you.

Some of the greatest names of the Sydney underworld are portrayed: Christopher Dale Flannery, the hitman known as Rent-a-kill; Warren Lanfranchi, the heroin dealer who preferred a baseball bat to a well-structured argument when it came to financial negotiations; Lanfranchi's girlfriend, the glamorous and screwed-up Sallie-Anne Huckstepp; and above all others, Neddy and The Dodger.

Neddy was Arthur Stanley Smith, the drug dealer and armed-hold-up specialist given the green light by certain police to commit any crime (except murdering police), as long as he shared the proceeds. Neddy left bank robberies in police cars, while the cops up front radioed headquarters to say they'd lost the trail of the suspects.

The Dodger was Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson, whose name will forever be prefixed by the words "disgraced" and "former". He became a household name in the early 1980s after winning a supposed OK-Corral-style shootout with Warren Lanfranchi in a Chippendale lane.

Generally less mentioned in this whole story but equally important—from this writer's point of view, at least—is me.

Blue Murder, which I watched in one breathless sitting, took me back to Glebe Coroner's Court in 1981 where, as a second-year newspaper cadet, I spent day after day with many of the "cast", sitting just a few steps away from Rogerson, Huckstepp and others, watching their every movement, reporting on each word said.

I was 20 years old. There are a lot of things I was at 20 that I am glad I am not now. Gullible is one of them. Sure, one senior policeman might play with the truth, I thought. But not two, or three, or four… and surely entire events and interviews wouldn't be invented from scratch.

It seemed so clear cut: Detective Sergeant Rogerson was a policeman with bravery commendations and Lanfranchi was a drug dealer. Officer after officer supported the story that Lanfranchi had pulled a gun first. OK, there were no fingerprints on the butt, but police forensic experts said that was not unusual.

Later revelations would change public perceptions of the NSW Police Force. Back then there still was a general sense that even when the police occasionally bent the rules, they were still operating in our best interests.

Anyway, during the Lanfranchi trial the other side overplayed its hand. During the court breaks, a cavalcade of interested parties came to the little windowless press room or stopped me in the corridor to explain that senior police controlled the State's entire heroin trade, had committed bashings, murders and more besides; that Rogerson, in spite of his modest income, leased a Lamborghini.

It seemed too far-fetched to be true, and later events showed it wasn't true. It was a Bentley, for example, and Rogerson owned rather than leased it.

I was reporting for the News Limited newspapers: The Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph and The Australian. My court-reporting training had consisted of being shown around Glebe Coroner's Court by the cadet I replaced, and of me asking as many questions as would be tolerated by the other permanent press-room fixture—a young reporter from Fairfax's late and unlamented The Sun.

Being a newspaper cadet in the blokey, beer-soaked atmosphere of early 1980s journalism is the sort of thing you are glad to have done, but would never do again. I spent several months as a graveyard-shift ambulance-chaser and remember it as a time of fires, car crashes, deathknocks and bullet-ventilated bodies face-down in parks.

Some of those bodies, we later learned, belonged to people who had been in the orbit of Lanfranchi, Smith and Rogerson, but for me at the time there was never a sense that any of the criminal goings-on I saw each week were likely to endanger average punters—or involved the police.

There was great camaraderie on police rounds. Senior journos drank with influential cops or chatted about wives and kids while the warehouse fire blazed or Police Rescue unwrapped the car from the pole. Some old-hand reporters could get traffic fines pulled and more. Rogerson received a bouquet of "hero" stories the morning after the Lanfranchi shooting.

The situation served the press and the police well. The only people who lost out were the public.

Glebe Coroner's Court, where I was stationed for several months, was directly above the morgue. A rather strange employee, who kept his lunch in the cold room, delighted in taking young reporters through his domain, leading the way through a field of unclad corpses on steel trolleys parked in neat rows, or through the autopsy rooms where cadavers were being pulled to pieces. "This is a motorcycle accident and this is a drowning," he would explain, but his favourite show-and-tells were the ones in the freezer drawers, the often butchered or burnt corpses being kept as evidence. Warren Lanfranchi's was among these, deteriorating and blighted with some sort of fungus.

Lanfranchi was not much older than I was. His world couldn't have been more different and, as evidence came out, it showed beyond doubt there were two completely separate Sydneys existing at the same time with very little interaction between them.

Blue Murder authentically depicts the amazing things that were happening in unremarkable-looking pubs and restaurants around Glebe, Surry Hills and Chinatown. They were places I had walked past hundreds of times with scarcely a thought that there might be a bashing in progress, a hit being organised, the proceeds of a job being split or police and crims drunkenly engaging in a target-shooting contest in the basement.

Blue Murder does not judge. It merely presents a well-informed view of what happened, and, in showing the charisma, bravery and brutality of Neddy and The Dodger, helps explain the control this unlikely partnership established.

If there's proof of a good historical re-enactment, it's when you become so involved with the characters they become fixed in your mind as the real people. When I see actual footage of Neddy or the Dodger, they don't look quite right—yet when, say, Tony Martin turns up on screen I immediately think of Neddy Smith and even shiver a little.

Writing this story made me go back and look for my old newspaper clippings. The court stories I covered—the Lanfranchi shooting, the Harry M. Miller fraud trial, the notorious severed-head-and-fingers murder of Kim Barry in Wollongong and others—were filed by phone in great haste during adjournments. They became littered with typos and literals as they were quickly shunted through copytakers, sub-editors working with pencils, then compositors shaping the words mirror-wise in hot metal.

Anyone who thinks media standards are slipping ought to search out newspapers from that era and compare. And anyone who harks back to the good old days when the streets were safe and the cops were on our side should watch Blue Murder.

Sydney Morning Herald
Monday, July 30, 2001




The who's who of Blue Murder

Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson

Once considered among the local constabulary's finest, "The Dodger" was brave enough to stare down the likes of Christopher Dale Flannery and Neddy Smith. Rogerson cultivated friends and allies in high and low places and was ruthless in the way he did business. He shot Warren Lanfranchi in a narrow lane in 1981—supposedly after Lanfranchi drew a gun on him—and watched his empire crash down soon afterwards. Played beautifully by Richard Roxburgh.

Currently A free man (acquitted of conspiring to murder Michael Drury, he served three years in the '90s for conspiring to pervert the course of justice), although the Police Integrity Commission recommended this year he be criminally charged on three counts.

Arthur Stanley "Neddy" Smith

The dangerous and highly intelligent crook with a heart of venom. His frightening autobiography, Neddy, illustrates a man operating on a completely different moral code to the rest of us (though, alas, on the same moral code as several powerful NSW policemen). Tony Martin delivers with chilling authenticity.

Currently Serving a life sentence for murder and suffering from Parkinson's disease. He was acquitted in 1999 of the murder of Sallie-Anne Huckstepp.

Michael Drury

The cop who claimed he wouldn't take a bribe from Rogerson and almost paid for it with his life. Steve Bastoni interviewed Michael Drury to get the role right, and plays him with enough ambiguity to ensure he is not a cliched hero. Bizarrely, Michael Drury and wife Pam came on set to see the scene in which Drury is shot in his Chatswood home.

Currently Retired from the NSW Police Force last year.

Christopher Dale Flannery

The wild hitman known as Rent-a-kill. The unlikely casting of Gary Sweet is a triumph and Blue Murder leaves no doubt about Flannery's much-discussed fate.

Currently Believed dead.

Warren Lanfranchi

Petty crim and drug dealer, shot by Rogerson. It was claimed by Lanfranchi's family he had $10,000 on his person at the time of the shooting. It was not there when the body arrived at the morgue. The Blue Murder account is very different to the one Rogerson detailed under oath. A 21-year-old Alex Dimitriades does the honours.

Currently Dead.

Sallie-Anne Huckstepp

Prostitute, drug addict and girlfriend of heroin dealer Warren Lanfranchi—yet glamorous enough to captivate television cameras and become a household name with her allegations about Rogerson. Before playing the role, Loene Carmen interviewed Huckstepp's daughter, Sasha, who herself turns up as a nurse in Blue Murder.

Currently Dead.

Ian David

The writer of Police Crop, Joh's Jury and other classy TV dramas, David based his Blue Murder script on In the Line of Fire (the story of Michael Drury by Herald journalist Darren Goodsir) and Neddy, by Neddy Smith with Tom Noble. He also met Smith, conducted hundreds of other interviews and suffered real-life threats and burglaries while working on the project.

Currently President of the Screen Writers' Guild; developing a miniseries about the Ivan Milat backpacker murders.

Michael Jenkins

The director of Blue Murder, Jenkins also worked on the controversial '80s miniseries Scales of Justice.

Currently Working on Young Lions, a drama pilot for Nine, and developing a film on the life of Ned Kelly.

Blue Murder screens on the ABC on Tuesday and Wednesday night at 9.30pm.




Real-life drama in TV classic

WHEN Blue Murder screens tonight, NSW viewers will finally be able to make up their own minds on what is fact or just good television.

While the truth may never be known, Blue Murder writer Ian David yesterday admitted he had received threatening phone-calls, had his home broken into and heavy criticism from some of the people portrayed in the confronting drama.

The events depicted in Blue Murder are based on Neddy Smith's autobiography and journalist Darren Goodsir's In the Line of Fire, as well as David's own research and interviews.

But the writer said while the events were necessarily dramatised, he stood by his work saying it was as close to reality as he could make it.

"It was the best we could do for the time," he said.

"When I look back on it I'm quite pleased that it still stands up."

The series centres on the infamous shootings of drug dealer Warren Lanfranchi by detective Roger Rogerson in Dangar Place, Chippendale. It also deals with the shooting of policeman Michael Drury at his home–allegedly by missing hitman Christopher Dale Flannery.

Other incidents shown include Neddy Smith killing Lanfranchi's prostitute girlfriend Sallie-Anne Huckstepp–a murder for which he was later acquitted.

David said he would watch the show with director Michael Jenkins and actor Tony Martin, who portrayed Smith, over a few beers.

The actor on whom the production relies most, Richard Roxburgh, yesterday was filming a movie in London but said his chief fear after playing the role was the reaction of his real life character Roger Rogerson.

While Rogerson, who watched part of the TV show during a 60 Minutes interview, has always maintained he shot Lanfranchi in self-defence, the former detective sergeant is said to have liked Roxburgh's portrayal–apart from his smoking and piano playing.

"It was a very weird hall of mirrors experience as I watched Roger watching me being him," Roxburgh said.

But another of the four former police officers who witnessed the shooting in Dangar Place was yesterday not so forgiving of any dramatic licence.

Retired Detective Sergeant Rodney Moore was driving his white Volvo only metres from Rogerson when he saw the 1981 shooting.

Mr Moore, now working as a labourer, said that while Blue Murder was good entertainment, he was angry at the depiction of the character Mal Rivers.

"They have got this 'Mal Rivers' taking money out of Lanfranchi's strides," he said. "This is just absolute rubbish. What happened was what was in the coroner's court. Lanfranchi pulled out a gun and Rogerson shot him."

July 31, 2001
Daily Telegraph




ABC drama a killer in the ratings

Six years after it was made, Blue Murder has been a triumph for the ABC. On Tuesday night it averaged 379,000 viewers in Sydney. It had been shown in other Australian cities years ago, but legal cases involving the key characters delayed its presentation in its state of origin.

An audience of 379,000, as measured by OzTAM, may not sound huge compared to the 800,000 who watched Thorpie winning gold medals last week, but let's put it in context. Sydney people, in common with the rest of Australia, tend to go to bed early, so it's rare for any program starting at 9.30pm to attract more than 300,000 viewers.

Channel Ten's much publicised youth drama, The Secret Life of Us, which screens at 9.30pm on Mondays, scored 251,000 viewers this week, while Nine's Sex and the City, showing at the same time, scored 310,000. The critically acclaimed The West Wing, which showed at 10.30 on Tuesday night, attracted 150,000.

Blue Murder did surprisingly well with what TV programmers call the "youth demographic", who would have been at primary school when the events in the show happened. About 129,000 Blue Murder viewers were aged between 16 and 39 (while the usual youth favourite, Rove Live on Ten, attracted 143,000 groovers).

Normally the ABC's most watched program of the week is The Bill, which attracted 381,000 Sydney viewers on Tuesday—considerably more than its usual 320,000. This suggests Blue Murder encouraged some eager viewers to tune in early. Perhaps the ABC should show it every night.

By David Dale
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday, August 2, 2001




Almost all the chilling truth

Is Blue Murder an accurate portrayal of events? Or is it racy fiction wrapped around a thin skeleton of facts to make electrifying television? Or a bit of both?

There are doubts about the show's claim of being a true representation of the police and underworld wars. Such reservations are understandable, given the brazen, nonchalant way in which corrupt deals and killings are presented.

But not only are the scenes believable, they are, in more than 90 per cent of the cases, chillingly accurate. And that's what makes Blue Murder all the more terrifying.

Screenwriter Ian David researched the story extensively and interviewed some of the players. He also blended truthfully the themes raised in the two books that provided the platform for the production. So intent was he on accuracy that many scenes were filmed where they took place.

For instance, undercover policeman Michael Drury's shooting was filmed in the home where the event occurred. Roger Rogerson's barbecue with Neddy Smith and other mates was filmed in the real Rogerson's former backyard in Condell Park, and drug dealer Warren Lanfranchi is shot in the Chippendale laneway where the real Lanfranchi was shot.

But for pedants, there are some issues worthy of debate.

Smith is shown murdering Sallie-Anne Huckstepp but he has been acquitted of this crime. He is shown throwing solicitor Brian Alexander off a boat, but he has never been convicted of it.

It is highly unlikely that Smith, or any of Rogerson's colleagues, were privy to the talks about the attempted killing of Drury. And Rogerson never smoked cigarettes.

There are other small errors, but given the body of work that is assembled, and the multitude of events canvassed, they are minor.

However, on the flipside, Smith did confront CIB chief Noel Morey at Morey's boozy farewell, but perhaps not in the manner depicted; Smith did accompany Rogerson to many police functions; and hitman Christopher Dale Flannery visited hospital to see if he could "finish the job" after failing to kill Drury.

Another feature that has intrigued some viewers is the matter-of-fact way in which Drury reacted to the offer of a bribe from Rogerson. It is this author's view that Drury's nonplussed response says more about the state of the police then, rather then anything to do with Drury's integrity.

Darren Goodsir is a Herald journalist and the author of Line of Fire, upon which Blue Murder is partly based.

By Darren Goodsir
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday, August 2, 2001




Our town: the secret of Blue Murder's success

A gutsy cops-and-robbers story shot in our backyard and speaking our language, that's why this drama is a hit. And it should help a few actors' careers, writes David Dale.

It was made six years ago, about events that happened 20 years ago. The photography is grainy at times, and you can't understand a lot of the dialogue. Many of the characters are not clearly identified, and their motives are obscure.

Some of the events are implausible, bordering on preposterous. One of the real people portrayed in it has said: "It's not a bad movie as a drama, but it's all bullshit."

So why did Blue Murder work so well with Sydney viewers, and why will it launch or relaunch so many showbiz careers? A few possible explanations…

It confirms the deepest archetypes of our city. We like to think of ourselves as living in a rough, tough pragmatic town. Sydney's first police officers were criminals, because Governor Phillip appointed 12 of his most trusted convicts as "the Night Watch" in 1790. That interchangeability established a tradition which lasted at least 200 years.

Sydneysiders have always believed their coppers were a bit bent, and haven't been too fussed about it, as long as somebody came around to commiserate about break-ins. If Roger Rogerson dispensed a bit of vigilante justice, that was what those scum needed. If the cops let Neddie Smith bash a few blokes at a two-up game, or helped him throw a crooked lawyer to the sharks, that's what defines us as an exciting metropolis.

We sometimes wondered if the rumours about powerful people we were hearing in the pub were just urban myths. Blue Murder showed they were true. And when Neddie describes the show as "bullshit"—well, he would say that, wouldn't he?

It speaks our language. Thugs and cops don't articulate like trained thespians, and it was a brave move for Blue Murder's director, Michael Jenkins, to let them mumble some of the time, and for the ABC not to censor the f- words and the c- words or tone down the brutality in an attempt to enlarge the audience. It's late-night viewing, designed for people who don't mind a little mental exercise to fill in the gaps.

We want to encourage the ABC to return to its glory days. Once upon a time the ABC had money to spend on dangerous drama that held up a mirror to Australian society. Now the ABC has a boss who thinks The Weakest Link is groundbreaking television.

It has familiar actors at the top of their game. As the moustachioed villain in Moulin Rouge, Richard Roxburgh was just silly (in accordance with the director's instructions). As the South African sidekick to the Scottish sadist in Mission: Impossible II, he was wimpy. For the past six years, we've been underestimating him—because we weren't allowed to see Blue Murder. Finally we know what a charming monster he can be.

If we saw Wildside (also directed by Michael Jenkins) on TV two years ago, we know Tony Martin can do an idealistic cop barely under control, and if we saw The Interview at the movies or on video (or best of all, on DVD), we know Tony Martin can do a cop who might just be crooked. But we never knew he could make us feel sorry for a brutal killer.

We'd gone off Gary Sweet lately, but now that we've finally seen his hyped-up Rent-a-Kill, we look forward to a comeback (even without the fluff-wig). And why haven't we seen anything lately of Loene Carmen, who played Sallie-Anne Huckstepp (after an auspicious start as the love interest in The Year My Voice Broke)? Blue Murder even managed to remind us that Ray Martin was once a subtle interviewer.

It has impeccable period detailing, smart jokes and a car chase. Blue Murder isn't homework, it isn't a sociological duty, it isn't subsidised culture—it is just entertaining. How about Neddie's big-collar shirts and wide lapels, the Dodger's cardigan, the barbie round the pool, the gorgeous sunset on the harbour, and dialogue such as "How many other blokes have got a green light?" "No-one—we shot all the others".

These days every successful Hollywood thriller must contain a car chase, a sex scene, violence treated flippantly, ironic pop culture references, a flawed hero who undergoes a symbolic death-and-resurrection, and an ambiguous ending. Ian David didn't know any of that when he wrote the screenplay, years ahead of David Chase's brilliant work on The Sopranos.

All we need now is for Blue Murder to be released on DVD, on sale at ABC shops with a second disc containing deleted scenes, commentaries by writer, director and actors, and a documentary explaining why it took so long to reach us.

It might just earn enough money to make the ABC feel like doing it all again.

By David Dale
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday, August 2, 2001




Viewers go for Blue Murder, but you'd hardly read about it

Sydney is a town where word of mouth can work wonders. The second night of Blue Murder did even better for the ABC than the first night.

Driven by enthusiastic reports about Tuesday's first episode of the true-crime saga, an extra 54,000 Sydneysiders tuned in to the ABC on Wednesday, bringing the total audience to 433,000—an amazing figure for any 90-minute show starting at 9.30pm.

But, if the ABC can possibly find a way to shoot itself in the foot, it will. If you looked at the Sydney ratings figures released by OzTAM yesterday morning, you would have found no mention of Blue Murder. Instead, the ratings showed that, in Sydney, Foreign Correspondent got 443,000 viewers and Lateline got 412,000—record performances for both shows.

An ABC spokesman explained that the person responsible for notifying OzTAM of changes in the national programming schedule was based in Melbourne and had not known that Blue Murder was running (in Sydney only) over two nights.

Sorry, Jennifer Byrne, but any pay rise you may get for more than doubling your Foreign Correspondent audience will have to be passed on to actors Richard Roxburgh and Tony Martin, writer Ian David and director Michael Jenkins.

By David Dale
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday, August 3, 2001

Blue Murder (miniseries)

Blue Murder is a two-part Australian television miniseries produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1995 and is based on true events. Given its confronting content, the DVD release was classified MA 15+. An injunction brought during Arthur "Neddy" Smith's appeal against his life sentence saw its broadcast delayed in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territoryfor six years, until 2001. In New Zealand the DVD release was classified R 18+ for graphic violence and offensive language.

Set in the 1970s and 1980s in Sydney, the miniseries concerns the relationship between controversial former Detective Roger "the Dodger" Rogerson and notorious criminal Arthur "Neddy" Smith. Rogerson and his colleagues were accused of giving Smith a "green light" to commit crimes without Police interference, with the relationship fraying when Rogerson orders hitman Christopher "Mr. Rent-a-Kill" Flannery to murder Police Officer Michael Drury. The murder of prostitute Sallie-Anne Huckstepp also features.

Blue Murder is narrated by the characters of Rogerson, Smith and Drury and focuses on the corruption allegations that plagued theNSW Police Force at the time. Rogerson and Smith achieved a kind of celebrity status during the Wood Royal Commission into Police corruption.

The screenplay was written by Ian David who has written extensively on the people and events featured. The miniseries was directed by Michael Jenkins and produced by Rod Allan.

Plot

The series begins with the arrest of Arthur "Neddy" Smith for attempted robbery. He is interviewed by Det. Sgt. Roger Rogerson, who instead of charging him employs him to protect various drug dealers. After serving a short prison sentence for other charges, Smith teams up with Graham "Abo" Henry and becomes a significant presence in the underworld. His association with Rogerson enables him to escape impending drugs charges and helps him to carry out other crimes unabated.

After Warren Lanfranchi, an associate of Smith's, robs drug dealers protected by Rogerson and attempts to shoot a Police Officer on the way to a robbery, Rogerson shoots him in front of fellow Officers. Lanfranchi's girlfriend, Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, vows revenge. Smith, who transported Lanfranchi to the murder and assisted the Police in court by giving a false testimony, is rewarded by Rogerson with a "Green Light", meaning he is allowed to commit any crime he likes, with the exception of assaulting or killing a Police Officer. Rogerson and Smith lead a criminal syndicate in Sydney, distributing drugs and murdering any potential witnesses to their crimes.

Meanwhile in Melbourne, undercover Detective Michael Drury sets up a drugs deal with dealer Alan Williams as part of a sting operation. Williams escapes after a botched Police chase but knows he will soon be caught and is terrified of being imprisoned. Rogerson, on behalf of Williams, tries to bribe Drury to drop the charges, but Drury refuses. In response, Rogerson and Williams contact notorious hitman Christopher Flannery to kill Drury. Flannery shoots Drury in his home but fails to kill him. The Police are unable to obtain any leads on Drury's assailant, but Drury reveals that Rogerson attempted to bribe him and Rogerson is charged.

Rogerson uses the lack of evidence and his corrupt associates in the NSW Police Force to escape conviction, but the negative image and increased Police attention caused by the affair begin to damage his criminal enterprises. His relationship with Smith becomes increasingly strained, to the point where he organises a failed attempt on Smith's life. Flannery and Huckstepp are both murdered when they begin to pose a threat to Rogerson and Smith, but Williams confesses his involvement in the Drury shooting in exchange for protection from Rogerson. Despite this new evidence, Rogerson again escapes conviction, but he is dismissed from the Police Force and arrested by the Australian Federal Police(AFP) shortly afterwards when he is caught depositing money in a bank account under a false name. Without Rogerson's protection, Smith's crime syndicate quickly falls apart and after killing a tow-truck driver in a drunken fight, he leaves enough evidence for the Police to arrest him.

In the final scene, a now-dismissed Rogerson meets Smith at his hide-out to discuss the situation. Rogerson tells Smith to keep a low profile while he uses his contacts within the Police Force to resolve the matter. However, as soon as Rogerson leaves, Police storm the house and arrest Smith and his associate.

As the credits roll, it is revealed that Michael Drury retired from the Police in 2000, Roger Rogerson served three years in prison and Neddy Smith received an indeterminate life sentence for multiple murders, which he is still serving.

Cast

  • Richard Roxburgh as Roger Rogerson
  • Tony Martin as Arthur "Neddy" Smith
  • Steve Bastoni as Michael Drury
  • Gary Sweet as Christopher Dale Flannery
  • Peter Phelps as Graham "Abo" Henry
  • Alex Dimitriades as Warren Lanfranchi
  • Marcus Graham as Alan Williams
  • Bill Hunter as "Black" Angus McDonald
  • Loene Carmen as Sallie-Anne Huckstepp
  • Blue Murder at the Internet Movie Database

External links

Viewers go for Blue Murder, but you'd hardly read about it

Sydney is a town where word of mouth can work wonders. The second night of Blue Murder did even better for the ABC than the first night.

Driven by enthusiastic reports about Tuesday's first episode of the true-crime saga, an extra 54,000 Sydneysiders tuned in to the ABC on Wednesday, bringing the total audience to 433,000—an amazing figure for any 90-minute show starting at 9.30pm.

But, if the ABC can possibly find a way to shoot itself in the foot, it will. If you looked at the Sydney ratings figures released by OzTAM yesterday morning, you would have found no mention of Blue Murder. Instead, the ratings showed that, in Sydney, Foreign Correspondent got 443,000 viewers and Lateline got 412,000—record performances for both shows.

An ABC spokesman explained that the person responsible for notifying OzTAM of changes in the national programming schedule was based in Melbourne and had not known that Blue Murder was running (in Sydney only) over two nights.

Sorry, Jennifer Byrne, but any pay rise you may get for more than doubling your Foreign Correspondent audience will have to be passed on to actors Richard Roxburgh and Tony Martin, writer Ian David and director Michael Jenkins.

By David Dale
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday, August 3, 2001

Blue Murder: a RE-IMAGINED history

Greg Levine & Stephen McElhinney

Erich Auerbach, whilst discussing the influence of Joyce and Proust?s use of reflected consciousness and time strata, makes an interesting comparison between a novel?s conception of time and a film?s:

a concentration of space and time such as can be achieved by the film (for example the representation, within a few seconds and by means of a few pictures, of the situation of a widely dispersed group of people, of a great city, an army, a war, an entire country) can never be within the reach of the spoken or written word. (Auerbach, 1991:546)

The interesting part for us is the phrase "a great city". In a few sequences a film can give you a version of the past far richer in detail than any history book in the same space of time. This paper will apply this idea to the tele-movie Blue Murder (1995), a quasi-fictional account of Sydney?s criminal milieu of the 1970s and 80s. Made in 1995 and screened on ABC TV in most parts of Australia shortly after, Blue Murder was not broadcast in NSW and the ACT until July 31, 2001. The 6-year delay was caused by a legal embargo placed on the mini-series because Neddy Smith, the main character depicted in the piece, was still on trial for the crimes the portrayed. We compareBlue Murder ?s representation of events in Sydney?s past with impressions of the present by visiting the haunts of the central characters and experiencing the space between representation and actual lived perception. This provides us with an insight into how the film?s narrative has compressed space and time; how Sydney?s past is recontextualised as a film and etched into the viewer?s consciousness, introducing a tension between depictions of the recent past, a vastly changed present and the fractured identity that results.

In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the media?s representation of crime in Sydney circled ravenously around a few key names, eager for the slightest sensation: Arthur "Neddy" Smith, Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson, Christopher Dale Flannery and Sally Anne Huckstep among other colourful local identities and celebrities. The tales that projected these names into Sydney?s various public spheres were not only fed upon by the media but also by pub patrons. Neddy Smith, a leading criminal figure of the time, was careful to keep his face out of the media for years, yet was still regularly recognised in pubs all over the city, inner and outer suburbs. According to legend, he would walk in and, on the strength of his reputation, strangers queued to buy him drinks. But pubs were a changing environment in those days. It was a time of transformation with the pub where you went to drink, buy stolen goods or get in a fight slowly submitting to the will of today?s post-industrial patron, who goes to the pub to socialise after a hard day?s data shuffling at the office.

With this in mind, a trio of seasoned knowledge workers commenced their tour. We started our research at the Star Hotel in Chinatown. Its proximity to the ?labour mile? of Sussex Street made it a traditional NSW Labor Party drinking hole, frequented by various characters employed by the party and the unions. Presumably connections were made here between shady politicians, strong-arm unionists and criminals who shared their taste for power and action. In Neddy Smith?s book, Neddy (2002), this was one of a number of pubs around the inner city where he allegedly kept money in the safe, guns behind the bar and met associates with various relationships to NSW criminal law. It is also where he reputedly shot a man in the heart at point blank range, spraying the wall with his insides. Is this a place where my research associates and I want to be on a Friday night? Based on the reputation of events that happened at the Star Hotel in the late 80s, it would be very reasonable to assume that this place would be far too violent for proto-knowledge workers like us.

Traditionally Sydney pubs like this one characterised themselves as havens for the working man. Even when they were primarily patronised by politicians, they were still constructed around the ethos that authentic culture is built upon the efforts of the blue-collar worker. This could have something to do with the central myths of Australian national identity being based on the myth of the "bushman", who Ward described as:

a practical man, rough and ready in his manners and quick to decry any appearance of affectation in others. He is a great improviser, ever willing to "have a go" at anything, but willing too to be content with a task done in a way that is "near enough". Though capable of great exertion in an emergency, he normally feels no impulse to work hard without good cause. He swears hard and consistently, gambles heavily and often, and drinks deeply on occasion. (1965:1-2)

Traditionally, academic types like us were categorised in relation to this national identity. That is, not workers but endurable if we behaved according to the norms of the ethos and donned its garb when traversing its terrain, structures and language. This has become problematic in recent times. Theorists are saying we now exist in an information society ? a society refashioned by "the massive social impacts of new information technologies of computing and telecommunications" (Lyon, 1988:vii). They argue that these days "the engine of much of the dynamics of economic activity and the source of much of the growth of added economic value can be attributed to knowledge" (Stehr, 2004:212). According to these theorists, the growth of societies like Sydney are now dependent on the efforts of knowledge workers.

How is this shift reflected in the Star Hotel? The working class?s move away from city dwelling began in the 1960s as factories moved to the outer suburbs (or off-shore) to make room for white collar office space. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the Star would perhaps have been having an identity crisis; white collar patrons who weren?t sure if they identified with the worker ethos or with the new suburban bourgeoisie chic. An ideal environment for a fashionably dressed, gun slinging, heroin dealer like Neddy.

In 2004, it is just like any other corner pub in Sydney, cloned through the combined effects of licensing laws, random breath testing and property speculation. The main bar is dominated by the TAB and its flock of elevated TV screens and the pokies are in the next room. Jackpots flash, horses scurry around distant tracks and Friday night footy lurches across the plasma screens. The traditional working class pub fare of gambling and sport still dominate; all that has changed is the mode of delivery and its associated atmosphere. On the night we were there the crowd was part after-work suits and part pre-dinner restaurant patrons; a far cry from the pub mentioned in the book Nedd y. The man behind the bar looked like he?d seen some action but was extremely polite and professional. If you hadn?t read the book you wouldn?t know this space once oozed trouble. Now it felt hollowed out and sanitised like so many buildings in post-industrial Sydney.

We talked about the work ahead in excited though hushed voices. We had to be quiet because we couldn?t help using our favourite Blue Murder quotes and trying to imitate the character?s voices and we didn?t want to fulfil the Australian stereotype of "intellectuals" and look like wankers. These days residents of Sydney are very aware of the events with which we were trying to relate. Pub patrons still feed off stories about Neddy, The Dodger and "Abo" Henry, though in new ways. In the 1980s and early 1990s, each name stood alone and the (inevitably embellished) associated story was passed on by word-of-mouth, usually started by someone who actually witnessed the events. Now, the stories are packaged rather than muttered from increasingly toothless mouths. The names are inseparable. You can?t hear about Neddy or the Dodger without hearing about Lanfranchi, Abo or even Chopper. This particular historic field has been compressed by the film Blue Murder and other true crime narratives. The actual events have been plucked from what Carlyle called a "Chaos of Being" (in White, 1975:144), and crammed together with a poetic narrative. Blue Murder wasn?t the first attempt to make these events history but, to paraphrase Auerbach, because of the fact that it is a mini-series, it is by far the most efficient in reaching a large audience and therefore the most influential.

It is unlikely that most television audience members would consider Blue Murder a historical document. It is a "dramatisation" of events, based on books written by Neddy Smith and Michael Drury, an ex-policeman, neither noted historians and therefore, given the assumptions of the role of the historian in our society, incapable of relating objective fact. The audience would probably be unable to imagine these non-historians' tales as part of the normative history of their community. Yet the audience would also probably not be able to come up with a good explanation for why historians get a particular claim on the "truth" of the past. The conception of the historian as a person who stands outside of culture, politics and life, looks on objectively and then delivers measured, scientific interpretations of events is still very popular today. This positivist tradition developed in the mid-1800s when writers such as Ranke began to believe that "the task of the historian was ?simply to show how it really was?" (Carr, 1986:3); to impartially portray facts as they happened. This attitude ignores the idea that "portraying" an event implies a narrative shaping of some sort, an argument made by many writers since. However, judging by the emphasis the Australian media have placed on the "History Wars" since the early 1990s (and the fact that some "populist" historians can still make a living on alterations of the fabric of history, tailored to be happily consumed in the better suburban homes and retirement villages) the positivist version of historical consciousness still holds sway over most of the Australian TV audience and consequently reproduces itself in the productions made for it.

A misconception that is often associated with positivist historical consciousness holds that the historian should be an apolitical observer and that good history is that which can be shown to have not taken sides. This often seems to be regarded as "the common-sense view of history" (Carr, 1989:3-4). It is a misconception because this position is impossible and becomes simply a rhetorical trick to sell a particular point of view. As Hayden White puts it, there is an "irreducible ideological component in every historical account of reality" (1975:21). While the tradition holds that the historian has access to the "truth", many writers have argued convincingly that there are many truths; no one truth can be held up as the truest. Indeed, an analysis of a truth can reveal more about the person claiming it than the historical event itself.

Hayden White?s theories of historical narrative are very helpful in this analysis. White points out that history serves a poetic function in society rather than simply being the source of facts about the past. He postulates four principal modes of historical consciousness on the basis of the ideological intention which informs each of them: Metaphor, Synecdoche, Metonymy and Irony (metaphor is representational, synecdoche is integrative, metonymy is reductionist and irony is negational) (White, 1975:31-38). Each of these modes of consciousness serve as the basis of a linguistic protocol which is used to prefigure the historical field and provide strategies for interpretation.

The historian?s choice of narrative mode is largely an aesthetic one and White suggests this is the underlying poetic function of history. These narratives stem from the impulse in the historian to collect events into stories; to trace similarities between facts and imbue them with meaning. On the surface, Blue Murder seems to follow the conventions of a fictional tragedy. The main characters are brought to their downfalls by the very qualities which make them interesting. However, if we analyse it as a history, it is a good example of real events drawn together into a narrative cast in the ironic mode. It tells a story of Sydney?s past which superficially seems to celebrate some mythical characteristics of the audience?s community while bearing an underlying message of self-criticism. The main characters demonstrate many archetypal traits that the audience recognises from the historical discourse of what Benedict Anderson has called their "imagined community" (1991). This is any community large enough that a member could never come face to face with the majority of the other members. Applied to a historical representation presented to a TV audience this could lead to both broad and specific difference of interpretation within one community. Specifically, the discourse ethics of representing crime could vary from one part of Sydney to another (perhaps circumscribed by the rings left by a schooner glass on a tabloid paper, or a teacup on a broadsheet - either history being factual within the stain). However, on a broader level certain things can have a more unified appeal on a larger, national level.

Near the beginning of the film, as Ned is being released from Long Bay, he tells us in a voiceover that he had the dash to "go out and get his" while most of the other inmates in the prison were "shit men" who bludged on the dole and had no guts, no moral fibre. This is an appeal to Ward?s archetypal myth of Australian character, that is, male individualists with little respect for authority and enough courage and initiative to make it on their own in the world. Familiar with the myth through their consumption of media, the audience can identify with these traits and get the feeling that Ned is someone to be admired for his entrepreneurial spirit. The tragic part is that Ned applies his initiative and courage to selling heroin, armed robbery, pimping, drinking and fighting. This gives the audience the sense that if only Ned was not so misguided he could be a real asset to the community. It is ironic that these character strengths are also his weaknesses and lead to his final downfall. This mode of historical narrative ties the events together to form a story which ultimately carries the message, "crime doesn?t pay" accompanied by a sly, ironic wink that adds, "but we always had a good time".

We will now use an ironic historical consciousness to continue the story of our research pilgrimage?

We soon gave up on the thoroughly safe Star Hotel. The denizens were far too interested in the poker machines and TVs to present us with any distinct local character and even our Blue Murderesque banter had become boring. We decided to get some Chinese food. Chinese food is a recurring theme throughout Blue Murder andNeddy. It seems that whenever Rogerson and Smith got together for lunch it was at a Chinese restaurant. In one particular scene they are waiting for their meals to arrive while Ned is trying to convince the Dodger that he should help him beat some charges. The food is very slow in arriving and the ever dynamic Rogerson is impatient. "Christ I?m hungry", he says loudly, the sort of man who doesn?t need to wait quietly. We strode into BBQ King hoping for a similar scene.1 Kept waiting for our food, we would talk business loudly and bemoan the woeful service. It was not to be. We were served very quickly and then efficiently moved out as we finished to make way for more patrons. We tried a few Blue Murder quotes, started singing, "Hey diddle diddle", but there was no point. The regular BBQ King hubbub was too loud for us to hear ourselves and our hearts weren?t in it - the food was very nice and even if there had been anything to complain about we wouldn?t have had the dash. Were we shit-men?

After that we strolled down to The Rocks , headed for the oldest pub in Sydney, The Lord Nelson. Along the way, the changes the city had been through since the 1980s were very noticeable. The most obvious is the construction boom. Up and down Sussex Street and Kent Street there are road works and building sites in abundance. In the 1980s and the early 1990s (when the film was shot), almost every block had at least one giant hole, barricaded by the high white walls that permeate our older memories of the city. Another sign of the coming of the information age, green bans have been overturned and the green light has been given to property development.

We had an uneventful quick top-up in the empty Captain Cook and then entered the Nelson. This pub is mentioned quite often in Neddy as one of Smith?s favourite drinking spots. The Lord Nelson claims to be Sydney?s oldest pub and has been authentically refurbished to what it was like when it first opened its doors (www.lordnelson.com.au, cited 20.7.04). How this accounts for the giant television screens and the central heating we couldn?t work out, but they are a micro-brewery. Which means they produce their own "authentic" Sydney beer and sell it to you in pints. They embrace the Australian working class beer drinking tradition, which they themselves have been a big part of for Sydney workers for over 150 years, yet the cheapest pints cost at least seven dollars; they don?t have schooner glasses and, while they stock something called Quayle Ale, they don?t sell Tooheys New. The place was full of expensive suits and thirsty cultural researchers such as ourselves, low rent workers of the information age, could not afford to stay there for more than one drink. We?d run out of chat by then and our eyes couldn?t help being turned upwards by the TVs. Rugby Union instead of Rugby League. We tried to imagine a Neddy-style fight breaking out here: sweeping aside the life-sized cardboard Bundy Bear we?d grab an inflatable baseball bat from the Bacardi Cruiser promotions girl and lay into the accountants who?d come in with their top buttons fastened and ties unloosened. But there was too many of them so we backed down. And the atmosphere wasn?t right; by embracing the cultural mythos of Australia, the Lord Nelson has become "unAustralian". We didn?t know how long this had been happening here; some reports say since the mid 1970s and the factories were gone before then. Now there are fetta and olives where a packet of "salt and vinegar" would have done. An ironic tragedy.

This is a path that a lot of city pubs have gone down while Sydney has become an increasingly post-industrialised node of the information society. They give the appearance of embracing the discourse of the historic Sydney while actually focusing on a completely different clientele and raison d?être. In The Rise of the Network Society, Castells (2001:28-69) describes an information technology revolution that took place between the mid 1970s and the late 1990s (a timeframe which roughly coincides with Neddy Smith?s rise and fall as an icon of the near weightless economy of heroin). Similar to the two industrial revolutions (steam then electricity) its effects were pervasive. The invention and maturity of technological systems and methods of production based solely on information transference led to changes at every level of society, from work to family life to government to globalisation to crime and organised crime. Capitalism has undergone massive restructuring, financial markets have become global, information systems have redefined the third world and created the information poor, while, at the same time, the relationship between women and the workforce has changed the nature of the family and sexuality. The media has become more personalised and politics has become more mediated. The gap between the rich and poor is widening and whatever was in between is vanishing. Even vice is no longer what it was; you can catch a government bus to the casino, prostitutes pay tax and you can get a drink anywhere on Easter Sunday.

Life has changed to the extent that "in such a world of uncontrolled, confusing change, people tend to regroup around primary identities: religious, ethnic, territorial, national" (ibid.:3). Social meaning and the formation of identity has fragmented to the extent that it is has been reduced to the desire to find a map. People can no longer find meaning in the places where it has traditionally been: the mainstream church, work, unions etc. In the network society, "identity is always an open, complex, unfinished game? it always moved into the future through a symbolic detour through the past" (Hall, 1999:43). As Foucault put it, "a certain fragility has been discovered in the bedrock of existence" and we are seeing "an insurrection of subjugated knowledges" (1984:201). The audience for Blue Murder lives in this post-industrial information society and, because traditional conceptions of historical truth have been subtly undermined as much as other touchstones of identity, construction of its identity could be influenced by the portrayal of events in the film.

Our next port of call was a place that does not appear in Blue Murder or Neddy, the Triple Ace Bar on Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills. Why? Because we had heard a rumour that Roger Rogerson still drinks there. But instead of bloody noses, spilt beer and scattered teeth, some young Japanese backpackers were playing drinking games.

Despite what has already been written here, we do not feel some romantic longing for the return of pub culture of the 1980s. An article appeared in "The Heckler" section of The Sydney Morning Herald (April 10, 2002), bemoaning the atmosphere and décor of the current white collar pub (or worse, the McDonaldized Irish chain pub), longing for the old days and concluding that " given a choice of drinking buddies I'd take Neddy Smith over the Corrs any day". We are not of the same opinion. The last person we would like to meet in a pub is a drug dealing, murderer who would beat you senseless if you looked at him the wrong way. But the chance to see the real, ?unrepresentational? as it were, Rogerson in the flesh would give us the final link in the theoretical hand-cuffs. To the viewing audience Rogerson is Roxborough, a man who cries when he reminisces about the show-down between Ray Kelly, a NSW police force legend, and Chow Hayes, an uber-criminal of earlier times. We wanted to know how the style of discourse which shaped Blue Murder has affected the man himself.

Sadly, he wasn?t there. The place is more TAB than pub and beige tiles predominate. The bistro was closed, though the restaurant upstairs looked interesting; hard to find anything else to say about the place. If he does drink there we couldn?t see the attraction. In fact, this was becoming central to our conversation. Apparently we are what writers such as Charles Leadbetter have called, "knowledge workers" (1999:1-2). That is, educated people with ideas who can work from anywhere, any time as long as they have a computer. Certainly, we?re the information rich, the only problem being that this hasn?t translated into the associated capital promised by Castells, Leadbetter and others. Is it just us who feel left out of the Sydney pub scene; who don?t feel at home in either the poker machine dominated, TAB bars or the boutique, chrome lined micro-breweries?

Manning Clark wrote that, by the 1980s:

all that seemed to survive was the idea of Australia as a place of "uncommonly large profit". History has blurred the vision of Eden, allowing Mammon to infest the land. A turbulent emptiness seized the people as they moved into a post-Christian, post-Enlightenment era. No one any longer knew the direction of the river of life. No one had anything to say?. (1987:500)

As mentioned earlier, the traditional areas of identification don?t hold as much sway as they used to and people have to look for new icons to cling to. Perhaps this is where Neddy and Rogerson fit in. Iconic 1980s men Rogerson, Mark "Chopper" Read and Warwick Capper do speaking tours at pubs around Australia that are equally popular at the Bridge Hotel in Balmain and Rooty Hill RSL. If the gaps between social strata are becoming bigger then Rogerson, Neddy and other elements from Sydney?s past could be some sort of common denominator. After all, Blue Murder was made with an audience in mind. Even though it was broadcast on a non-commercial station it still had to speak to a public. This effects the style of the discourse behind the relating of its tale. Its narrative potentially shapes to some degree the way the audience constructs its sense of community identity. This in turn has an influence on the way Sydney represents itself in the present and in what it is becoming. There are already cricket clubs from other states that plan their end of season trips around visiting pubs featured in Blue Murder. How long before the gangster chic becomes "the Blue Murder Theme Pub � ", perhaps staffed by the rogues? gallery of Australian actors who bought the characters to life?

The last pub on the official research crawl was the Random Bar . Before it was the Random Bar it was the Brendan Behan Hotel and before that, the Britannia. It was outside the Britannia, on the corner of Dangar Place and Abercrombie Street, where Roger Rogerson allegedly shot and killed Warren Lanfranchi. We walked up Dangar Place to see what it was like. In the 1980s it was an alley between disused factories, deserted relics of a blue collar past. In our imaginations an industrial wilderness, deserted as the gangsters face off and a plastic bag blows across the scene. Now it?s an alley between apartment buildings with washing hanging from balcony railings.

Inside, the Random Bar looks like a fading B movie actress, a decade or two post-prime, who has had one too many naïve facelifts. It?s going for a techno chic with its unbearably loud DJ and giant, anatomically correct statue of a lion. But, again, it wasn?t us and it definitely didn?t seem very Rogerson. Unlike the lion, he wasn?t all show - he had what it took. We tried to discuss issues of vital importance to our research ? is the only unAustralian crime disorganised crime? Would criminals like Neddy Smith, so hands on in his love of armed robbery, bother with it all today in an age of ATMs and credit cards? Has the information age?s electronic funds transaction dried up the loose cash he used to gain so much pleasure from violently stealing? Even his heroin trade would have taken a slide in popularity as party drugs took over. Where would we go to kick on? Where should we go to lose the ambivalence this mission had created in us? Were we shit-men or just alienated by an overly commercial pub scene?

We stumbled down to the Lansdowne as our last port of call. Assaulted by a wall of industrial metal as we entered, we climbed the staircase to relative quiet. A few chairs perched on the landing at the top of the stairs next to a baby grand. We sat down to catch our breath. Andrew opened the lid on the piano and found the thing was roughly in tune. We knew he could play so we demanded he do so to soothe our disturbed psyches. He played for about ten minutes ? sparse, bluesy improvisation, capturing our mood perfectly. Then he paused for a moment and applause came from round the corner where the bar was, followed shortly by the bartender. "Thank you, that was beautiful" she said, "but you?ll have to go downstairs, we?re closing up here."

The way we represent the past, the style of discourse we use, inevitably becomes the way we look at the present. As Auerbach put it, "a change in our manner of viewing history will of necessity soon be transferred to our manner of viewing current conditions" (1991:443). As Nietzsche points out, humans are not a fixed form; they change constantly with the times because "there are no eternal facts, nor are there any absolute truths" (1994:15). As subjugated histories gain influence the power of mainstream history becomes fragmented and leaves a space for changes in the way we represent the past. Films like Blue Murder can therefore change the way we view the present. While it is a representation of Sydney that clearly reinforces traditional, "universal" Western moral norms, the audience can now only receive these messages with a sense of self-critical irony. Consequently, the only element of this film that actually has an effect on the present self-awareness of Sydney is its narrative mode. Present representations of the identity of Sydney?s "imagined community", effected by the film, become ironic and self-critical and, as a result, the pubs (and perhaps social areas in general, whether physical or virtual) become increasingly detached from any actual use value. They are more preoccupied with selling an image than creating a comfortable social space for people to consume alcohol. That is, alienation takes place. And this was the point our discussion reached at the Random Bar: how can you have alienation in an information society characterised by fragmentation where there is no unified subject? But we were too drunk by then to figure it out.

  •  

Acknowledgements

- The authors would like to thank Andrew Keese for his ideas, encouragement, piano playing and rounds at the bar and Amaya for giving us a lift home.

References

Anderson, B. (1991) Imagined Communities, Verso: London

Auerbach, E. (1991) Mimesis: The Representation of R eality in Western Literature, Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey

Carr, E. H. (1986) What is History?, The Macmillan Press: London

Castells, M. (2001) The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell: Oxford

Foucault, M. (1984) ?The Juridical Ap paratus? in Connolly, W.E. (ed) Legitimacy and the State, Blackwell: Oxford

Hall, S. (1999) ?Culture, Community, Nation? in Boswell, D. & J. Evans (eds) Representing the Nation: A Reader, Routledge: London

Hobsbawm, E. (1999) On History, Abacus: London

Leadbetter, C. (1999) Living on Thin Air: The New Economy, Penguin: London

Lyon, D. (1988) The Information Society: Issues and Illusions, Polity Press: Cambridge

Nietzsche, F. (1994) Human, All Too Human, Penguin: London

Smith, A. S. (2002) Neddy, with Tom Noble, Noble House Enterprises: Victoria

Stehr, N. (2004) "The Economic Structure of Knowledge Societies" in The Information Society Reader, Webster, F. (ed), Routledge: London

The Heckler, (2002) "The Pub With No Cheer", The Sydney Morning Herald, April 10, 2002

Ward, R. (1965) The Australian Legend, Oxford University Press: Melbourne

White, H. (1975) Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe, Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, Maryland

1 BBQ King itself was recently associated with the new crime of the 21 st century. Its co-owner was kidnapped by two Chinese nationals seeking a ransom from the other respected and successful owners.

http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C498098?mainTabTemplate=workFilmDetails

PRODUCERS:

Rod Allan (Producer) 
Errol Sullivan (Executive Producer) 
Penny Chapman (Executive Producer) 
Wayne Barry (Associate Producer) 

PRODUCTION COMPANIES:

Southern Star Entertainment 
Australian Broadcasting Corporation 

FINANCE ORGANISATIONS:

Australian Film Finance Corporation 

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY:

Martin McGrath 

EDITORS:

Bill Russo 

PRODUCTION DESIGNERS:

Murray Picknett 

COMPOSER:

Peter Best 

CAST:

Richard Roxburgh (Roger Rogerson), Tony Martin (Arthur 'Neddy' Smith), Steve Bastoni (Michael Drury), Gary Day (Bill Crofton), Steve Jacobs (Mal Rivers), Peter Phelps (Abo Henry), Marcus Graham (Alan Williams), Alex Dimitriades (Warren Lanfranchi), Bill Hunter (Angus McDonald), Gary Sweet (Christopher Dale Flannery), John Hargreaves (Chester Porter QC), Ian Bliss (Bobby Chapman), Stephen Eley (Duty Sergeant), Richard Carter (Lyail Chandler), Joy Smithers (Debra Smith), Eleni Batley (Jaime Smith), Dion Mihajlovsky (Darrin Smith), Bruce Barry (Commissioner Abbott), Bogdan Koca (Lewis Roussos), Loene Carmen (Sallie-Anne Huckstepp), Ray Martin (Himself), Anthony Cogin (Steve Paully), Phillip Hinton (Ian Barker QC), Nicole Pottinger (Melinda Rogerson), Brigitte Lawson (Gillian Rogerson), Kris Bidenko (Joy Rogerson), Jim Holt (Brian Alexander), Jeffrey Rhoe, Jack Mayers, John Jarratt, Graham Rouse, Laurie Foel, Robert Morgan, Frank Violi, Peter Sommerfeld, Brendan Higgins, Tom Appleton, David Baldwin, Warwick Moss, Paul Sonkkila, Terrie Bowie, Skye Wansey, Aaron Jeffery, Marshall Napier, Erin Smith, Jake Blundell, John McNeill, Vincent Ball, Michael O'Neill, John Sheerin, Stephen O'Rourke, Geoff Morrell, Kristoffer Greaves, Sascha Huckstepp, Stephen Leeder, Ron Graham, Les Dayman, John Walton, Dennis Miller, Bryan Marshall, Neil Moora, Mervyn Drake, Barry Donnelly, Ricky Noble, Damian Monk, David Franklin, Ken Radley. 

RELEASE DATES:

1. Episode one aired in Australia on ABC Television on 14 September 1995, with episode two airing on 21 September, except for NSW (see note below). The mini-series also aired in Croatia (27 December 1997) and Portugal (28 April 1999). 
2. Released on videocassette and DVD formats in 2000 by REEL Corporation.
 

LOCATION:

Filmed largely on location in Sydney. 

AWARDS:

Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards (1996) Best Television Mini Series or Telefeature - Rod Allan (winner) 
Logie Awards (1996) Most Outstanding Achievement in Drama Production (winner)
 
Logie Awards (1996) Silver Logie, Most Outstanding Actor - Richard Roxburgh (winner) 
Logie Awards (1996) Silver Logie, Most Popular Actor - Gary Sweet (nomination) 

NOTES:

1. Also known as Corrupção E Morte (Portugal). 
2. Due to elements of the story being seen as prejudicial to legal trials in NSW and Federal Courts, the series was unable to be broadcast in New South Wales or to be distributed on video until 2000. It was eventually allowed to be broadcast when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided to drop charges against Neddy Smith over a 1983 murder.
 





The famous photograph of Ray Mickleberg chasing Inspector Ray Hancock in Perth Western Australia yelling..."You framed me Inspector Hancock... I spent many years wrongly in jail because you made up evidence against me that was not true..".

Inspector Ray Hancock's wife whose says her husbands side of the story was not portrayed correctly in the film made about the Perth Mint Swindle .... which tells the story of $1 million in gold swindled from the Perth Mint and the Mickleberg Brothers Ray and Peter Mickleberg spending many years in jail having been found guilty of the Perth Mint Swindle...however were later has their conviction quashed  after  it was admitted by another police officer  that Ray Hancock made up evidence against Peter and Ray Mickleberg... the other Mickleberg brother who was an experienced air pilot mysteriously died in his own plane when the plane ran out of petrol... all rather odd....with the allegation that someone cut the fuel pip so the plane would run out of petrol in mid air...
In an exclusive interview with the Australian Weekend News (AWN) and the INL News Group investigators Western Australian Criminal Lawyer  admitted that the Western Australian police has admitted that.....
 at the time the Micklebergs were arrested that they had stolen a plaster cast of Ray Mickleberg's hand which had his finger print on... and used that to place Ray Mickleberg's finger print on the bank cheque that was forged to p[resent to the Perth Mint to con the Perth Mint to release the $1 million in gold...
This was how Inspector Ray Hancock a member of the Western Australian Police was able to frame the Micklebergs at their criminal  trial... this is what Ray Hancock's wife does not understand.... the so called evidence the Mickleberg's criminal trial was falsified...with the main piece of evidence  that convinced the jury to find the Micklebergs guilty was  was the the $1 million  forged bank cheque that was presented to the Perth Mint to con the Perth Mint to hand the $1 million in gold over to a courier...that along with a falsified confession is what sealed the Mickleberg's  conviction... however had Ray Hancock not   stolen a plaster cast of Ray Mickleberg's hand which had his finger print on... and used this to place Ray Mickleberg's finger print on the bank cheque that was forged to present to the Perth Mint to con the Perth Mint to release the $1 million in gold... then it is likely the jury would not have found the Mickleberg brothers guilty..

 
Ray Mickleberg after he spent many years wrongly in prison trying too campaign to have his wrongful conviction quashed...


Peter Mickleberg a spent many years wrongly in prison trying too campaign to have his wrongful conviction quashed... 


 Ray and Peter Mickleberg...





                                       
                                               The Great Mint Swindle

 


The Great Mint Swindle Part Seven

 


The Great Mint Swindle Part Eight

 



The Great Mint Swindle Part Nine



Please see more ...Great Mint Swindle Video parts below




                                                       Perth Mint
The Perth Mint Swindle is the popular name for the robbery of 49 gold bars weighing 68 kg from the Perth Mint in Western Australia on 22 June 1982.
The bullion was valued at A$653,000 at that time (2011:$2.02 million).
According to police at the time, three brothers, Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg, orchestrated the robbery.
 The three went to trial and were found guilty of the conspiracy and sentenced in 1983 to twenty, sixteen and twelve years in jail respectively.
All three convictions were overturned in 2004. To date the case remains unsolved and continues to be
 fought by the Mickelbergs who maintain their innocence and allege a conspiracy by theWestern Australia Police to frame them.

The Mickelberg brothers

Soon after the robbery police investigations focused on the Mickelberg brothers. According to the police, the brothers stole cheques from a Perth building society
 and then fooled the mint into accepting those cheques in exchange for gold bullion which, it was alleged, the brothers had a courier pick up.
The gold was picked up by a security company who delivered it to an office in Perth and then to Jandakot Airport, from where it seemingly disappeared.
In a separate matter, in September 1982 the three brothers, their parents and another man Brian Pozzi were charged over a matter relating to a manufactured gold nugget known as the "Yellow Rose of Texas".[1] Perth Businessman Alan Bond had purchased the nugget for $350,000 in November 1980.
 It was later found to be worth less than $150,000 and Raymond Mickelberg and Brian Pozzi pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to fraud at their June 1984 trial.
After serving nine months of his jail term and having his conviction overturned on appeal, Brian was released from jail but died in a light aircraft crash on 27 February 1986
when the twin-engine plane he was flying ran out of fuel near Canning Dam on the outskirts of Perth.[2]Whilst in prison, Ray and Peter
embarked on a series of seven appeals against their convictions, essentially on the grounds that their confessions had been fabricated by police investigators.
 Ray and Peter served eight and six years of their sentences respectively before being released on parole.
In a bizarre twist, in 1989, 55 kg of gold pellets, said to have been from the swindle, were found outside the gates of TVW-7 (currently Channel Seven Perth),
 a Perth television station, with an anonymous note addressed to one of the station's reporters—Alison Fan—protesting the Mickelberg's innocence and
claiming that a prominent Perth businessman was behind the swindle.[3]
The senior investigating officer in the case was Detective Sergeant Don Hancock who was later promoted to head of the State Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
 In September 2001 in an apparently unrelated issue, Hancock was murdered when a bomb which had been planted under his car exploded outside his home in Lathlain
, killing him and a friend Lou Lewis.
In 2002, midway through a State Royal Commission into police corruption, a retired police officer who had been at the centre of the case,Tony Lewandowski,
 made a confession of his involvement in fabricating evidence which was used to help frame the brothers. Lewandowski's senior officer during the investigation
was Don Hancock, who with Lewandowski, were the only persons present at the brothers' interviews following the Mickelberg arrests. Lewandowski was subsequently charged with attempting to pervert the course of justicemaking false statements, fabricating evidence and perjury.[4] In May 2004, just before facing trial Lewandowski apparently committed suicide[5] though there has been some speculation as to whether or not this may have been staged to cover his (possible) murder. Although now deceased, through Lewandowski's confession, Hancock was directly implicated in fabricating evidence in the Mickelberg case.[6]
In July 2004 the Western Australian Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the brothers' convictions after seven unsuccessful attempts. The judge ruled that with the suppression of their sentence, they were entitled to a presumption of innocence. The Assistant Police Commissioner, Mel Hay, expressed disappointment with the decision which prompted a threat of a defamation lawsuit from the brothers. The brothers subsequently sued the Western Australian government for libel, and as part of the settlement, the West Australian police issued a public apology in December 2007.[7]
After lodging claims for compensation, in January 2008 State Attorney-General Jim McGinty offered $500,000 in ex-gratia payments to each brother for the "injustice done to them".[8] The payment followed $658,672 paid to cover legal costs of their two appeals.
The Mickelbergs' lawyer had asked for $950,000 in compensation for Ray and $750,000 for Peter.[9]

 


The Great Mint Swindle Part Ten

 

The Great Mint Swindle Part Eleven






Books about the case

Author Avon Lovell wrote a book about the case in 1985: The Mickelberg Stitch, which alleged questionable investigation practices by the police, including production of unsigned confessions and a forged fingerprint.[10] The police union collected a levy of $1 per week from each member to fund legal action against Lovell and his publishers and distributors to suppress publication of the book.[citation needed] It was estimated that between one and two million dollars was raised. The book was banned by the State Government, but was still freely available to be read at the J S Battye Library. The ban was eventually lifted.
A second book by Lovell, Split Image, was published in 1990 and met a similar fate to the first. This ban was also lifted later.
In March 2011, Lovell launched a third book on the case, Litany of Lies.]

In popular culture

Two telemovies based on the swindle have been made.
One actor, Caroline McKenzie, appeared in both features, playing Detective Ljiljana Cvijic in the 1984 version and Peg Mickelberg in 2012.[15]

see also

  1. ^ "Mickelbergs sue policeman"ABC 7:30 Report. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  2. ^ "Mickelberg Dies". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 February 1986. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  3. ^ Liza Kappelle (June 11 2002). "Mint robbers were framed"Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  4. ^ "Mint swindle officer seized". Sydney Morning Herald. 2002-10-03. Retrieved 2005-09-07.
  5. ^ "Mickelberg brothers find unlikely ally"ABC 7:30 Report. 18/01/2008.
  6. ^ "Don Hancock and the Perth Mint Swindle"MelbourneCrime. Archived from the original on 2005-09-03. Retrieved 2005-09-07.
  7. ^ "Police apologise to Mickelberg brothers"www.ninemsn.com.au. December 15.
  8. ^ "Mickelberg payment satisfies neither brothers nor police"thewest.com.au. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-17.[dead link]
  9. ^ ABC News online Micklebergs cleared over Perth Mint swindle
  10. ^ "This time, the stitch is by Lovell"Post Newspapers. Retrieved 2005-09-07.[dead link]
  11. ^ IMDb, 2012, The Great Gold Swindle (1984) TV. (30 March 2012)
  12. ^ IMDb, 2012, The Great Gold Swindle (1984) TV – Release Dates. (30 March 2012)
  13. ^ "Going for gold with Perth crime saga The Great Mint Swindle"The Australian. March 03, 2012.
  14. ^ http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/13123839/the-great-mint-swindle/
  15. ^ IMDb, 2012, Caroline McKenzie (I) (30 March 2012)

Further reading

  • Lovell, Avon Francis (1985). The Mickelberg Stitch. Creative Research, Perth. ISBN 0-908469-23-3.
  • Buti, Antonio (2011). Brothers: Justice, Corruption and the Mickelbergs. Fremantle Press. ISBN 978-1-921888-47-2.
  • Lovell, Avon Frameup

Mickelberg sues hardware giant Bunnings


RAY Mickelberg, who was wrongly jailed for the 1982 Perth Mint swindle, is suing Bunnings after being acquitted of stealing a fan and a roll of tape from the hardware giant.
In the Perth District Court today, a lawyer for Bunnings applied to have Mr Mickelberg's civil action for damages struck out.
Mr Mickelberg, who is representing himself in a civil action for damages, accuses Bunnings of attempting to pervert the course of justice in pursuing the stealing charges against him.
In April last year Mr Mickelberg was acquitted in the Supreme Court of stealing a $16.80 roll of tape from Bunnings.
He had been found guilty by a Perth magistrate in August 2010 of stealing the tape from the store in the north Perth suburb of Innaloo.
Mr Mickelberg had used three strips of tape to repackage a box for a ceiling fan he had opened to inspect the item while at the Bunnings store.
He was originally charged with the theft of the $309 ceiling fan but Magistrate Giuseppe Cicchini dismissed the charge and convicted the 64-year-old only for the theft of the tape.
But in the Supreme Court, Commissioner Kevin Sleight found he had an "honest claim of right" over the tape and had intended to pay for the roll.
In the District Court today Mr Mickelberg said evidence in the case against him had been fabricated by a Bunnings employee and that had later been proved with CCTV footage.
"Bunnings have to be held responsible for the actions of their employees," he said.
Mr Mickelberg said he had been treated with contempt by Bunnings and a miscarriage of justice had occurred.
"Somewhere down the line, in a fair system, someone has to wear it."
The court's acting principal registrar told Mr Mickelberg he was troubled by the concept that perverting the course of justice could be the basis of a civil claim.
He adjourned the matter until April 10 and asked Mr Mickelberg to file a fresh statement of claim.
Mr Mickelberg spent eight years in jail after he and his brothers Peter a


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/mickelberg-sues-hardware-giant-bunnings/story-e6frfku0-1226265120259#ixzz208dMvB83
 
 
Stitching up the Mickelbergs :: 19/08/2002

 

The Great Mint Swindle Part Twelve





Perhaps Dave, but you're the ones fighting over him. Today Tonight and Vail deny that he was paid, but what we can't understand is why A Current Affair went to all that trouble to prove that Channel Seven pays grubs and liars like Vail, when we know for sure Seven paid for this:
Today Tonight: ‘It was known as the Perth Mint swindle. Three brothers were convicted of stealing more than half a million dollars worth of gold. And now, 20 years on, a crooked cop tells how he made up the evidence. In this exclusive interview Anthony Lewandowski confesses all.’
Lewandowski: ‘Believe me, hear me, I’m telling the whole truth.’
Reporter: ‘Tears of shame and remorse, from a self-confessed crooked cop.’
Today Tonight 24 June 2002

Lewandowski has confessed to fabricating the evidence that sent the Mickelberg brothers to jail for the Perth Mint swindle. The person responsible for getting that confession out of Lewie, and for selling that interview to Today Tonight, was freelance journalist Avon Lovell. Here he is telling Lewie what not to say to Channel Seven reporter Alison Fan.



 

The Great Mint Swindle Part Thirteen




 

The Great Mint Swindle Part Fourteen




Avon Lovell: ‘You don't go into Belmont, you don’t go into how the affidavit was ...a little bit how it was done. You don’t go into the truth of the affidavit. The limits are well set. 
Alison Fan: OK
Lovell: So when you say ‘I don’t want to answer that’, it doesn’t mean to say you...’
Lewandowski: ‘I’ve got nothing to hide. 
Lovell: ‘I know that. Alison’s...’
Lewandowski: ‘Avon. Hold on. Alison’s come over here to talk to me.’ 
Lovell: Yeah, but she'll go one step too far and I'm over here...
Lewandowski: She won't.
Lovell: (to sound recordist) ‘You got that running? You have? Fuck me drunk! (to Lewandowski) See that? (points to recorder)’
Lewandowski: ‘No. Hold on, I’ve got nothing to hide though.’ 
Today Tonight camera tape

Avon Lovell kept insisting that the interview must follow the rules he'd set with Seven, while Lewie kept insisting:

Lewandowski: ‘I’m speaking to Alison, there’s no problem.’
Lovell: ‘See that? He's recording everything.’
Lewandowski: ‘That’s OK. That’s OK. I’ve got nothing to hide.’
Lovell: 'You talk just about how you're feeling. All that sort of stuff. OK?'
Lewandowski: (shakes head)
Today Tonight camera tape

And that's really all Channel Seven got despite paying this rotten copper $50,000 via his agent Avon Lovell for:

‘Exclusive interviews concerning all matters relating to the so-called Perth Mint Gold Swindle.’
Seven contract

We have the WA Royal Commission into police corruption to thank for those documents and Avon Lovell deserves some credit too. After 20 years and two books on the Mickelberg story he finally got Lewandowski to confess.

But he deserves no credit for the $130,000 worth of deals he then did. First he got himself $20,000 for himself from the Perth Sunday Times:

‘The Sunday Times’
‘Contract between The Sunday Times and Avon Lovell.’
Sunday Times contract

That brought the world the revelation that Lewie was sorry.

‘My Shame’
‘Exclusive: Lewandowski’s First Interview.’
‘Crooked Mickelberg officer vows he’ll be back to tell all.’
‘Tony Lewandowski told yesterday of his shame and remorse over two decades of lies and deceit in the Mickelberg affair.’
Sunday Times 16 June 2002

One of the problems with chequebook journalism is the inducement to colour a story to get the cash. We don't know if Lewie threw a few extra eggs in the pudding here, but we do know the contract said his mate Avon Lovell wouldn't be paid in full unless:

‘The interview...is satisfactory...in quality and quantity as deemed by the editor.’
Sunday Times contract

We asked editor Brett McCarthy if he was happy with the result and he replied:

‘Pretty much. Absolutely.’
Brett McCarthy to Media Watch

And who can ask for better than that? Well, Avon Lovell asked for more, but this time from two deals with the Seven Network.

The first, for $60,000, stitches up the Mickelbergs so that for the next 18 months they can't give TV interviews to anyone but Seven, and can't do radio interviews at all.

‘Exclusivity Agreement…Between Seven Network and Ray Mickelberg…Peter Mickelberg…Peggy Mickelberg...Avon Lovell.’
Seven Network contract

So after years of trying to get everyone to listen to them, the Mickelbergs will now only talk to the electronic media for cash. And the money is all paid to their agent Avon Lovell.

But the third deal is the really rotten one. Whether or not you think the Mickelberg boys are guilty, we know detective Lewandowski is crooked because he's confessed the fact. But Seven is paying him that 50 grand again via Avon Lovell.

Apart from tears and regrets that money has bought this mawkish exchange between old adversaries.

Ray Mickelberg: (on phone)'Hello?'
Lewandowski: 'Yeah, Ray?'
Reporter: 'After 20 years of silence, a nervous Tony Lewandowski made this phone call to one of the men he framed, Ray Mickelberg.'
Lewandoswski: ‘I genuinely feel remorse for what happened.’
Mickelberg: ‘You’ve done what had to be done and at least your conscience is clear.’
Today Tonight 24 June 2002
Have a look »

Isn't television wonderful? At each end of the line was a man being paid by Channel Seven.

Chequebook journalism is usually grubby and full of conflicts of interest, but they're not often as rich as this. You see Avon Lovell is now writing a third book on the gold heist. That's what got him talking to Lewie in the first place.

The Lewandowski tapes are just a part of a huge amount of research – with other explosive revelations to follow – for Mr Lovell’s third book on the Mickelberg case, Litany of Lies.’
Sunday Times 16 June 2002

Lovell says that his main concern is Lewandowski's safety but the old notion of keeping the best for the book might explain why he hid Lewie away in Thailand, why he set those limits to the Channel Seven interview, and why he's now insisting Lewie only give evidence to the Royal Commission:

‘…in camera – (in private session).’
Sunday Times 21 July 2002

Lovell, meanwhile, refused to give any evidence himself to the Royal Commission.

Reporter: ‘Avon Lovell was defiant today. He spent most of his day at home despite being called to give evience at the Royal Commission.’
Avon Lovell: ‘How stupid a political process to put somebody like me in gaol who’s the author of a book that’s turned out after 17 years to be entirely true about corruption in the police force, who brings the evidence of corruption back in the form of affidavit and then gets supoenad to the Royal Commission as if I’m some sort of low life bloody corrupt copper. Get real!’
10 News Perth 15 July 2002

Last week, Lovell was fined $30,000 for contempt of court, given 90 days to pay and told to co-operate in the future.

Meanwhile, the Royal Commission still hasn't managed to get Lewie himself on the witness stand.

Reporter: ‘Counsel assisting the enquiry, Peter Hastings QC said Tony Lewandowski appears anxious to co-operate. But there was some basis for concern about the role Avon Lovell has adopted in not helping the commission speak to Mr Lewandowski.’
Ten News Perth 15 July 2002

Last week, Lewie the bent cop was still out of sight, still negotiating the terms of his own appearance and Lovell the freelance journo is mixed up in those negotiations too. Once, when he was asked where Lewie was, Lovell replied:

‘He's not hiding, you dirt brain, he’s in my back pocket.’
West Australian 18 July 2002
Have a look »

We hope he was joking. In any case the Royal Commission has now ordered Lewie to talk. Until next week. Good night
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/190802_s3.htm 

 

The Great Mint Swindle Part Fifteen


 



The Great Mint Swindle Part Sixteen



 


The Great Mint Swindle Part Seventeen


Having viewed ALL SEVENTEEN PARTS OF THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE MOVIE ONE MUST LISTEN TO THIS INTERVIEW WITH pETER MICKLEBERG IN THE LATER YEARS AFTER THE MICKLEBERG'S WRONGFUL CONVICTION WAS QUASHED AND THEY HAD SOME FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FROM THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT... EVEN THOUGH SMALL IN COMPARISON TOT HE YEARS OF THEIR LOVES THEY HAVE LOST...

Afternoons with Richard Stubbs

 
 
wrongly convicted of Australia’s most famous gold swindle, where 49 gold bars were taken from the Perth Mint.
The Mickelbergs were jailed, but later released, and have never given up the fight to have their names cleared.
Richard Stubbs speaks to Peter Mickelberg, the youngest of the three brothers, about the case, his ordeal, and the new Australian telemovie about this intriguing unsolved crime. The telemovie premieres on Channel 9 on Sunday 11 March at 8.30pm.



Ray MICKLEBERG
After more than 20 years of maintaining their innocence, the brothers convicted of the Perth Mint swindle had their convictions overturned in 2004
Ray and Peter Mickelberg's appeal against their conviction for the 1982 theft of $653,000 in gold bullion from the Perth mint was upheld in the West Australian Supreme Court of Criminal Appeal after eight attempts at appeal.
Ray Mickelberg served eight years of a 20-year sentence for the swindle, while Peter served six years of a 14-year term.
The third Mickelberg brother, Brian, whose conviction was overturned after nine months behind bars, died in a light aircraft crash in 1986.
A former police officer, Lewandowski has admitted that he and another detective lied and faked evidence during the trial and had fabricated confessions from the brothers. He had also admitted that Peter Mickelberg was stripped naked and beaten by interviewing officers during the investigation
 

The famous Perth Mint gold swindle

March 09, 2012 , 4:24 PM by KuljaCoulston
 

Afternoons with Richard Stubbs

 
 
wrongly convicted of Australia’s most famous gold swindle, where 49 gold bars were taken from the Perth Mint.
The Mickelbergs were jailed, but later released, and have never given up the fight to have their names cleared.
Richard Stubbs speaks to Peter Mickelberg, the youngest of the three brothers, about the case, his ordeal, and the new Australian telemovie about this intriguing unsolved crime. The telemovie premieres on Channel 9 on Sunday 11 March at 8.30pm.
 




 
The Mickelburg brothers win after 20 year legal battle

 
This one has everything 

The almost perfect crime
The frame up by the cops
The 20 year fight for justice
Ray Mickelberg the ex SAS soldier
Brian Mickelberg's conviction being overturned after nine months and his death an aircraft crash. 
The suicide of one of the crooked cops
The death by bombing at the hands of bikies of the crooked cops superior, Don Hancock who is alleged to have shot a bikie
The vindication of an author who had to fight off the cops attempts to suppress the story. http://www.bookscope.com.au/index.htm
The conviction of other members of the family for fraud
The continuing questions.

And then there is the mystery of the gold itself.

Can’t wait for Harry M Miller to get the movie up.


"Ray and Peter's latest appeal centred largely on the June 2002 admission by former detective Tony Lewandowski that he and his superior, Don Hancock, had framed all three brothers.

Mr Lewandowksi, who was found dead at his Perth home six weeks ago and who is believed to have killed himself, confessed notes of interviews had been fabricated, perjured evidence tendered and a beating handed out to Peter by Mr Hancock.

"In these circumstances, and given my conclusion that the fresh evidence now available plainly casts doubt upon the police evidence of admissions made it seems to me, once again, that there is a substantial possibility that the jury reached its verdict in reliance upon false evidence and was consequently misled in the manner in which it reached its conclusion," Justice Steytler wrote in his judgement.

Outside court, lawyer for Ray Mickelberg, Malcolm McCusker QC, said he was "delighted" the appeal was successful and that the Mickelbergs' fight was now over.

"I feel elated that at last the justice system has done the right thing," Mr McCusker told reporters.

He described it as "an excellent day for WA justice" but said it should have come sooner.

Attorney General Jim McGinty said while the split judgement suggested controversy surrounding the case would continue, he was confident "justice has been done".

"I think in the light of Lewandowski's confession that today's judgement in the Court of Criminal Appeal was the appropriate judgement," he said.

He said the government would consider any application for compensation the Mickelbergs might lodge, but that no such application was expected while a separate Mickelberg action alleging malicious prosecution remained before the courts.

The case indicated "a failing on the part of the police and the law enforcement process of this state", Mr McGinty said.

But the WA Police Service was not taking a backward step.

A disappointed Assistant Police Commissioner Mel Hay said, "There is an abundance of evidence to suggest and point the finger in their direction so that evidence is still there, that hasn't been expunged or taken away in any way.

"It still exists today and one can't ignore it."

Author Avon Lovell – who extracted Mr Lewandowski's confession – also admitted to being disappointed, but for entirely different reasons.

"I think that it is such an appalling thing that it has taken 22 years for justice to happen, but in an odd way it's not justice," Mr Lovell said.

"The justice system has absolutely failed. It hasn't worked. It's only come to this decision because it's been flogged, pushed and prodded with spears."

Attempts to contact the Mickelbergs today proved unsuccessful, after the brothers enlisted the assistance of agent to the stars, Harry M Miller.

When asked why the brothers were not present to witness the end of their fight, Mr McCusker said, "They didn't come down. They were very apprehensive about the outcome after this long wait". 
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...5E1702,00.html

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...5E1702,00.html
 

Wrong side of the law

Date- March 4, 2012
A notorious miscarriage of justice marked the beginning of trial by TV, writes Michael Idato.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/wrong-side-of-the-law-20120302-1u6kj.html#ixzz2YduoVnK2
 
v

The Great Mint Swindle

An entertaining telemovie about Australia’s most famous unsolved gold heist.
Video will begin in 1 seconds.
LINDY CHAMBERLAIN, Gordon Wood, Gabe Watson … to measure the way television has changed our perception of crime, look no further than the way coverage of high-profile trials fuels backyard barbecue debates over people's innocence or guilt.
In 1982, however, a television trial was a very new thing. And the arrest and conviction of three brothers - Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg - for robbing the Perth Mint was one of the first crimes catapulted by television from the crime pages of the newspaper into people's living rooms.
''The police allowed, for the first time, television cameras into the raid and they filmed the police ripping up floorboards, so it brought the crime into people's homes,'' says Paul Bennett, a producer of The Great Mint Swindle, which airs this week.
The Great Mint Swindle " src="http://images.smh.com.au/2012/03/01/3085885/art-613177757-420x0.jpg"
Cast of The Great Mint Swindle
The crime was the theft of 49 gold bars and the enduring TV image was the discovery of gold under the Mickelbergs' floorboards. The gold was legal and the Mickelbergs had receipts to prove it but, Bennett says, ''those television images are powerful - people see it on television and they ask, why would you have gold under the floorboards?''
The Mickelbergs were tried and found guilty, sentenced to 20 (Ray), 16 (Peter) and 12 years' jail (Brian). What makes the case so compelling is that in 2004 all three convictions were finally quashed - a twist given particular resonance in 2012 given the recent acquittals for Gordon Wood and Gabe Watson and the fourth inquest into the death of Azaria Chamberlain.
''It's a huge story in the West Australian psyche,'' co-producer Russell Vines says. ''But it's also a poisoned chalice, because it's fraught with intrigue, politics and legal issues. Until the case was settled it was simply impossible to tell the story.''
That didn't stop the Ten Network producing a telemovie in 1984, The Great Gold Swindle. It presumed the brothers' guilt and was caught up in the first of seven appeals by the brothers, not airing until 1986.
The genesis of Nine's telemovie, however, was an earlier Cordell Jigsaw biographical series, The Two of Us. Vines suggested Ray and Peter Mickelberg as subjects and then, he says, ''almost immediately regretted it'' given the difficulty of covering a 20-year saga in 30 minutes of television. It did, however, lead to ''the big drama that we have now done''.
Written by Perth playwright Reg Cribb, the $3 million telemovie tells the story from the perspective of youngest brother Peter (Todd Lasance), who serves as narrator. It stars Grant Bowler as eldest brother Ray, Josh Quong Tart as Brian and Shane Bourne as detective Don Hancock, who framed the brothers for the theft. It was filmed over seven weeks last year at Fremantle Prison, the Perth Mint and other locations connected to the story.
Bowler describes the story as a great mystery. ''To this day nobody knows where that gold is,'' he says. ''But it's also a human story, because the family are so tight.''
Bowler was also struck by what he felt were distinctly Australian qualities in the story. ''It's one of those great Australian stories about getting shafted, which all the way from Breaker Morant, is something we pay attention to,'' he says. ''Ned Kelly, who is considered an icon, was also a lunatic who tried to blow up a train, Chopper [Read] becomes a star here. Criminals [in Australia] tend to be either very, very quiet, or there is some quality in them we use to redeem them.''
In the case of the Mickelbergs, the only crime they were ultimately guilty of was the so-called Yellow Rose of Texas case, in which a manufactured gold nugget was fraudulently sold to Alan Bond for more than twice its value in 1980. ''My Australian DNA goes, 'that's awesome','' Bowler says. ''We all love that - that's the little guy getting the big guy.''
Vines agrees: ''What people love about the Mickelbergs is that they took on the establishment and in particular an establishment that couldn't admit its mistakes.''
Quong Tart spent time before the production researching archival footage from the case. He and his two co-stars also met with the two surviving brothers, Ray and Peter.
''Looking at the archival footage, I was struck by the very strong emotions,'' he says. ''There was anger but there was also an inquisitive determination to unlock the truth. And that has stayed with them to this day. If you're guilty, once you're out of jail that fight ends. For these guys it became a daily obsession.''
Vines says the case has particular resonance in Perth, which has an uneasy relationship with its judiciary. ''It starts before the Mickelbergs, with people like [Darryl] Beamish and [John] Button.'' They were wrongly convicted of murder in 1961 and '63 respectively and exonerated 44 and 39 years later. More recent cases include teenager Patrick Wearing, accused of rape and jailed in 2006 for almost a year awaiting trial before being proved innocent, and Andrew Mallard, wrongfully convicted of murder in 1995 but not exonerated until 2007.
''There is significant concern in this state about judiciary. If you can't trust the system, what can you trust?'' Vines says.
Lasance says the community's unwillingness to accept the innocence of the Mickelbergs taps into our fear that the framework intended to uphold law and civilised values can fail us. ''Look at the scenario: three people stitched up for something they did not do, eight years of their lives literally stolen in what were almost the worst conditions you could imagine, then losing their brother, splitting up three relationships, a family unit, kids, wives. This is the destruction of a family,'' he says.
''If the police are capable of fabricating a scenario where that's possible, it's a natural reaction to place guilt on the Mickelbergs because the other alternative - that the system could fail them - is a far worse scenario.''
And that, Bennett says, is the pivot on which the story sits. ''This could happen to you,'' he says. ''Ultimately people want to believe the system is strong and works and is on your side but stories like this make you doubt the system and when you do that the fabric of everything starts to fall apart.''
What's the buzz?
What was the ''Perth Mint Swindle''?
 
In 1982 the Perth Mint was tricked into exchanging 49 gold bars for stolen cheques. The gold, weighing 68 kilograms and valued at $653,000 (about $2 million today), was delivered to Jandakot Airport where it disappeared.
When were the Mickelbergs exonerated?
 
In 2002, during a royal commission into police corruption, retired police officer Tony Lewandowski admitted fabricating evidence to frame the brothers. By default his testimony implicated detective Don Hancock, who had died a year earlier. Lewandowski was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice (charges later dropped) and committed suicide in 2004.
Did the WA police apologise to the Mickelbergs?
 
In 2004, after seven appeals, Ray and Peter's convictions were quashed (Brian, who was killed in a light plane crash in 1986, had his conviction quashed in 1985). Assistant police commissioner Mel Hay challenged that ruling, prompting the brothers to sue for defamation. In 2007 that case was settled and the WA police issued an apology to the Mickelbergs for their wrongful conviction and jailing.
 
The Great Mint Swindle
Nine, Sunday, March 11, 8.30pm.
Preview, p25.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/wrong-side-of-the-law-20120302-1u6kj.html#ixzz2YduycL8x
 
 
 
 

Mickelberg brothers win appeal

July 2, 2004
After more than 20 years of maintaining their innocence, the brothers convicted of the infamous Perth Mint swindle today had their convictions overturned.
Ray and Peter Mickleberg's eighth appeal against their conviction for the 1982 theft of $653,000 in gold bullion from the mint was today upheld in the West Australian Supreme Court of Criminal Appeal.
In a 2-1 split decision, Chief Justice David Malcolm and Justice Christopher Steytler agreed the conviction should be quashed and no retrial ordered.
Justice Michael Murray disagreed, saying the appeal should be dismissed on the grounds that no miscarriage of justice had occurred.
Ray Mickelberg served eight years of a 20-year sentence for the swindle, while Peter served six years of a 14-year term.
The third Mickelberg brother, Brian, whose conviction was overturned after nine months behind bars, died in a light aircraft crash in 1986.
The latest appeal centred around self-confessed crooked detective Tony Lewandowski, who admitted in June 2002 that he and another detective, former Perth chief of detectives Don Hancock, had framed the three Mickelbergs.
The court had been deliberating the appeal since mid-December.
Earlier this week, Ray Mickelberg said that if the outcome did not go their way, they would appeal to the High Court.
- AAP
 
 
 
 
 
Discover Peter's Emails and Addresses
Spokeo.com

Peter Mickelberg

May Also Appear As:
 
 

Brothers: Justice, Corruption and the Mickelbergs by Antonio Buti

May 19, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment
 
3.5 stars (a good book within its genre as per Bookseller+Publisher ratings system)
Published by Fremantle Press, $32.95 tpb ISBN 9781921888472
Set against the excesses of the 1980s and populated with scandals, corrupt cops and corporate cowboys, Brothers is the saga of the notorious Perth Mint Swindle of 1982 in which more than half a million dollars’ worth of gold disappeared, and Brian, Peter and Ray Mickelberg were eventually jailed. The story follows the ensuing 25 years of courtroom battles including eight court appeals by the Mickelbergs.
The brothers claimed they had been ‘verballed’ by police, (the events took place before mandatory recording of police interviews), were convicted on circumstantial evidence, and that their statements had been fabricated.
WA author, lawyer and politician Antonio Buti, spent three years researching this intriguing case using a wide range of sources including interviews, court transcripts, and other books on the case. His ‘inside story’ of Lovell’s The Mickelberg Stitch makes a great read in itself.
Buti’s intricate rendering of the legal process, accompanied by abundant endnotes sometimes distracts from the flow of the narrative but Brothers will appeal to readers of true crime, lawyers, law students and anyone interested in our legal system.
© Paula Grunseit 2011
This review from Bookseller+Publisher magazine June 2011 was first published by Thorpe-Bowker, a division of RR Bowker LLC. © 2011, Thorpe-Bowker




































 

The knots in the Mickelberg stitch


By Neil Mercer
June 12 2002

On July 26, 1982, Peter Mickelberg was driving to his home in the northern Perth suburbs when a car pulled across in front of him, forcing him to brake suddenly. It was the police - more specifically, detectives involved in investigating the spectacular swindling of the Perth Mint. Peter Mickelberg was bundled into the police car and taken, curiously, to Belmont Police Station.
Little more than a month earlier, three separate couriers bearing three false cheques had arrived at the mint, been admitted, and not long after driven out with 49 gold bars worth about $653,000. The gold had then been delivered by the unsuspecting couriers to an office a few kilometres away. The couriers then disappeared.
The crime caused a sensation around Australia. It had all the ingredients of a Hollywood heist - it was daring, complex, carried out with almost military precision - and no one was hurt.
The crooks had also carried it out with ridiculous ease, taking advantage of the incredibly lax security procedures at the mint, which was smack bang in the middle of the city. Leading the investigation was one of the hard men of the Perth CIB, Detective Sergeant Don Hancock, or "the grey fox" as he was known at the time.
Through circumstantial evidence, the Mickelberg brothers - Peter, Brian and Ray - had come to the attention of police. They were basically cleanskins, with Peter having been fined $50 for possessing an unlicensed firearm. 
Nevertheless, Ray Mickelberg was no soft touch - he had served in the SAS and Vietnam and once described the selection process for the Special Air Services as "a crushing of the weak". Police believed him to be the mastermind.
So it was that Don Hancock was waiting at Belmont Police Station one rainy day when Peter Mickelberg, the youngest, and whom police believed to be the most vulnerable of the brothers, arrived.
With Hancock was another officer, a more junior detective named Tony Lewandowski.
As author Avon Lovell records in his courageous 1985 book, The Mickelberg Stitch, Belmont was a curious choice of venue given there was a special operational headquarters set up in the city.
Stranger still was that by the time Peter Mickelberg arrived, all the officers stationed there had gone, except the officer in charge, and he left soon after. That officer, Bob Kucera, is now the WA Health Minister. The opposition yesterday called for him to stand down pending an inquiry.
Mickelberg was left alone with Hancock and Lewandowski. For the best part of two decades the WA Police, up to the commissioner himself, have strenuously denied Mickelberg's version of what happened next. It is central to the claims by the three brothers that they were framed for the great mint swindle.
According to Peter Mickelberg, and as recorded in Lovell's book, detective Lewandowski grabbed him by the throat and said: "This is where you die you little fucker."
When Mickelberg asked for his solicitor, Lewandowski replied: "You're on another planet, no one knows you're here. As far as they're concerned, you could be dead."
Don Hancock then entered the room and said to his colleague: "Make him strip." Naked, he was handcuffed and seated.
"It was then that Hancock punched me in the solar plexus on at least two or three times . . . I was pretty shocked. He then chopped me . . . in the throat."
Peter Mickelberg said in the 1980s, and says to this day, he never confessed at Belmont to any involvement in the swindle. Nor did he implicate his big brother Ray, who police claimed was the strong man behind the operation.
Of course, the police, Hancock and Lewandowski, had a different version - Mickelberg had confessed and made statements implicating himself and his brothers, although they were unsigned.
Given the times, it's perhaps not surprising the jury believed the police. Peter, Ray and Brian were found guilty of swindling the mint, although Brian was later acquitted on appeal after serving nine months. Ray got 20 years, Peter 16.
The courts, initially at least, accepted the police version of events without too many qualms.
In November, 1989, seven years after the robbery and a great deal of publicity, the WA Court of Criminal Appeal rejected Peter's appeal against his conviction and sentence.
The police commissioner, Brian Bull, said the decision "totally vindicates the actions of the police in their investigation into the Perth mint swindle".
Brian Mickelberg died in a helicopter crash in 1986. Ray, the Vietnam veteran, served eight years, Peter ended up doing seven. After the two brothers were released they campaigned relentlessly to convince the courts and the public they were framed, although many believe the police had good reasons for "loading them up".
In the meantime, Don Hancock went on to become head of the Perth CIB, partly on the back of his "solving" of the high-profile case.
Enter Tony Lewandowski, the former detective who was with Hancock at Belmont Police Station.
His stunning admission that he fabricated the evidence is a development the brothers would never have dreamed of.
Lewandowski now tells a version of events that fits with the one told by Peter Mickelberg, and published by Avon Lovell, way back in 1985. In an affidavit to Western Australia's Director of Public Prosecutions last week he recalled the incident at Belmont Police Station on July 26, 1982: "I said to Don Hancock that I didn't believe we had enough evidence and he said to me: 'Don't worry, it will get better.'
"(On that day), Don Hancock came into the room and told me to make Peter strip naked. Don then went up to Peter and gave him two or three quick punches in the solar plexus. The statements purportedly taken from Peter Mickelberg . . . on July 26, 1982, were in fact not taken in Peter's presence that day, but were a fabrication made by Don Hancock and myself shortly after September 2, 1982.
"I gave evidence at the trial and numerous appeals. All that evidence in relation to the (brothers') so-called confessions . . . was false."
An insight into Hancock's character and his modus operandi emerged in late 1982 in a conversation involving Hancock, Peter and Ray, just before they went to trial. Secretly recorded at Ray's house, Hancock says at one stage: "Don't ever challenge me to do something because I'll f---ing well do it, all right. You can rest assured about that."
Peter: "You're mean Don."
Hancock: "I'm not a mean person, but I'll tell you what: I've done things in my life that you never did, and harder things, worse things, and if I've got to do them again, well, I'll do them again."
Ray: "In the line of duty?"
Hancock: "That's it, yes. What I believe is my line of duty - to get the job done."
Ray: "With violence if necessary?"
Hancock: "Well, maybe not - tried everything else!"
That conversation was not tendered during the trial, although it later emerged in another matter. Don Hancock's reputation is encapsulated in that tape recording - a hard, tough cop who knew how to get things done, to get results.
Retiring as head of the Perth CIB, and having grown up in the Goldfields, he went to the hamlet of Ora Banda to run the local pub. But in October, 2000, things started to go terribly wrong. Members of the Gypsy Jokers outlaw motorcycle gang started abusing the barmaid - Hancock's daughter - and he threw them out.
Later that night, one of the bikies, William Grierson, was shot dead as he sat around a campfire and the Gypsy Jokers immediately blamed Hancock.
In September last year, he and his mate, Lou Lewis, were blown up by a car bomb. Right to the end, Hancock refused police protection.
According to Lewandowski, it was the death of his former boss that freed him to tell the truth after all these years. "When Don Hancock was alive there was no chance of me going against his wishes. A couple of times I wanted to come clean but there was no way I could go against Don."
Apparently a broken man, he added: "I have had 20 years of hell. I lost my business, I have lost my wife, I have lost my son. I have gained nothing out of this, I am now telling the truth."
"Now that Don Hancock is dead I cannot harm him . . ."
Some of the material used in this article has been drawn from Avon Lovell's The Mickelberg Stitch.


Elizabeth Hancock. Picture: The West Australian


Mickelberg movie so wrong: widow




Sean Cowan, The West Australian
Updated March 3, 2012 


The widow of slain former CIB chief Don Hancock has broken down in tears while speaking about the way her late husband has been portrayed in a new telemovie based on the Perth Mint gold swindle.
But Elizabeth Hancock yesterday received little sympathy from Peter Mickelberg, who said Mr Hancock had been corrupt to the core.
"I do feel for her, but I seriously don't care what she thinks," he said. "He (Mr Hancock) committed perjury, he fabricated evidence, he assaulted me, he deprived me of my liberty. Add up how many years you would get for all this.
"To be frank, they've gone easy on Hancock in the movie.
"We won, they lost. Game, set and match, Elizabeth."
Mrs Hancock said she had not yet seen the movie, but had been upset at the advertisements. She does not intend to watch The Great Mint Swindle when it goes to air on Channel 9 next Sunday night after four years in production.
"I just don't know what I can do," she said. "There is nobody there to help me. It's so wrong. If he was so corrupt then what was the police department doing at the time?
"I know how honest he was. I was with him for 45 years and you have only got to read some of the evidence against them (Ray and Peter Mickelberg).
"They are just so obsessed with money and getting even."
In 2003, the Court of Criminal appeal quashed the convictions against Ray and Peter for stealing $650,000 in gold bullion from the Perth Mint in 1982.
The court's decision was based on the admission by corrupt detective Tony Lewandowski that he had helped to frame the brothers and police had falsified their confessions.
They later received a $1 million ex gratia payment from the State government for the 15� years they spent in jail.
A third brother, Brian, was released from jail in 1985, but died in a plane crash a year later.
During the 95-minute movie, Mr Hancock, played by veteran actor Shane Bourne, frames the brothers for the theft and beats Peter at Belmont Police Station. He also threatens to have Mr Lewandowski's son murdered.
The narration, by the actor playing Peter, also hints that Mr Hancock may have been responsible for the swindle and that police may have been responsible for Mr Hancock's murder because he had become a liability.
Gypsy Jokers bikie Sid Reid is serving a jail term over Mr Hancock's death, which he said was payback because Mr Hancock had killed gang member Billy Grierson.
Perth producer Russell Vines said the movie had been sympathetic to the Mickelbergs, but was "co-operation, not collaboration".
He said he did not expect Mrs Hancock to be happy with the way in which her husband was portrayed, but she would probably not be happy with the public's perception of her husband, either. 






A scene from <i>The Great Mint Swindle</i>.


A scene from The Great Mint Swindle.

Which is exactly what happened when the real Mickelberg, who just happened to be enjoying a stroll around the leafy suburb of Applecross while the cast and crew of Nine's new telemovie The Great Mint Swindle were filming the harrowing scene that is seared into the minds of most West Australians, according to producer Russell Vines.

Advertisement 

The infamous car explosion, which killed retired Detective Sergeant Don Hancock on a quiet Lathlain Street in 2001, opens the made-for-television movie.

"To understand the full story we have to go back 20 years," a voice says before we cut to the early 1980s.

The golden age of Western Australian, before the fly-in, fly-out acronym FIFO was thought up in some noughties newsroom, where Bondy was king and corruption was as widespread as bad perms, aviator sunglasses and super-charged Toranas.

"The bellies in WA were as big as the bank accounts. Greed was God," the narrator Peter Mickelberg, played by Todd Lasance, says as a faceless and shirtless rotund man (presumably Alan Bond) wanders around his palatial Western suburbs mansion.

The story is based on the three Mickelberg brothers, Ray (played by Grant Bowler) Peter and the late Brian (Josh Quong Tart) and their infamous PR stunt - a manufactured, backyard gold nugget called the Yellow Rose of Texas which they claimed to have discovered while prospecting.

All is peachy for the brothers after Bond buys the find which was made in Ray's back shed, as the soundtrack featuring Midnight Oil and The Strangeloves pepper images of beach barbecues and a loving family unit, until 62 kilograms of gold, worth an estimated $2 million today, is swindled out of the Perth Mint in 1982 when it was "leaking like a sieve."

Sergeant Hancock, played by Shane Bourne, answers the "embarrassing call from higher up than the minister" to restore the tainted image of the lawless wild west.

Like a bloodhound, Hancock and his henchman Tony Lewandowski (played by John Batchelor), pursue Ray, Peter and Brian as the prime suspects for the heist.

After being jailed in 1983 to serve sentences ranging from 12 to 20 years, the brothers begin their 22-year battle to prove their innocence.

Some brief - yet cheeky - references to Bond, WA Inc and The America's Cup are thrown in which adds some comedic relief before Ray loses his finger in a jail yard fight and Brian dies in a plane crash.

"Bond wants to buy the Yellow Rose of Texas," Ray tells his brothers.

"Who? James Bond?" Peter replies.

Brain's response to an offer to go prospecting for gold, echoes the sentiments of many Perth workers even today, "Nah, I'd rather go to Bali," he says - without the Sh** Perth People Say hashtag.

Classic moments which have been fished out of the network's archives, including Richard Carlton's 60 Minutes expose into the glaring holes in the Mickelberg's case and a rather terse interview with sergeant Hancock, are synced to perfection.

The Great Mint Swindle, with its cast of relative yet talented unknowns is what Underbelly was before Matt Newton was cast – an interesting story told by actors who invested themselves into every angle, shot and syllable of an earnest script.

The Great Mint Swindle is coming soon to Nine.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/nine-forgo-sex-and-drugs-to-just-take-the-gold-20120210-1s296.html#ixzz208fdf6QX
 

Whistle

Friday 3rd November 1989

 

Newsletter for WhistleBlowers Association

 

PO Box U129, Wollongong NSW 2500

 

Unstitching the Mickelbergs
On June 11, one of the lead news stories was that a WA police officer had admitted to helping frame Brian, Ray and Peter Mickelberg for swindling gold from the Perth Mint nearly 20 years previously.
What was not mentioned in the initial news story was the role of defamation law in preventing discussion of the issue. In 1983, Avon Lovell (now WBA Vice-President) wrote a book, The Mickelberg Stitch, providing evidence of a police frame-up. It was
selling like hotcakes until defamation actions were launched by the WA police against the author, publisher and booksellers. These cases proceeded for years, funded by a levy on the salaries of police officers. In this way, defamation law helped to cover up corrupt
behaviour. — Brian Martin

Paige Goodsell courageously spoke out about sexually abusive initiation rites at the North Burleigh Surf Life Saving Club in Queensland, leading to an inquiry and suspensions.

Workers suffer for whistle-blowing
Transcript from ABC 7.30 Report, 25 March 2002

MAN: We've been treated like criminals for doing the right thing.

NORM BREW: It was a nightmare. You were under constant threat of
being harassed, abused even if you did the right thing.

PETER CAVE: Norm Brew has six young children. His colleague Lindsay Woods has a pregnant wife and a baby daughter. Both had a lot to lose in reporting what was going on in an anonymous office at the end of platform three at Wyong station on the NSW Central Coast.
A year ago, while working as revenue enforcement officers for State
Rail, they blew the whistle on what they claim was a culture of bullying,
harassment and illegality by some of their workmates who were jokingly
known as the ‘marines.’

NORM BREW: We were told the night that we finished at Goulburn Academy by two senior managers that we were going into a unit that did things their way, not the railway’s.
They took no prisoners and they got the job done no matter what they had
to do.

LINDSAY WOODS: They were breaking the law, false imprisonment
of passengers, harassment of other staff. They had illegal databases with tens of thousands of names on it.

PETER CAVE: Revenue protection officers are not special constables.
They’re told during their training about the limits on their power. What are you
supposed to do when you stop someone who hasn't got a ticket?

NORM BREW: Firstly you will ask them for identification. If they
want to give you the identification they give it to you. We haven't got the right or the law behind us to demand identification.

PETER CAVE: What were you
asked to do at Wyong on a daily basis?
NORM BREW: Demand identifi-
cation.
PETER CAVE: What if you didn’t
get it?
NORM BREW: Arrest the person
and have the police called and hold the
person until the police arrived.
PETER CAVE: Woods and Brew
claim that they and their colleagues
were ordered to demand identification
such as tax file numbers and Medicare
and pension card details in contraven-
tion of Federal law. That information
was meticulously collated, along with
the names and addresses of people
suspected, but not convicted, of fare
evasion and then entered into a
computer database.
LINDSAY WOODS: We
complained of it to management on
March 1. Approximately three months
later, staff at Wyong were still putting
data into the database.

CHRIS PUPLICK, NSW 
PRIVACY COMMISSION: This was drawn to the attention of Privacy NSW. We raised it with State Rail immediately.

PETER CAVE: Chris Puplick is the NSW privacy commissioner. He became involved in the case after receiving a complaint.

 CHRIS PUPLICK: Clearly there are copies of this material around.
What I want to know now is what is State Rail doing in relation to the people who have committed this
outrage? And secondly, what steps are they putting in place to ensure that nothing like this happens again?

 PETER CAVE: What action was taken against those who compiled the
database?
MICHAEL GLEESON, NSW
STATE RAIL AUTHORITY: I think it
needs to be understood what their
motivations may have been. Now I'm
of the view, and I think CityRail is of
the view, that in good faith they
believed they were trying to keep track
of those people who were serial fare
evaders.
PETER CAVE: So the message to
CityRail employees is you can break
state and Federal laws and not be
punished?
MICHAEL GLEESON: No, the message is we will not tolerate such things and if found, we will have them destroyed and counsel people as to
what they should do in the future.

PETER CAVE: The database at Wyong was wiped from the computers,
but so far no charges have been laid.
What do you believe should have happened to the people who collected the information?

CHRIS PUPLICK: I think they should have been summarily dismissed. I don’t think there is any place in a government organisation for
people who go around improperly collecting information, compiling databases on people, copying those databases, presumably spreading them around the place, gossiping about them.

PETER CAVE: The two men that Woods and Brew accused are appealing against disciplinary measures imposed for relatively minor breaches of State Rail rules, but for the whistle- blowers, the repercussions have been devastating. Some of their colleagues refused to work with them and State Rail transferred them, saying it was for their own welfare.

LINDSAY WOODS [reading]: It was not a part of, or as a result, of State Rail forming a view about the complaint.

PETER CAVE: They refused toaccept that transfer and they’re now living on welfare benefits, engaged in a paper war seeking compensation and reinstatement at Wyong.

LINDSAY WOODS: We reported corruption on March 1. We didn’t hear anything for approximately seven months. Basically the first thing we heard in seven months was we're under investigation. “You’re transferred.” We asked why we were under
investigation and they said that an illegal petition had gone in, signed by others at the Wyong depot. We wrote in a response to that. They then wrote back two weeks later, saying that we weren’t transferred under investigation, we were
actually transferred because of safetyreasons.

MICHAEL GLEESON: It is myview that we believed that there was an occupational health and safety issue there. Everyone wants to work in a harmonious workplace and at that stage, it was not a harmonious work- place.
It was potentially volatile and so as we could keep a team in place to catch the crooks who are cheating the system, Mr Woods and Mr Brew were moved temporarily and since then have been offered a position in our elite squad.

PETER CAVE: They were moved because they were troublemakers?

MICHAEL GLEESON: No, that’s an unreasonable representation. Mr Woods and Brew were moved aside temporarily while an investigation took place. Two people have subsequently been demoted.
We then attempted, from Novem- ber 1 to February 7, to have a meeting with Mr Woods and Mr Brew to try and work out what they would like to take place. They would not come into a meeting. On February 7 they were
offered a position with our elite squad. They have knocked that back.
PETER CAVE: Why didn’t you take the job they offered you?

LINDSAY WOODS: The job they offered us — the majority of it was back shift and night shift down in the city.

NORM BREW: The job was 12 months. When asked what happened after the 12 months, they just said flatly, “We don’t know.”

PETER CAVE: Does CityRail agree there was something rotten going on?

MICHAEL GLEESON: There is no question that the Wyong situation was one that couldn’t continue. Now, there is a new manager in place there. There is a new head of security, generally, in CityRail and we are working very carefully with both the
unions and with the personnel in Wyong to try and sort the area out.

PETER CAVE: That’s scant comfort for Woods and Brew, off work now for five months and convinced that they, and not the wrongdoers, are being punished.

NORM BREW: If I had of known it was going to be like this, I probably would have had second or third thoughts, I wouldn’t have done it. But it had to be done because people need to know.

MICHAEL GLEESON: It is our great hope that there can be some assimilation with Woods and Brew. My advice to them, if they’re watching this, is to make contact with
management again. Let’s try and find a way forward. It is our great hope that
we can utilise them to the best to their ability. But, let’s see.

LINDSAY WOODS: Our career is finished in CityRail.

NORM BREW: Gone. No matter what they offer us, we know, person-
ally, that it will only be a matter of time. Political intelligence What happens when U.S. spies get the goods — and the government won’t listen?

Ken Silverstein and David Isenberg Mother Jones, Jan/Feb 2002, p. 36
In 1989, an intelligence analyst working for then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney issued a startling report. After reviewing classified information from field agents, he had determined that Pakistan, despite official denials, had built a nuclear bomb. “I was not out there alone,” the analyst, Richard Barlow, recalls. “This was the same
conclusion that had been reached by many people in the intelligence community.”
But Barlow’s conclusion was politically inconvenient. A finding that Pakistan possessed a nuclear bomb would have triggered a congressionally mandated cutoff of aid to the country, a key ally in the CIA’s efforts to support Afghan rebels fighting a pro-Soviet government. It also would have killed a $1.4-billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Islamabad.
Barlow’s report was dismissed as alarmist. A few months later, a Pentagon official downplayed Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities in testimony to Congress. When Barlow
protested to his superiors, he was fired.
Three years later, in 1992, a high-ranking Pakistani official admitted that
the country had developed the ability to assemble a nuclear weapon by 1987,
In 1998, Islamabad detonated its first bomb. “This was not a failure of intelligence,” says Barlow. “The intelligence was in the system.”
Barlow’s case points to an issue that has largely been overlooked in the post-September 11 debate about how to “fix” the nation’s spy networks: Sometimes, the problem with intelligence is not a lack of information, but
a failure to use it.
In the early days of the Vietnam War, a CIA analyst named Sam Adams discovered that the United States was seriously underestimating the strength of the Vietcong. The agency squelched his findings and he left in frustration.
During the Reagan years, Melvin Goodman, then a top Soviet analyst at
the agency, reported that the “Evil Empire” was undergoing a severe
economic and military decline.
Goodman was pressured to revise his findings because, he says, then-CIA director William Casey wanted to portray a Soviet Union “that was 10
feet tall” in order to justify bigger military budgets. (Reagan’s secretary
of state, George Shultz, put it more delicately in his memoirs: Reports from Casey’s CIA, he wrote, were “distorted by strong views about
policy.”)
At about the same time Barlow issued his warnings about Pakistan, an Energy Department analyst named  Bryan Siebert was investigating
Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program. His report concluded that “Iraq has a
major effort under way to produce nuclear weapons,” and recommended
that the National Security Council look into the matter. But the Bush admini-
stration which had been supporting Iraq as a counterweight to the Ayatol-
lah Khomeini’s Iran ignored the report.
It was only in 1990, after Saddam invaded Kuwait, that clear-eyed
intelligence reporting on Iraq came into fashion.
More recently, the Clinton admini- stration went to great lengths to protect
Boris Yeltsin, who was viewed as a critical partner in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. One former intelligence analyst says that Al
Gore and his national security adviser, Leon Fuerth, would “bury their heads
in the sand” if presented with any derogatory report about Yeltsin.
“Taking unpopular positions means that you get bad reviews and don’t get promoted,” he says. “Some analysts simply stop pursuing information because they know that it can get them into trouble.”
A different type of political filtering takes place when the CIA relies on
“liaison relationships” with foreign intelligence agencies, whose reports are often colored by the biases of the local elite. One notorious example came in Iran in the 1970s, when despite decades of cooperation with the secret police, the U.S. government
failed to grasp the extent of public opposition to the Shah. Less than four
months before Khomeini’s revolution toppled the Iranian monarchy in early 1979, the Defense Intelligence Agencyreported that the Shah was “expected
to remain actively in power over the next 10 years.”
In Pakistan, the CIA has worked closely with the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) ever since the two institutions teamed up in
the 1980s to fund and direct the Afghan guerrillas. After the Taliban took power in 1996, the CIA relied on the Pakistanis for help in monitoring the regime. But the agency reportedly got little support or information from its ally in Islamabad — probably
because ISI was also one of the Taliban’s primary backers.
“We have consistently misled ourselves because we don’t have our
own sources of information,” warns Burton Hersh, author of The Old Boys:
The American Elite and the Origins of the CIA.  “If we had had people working the bazaars in Saudi Arabia or Egypt, we would have seen that there is a lot of unhappiness and that even upper-middle-class people were thinking about joining up with bin
Laden.”
Reforms of U.S. intelligence — whether they involve bigger budgets, better recruiting, or more effective spying — won’t make much of a difference, Hersh and others warn, as
long as officials are unwilling to hear the bad news.








 

                                                                                 



Perth Mint Swindle
Perth Mint Swindle
 
Date of Incident: 22-6-1982
Date of Conviction:
Exoneration Date: 2-7-2004
Charge: Theft
 Conviction: Theft
Sentence: 20 years
Sentence Served: 8 years
Contributing Causes: Police misconduct
Compensation: Yes
 
    
Ray MICKLEBERG
After more than 20 years of maintaining their innocence, the brothers convicted of the Perth Mint swindle had their convictions overturned in 2004
Ray and Peter Mickelberg's appeal against their conviction for the 1982 theft of $653,000 in gold bullion from the Perth mint was upheld in the West Australian Supreme Court of Criminal Appeal after eight attempts at appeal.
Ray Mickelberg served eight years of a 20-year sentence for the swindle, while Peter served six years of a 14-year term.
The third Mickelberg brother, Brian, whose conviction was overturned after nine months behind bars, died in a light aircraft crash in 1986.
A former police officer, Lewandowski has admitted that he and another detective lied and faked evidence during the trial and had fabricated confessions from the brothers. He had also admitted that Peter Mickelberg was stripped naked and beaten by interviewing officers during the investigation
 

The famous Perth Mint gold swindle

March 09, 2012 , 4:24 PM by KuljaCoulston
 

Afternoons with Richard Stubbs

 
 
wrongly convicted of Australia’s most famous gold swindle, where 49 gold bars were taken from the Perth Mint.
The Mickelbergs were jailed, but later released, and have never given up the fight to have their names cleared.
Richard Stubbs speaks to Peter Mickelberg, the youngest of the three brothers, about the case, his ordeal, and the new Australian telemovie about this intriguing unsolved crime. The telemovie premieres on Channel 9 on Sunday 11 March at 8.30pm.
 

WA police admit to perjury in Perth Mint swindle case

 

AM Archive - Tuesday, 11 June , 2002  00:00:00

Reporter: Tanya Nolan

LINDA MOTTRAM: They've been extraordinary new developments in one of Western Australia's most notorious crimes and they promise to inject even more controversy into the State's Royal Commission into alleged police corruption which is due to begin in three weeks. WA's Attorney-General Jim McGinty has announced that one of the key investigating officers in the 1982 Perth mint swindle has admitted that he and other police officers perjured themselves, fabricated evidence and used force to get confessions from the three men convicted of the crime, the Mickelberg brothers. From Perth, Tanya Nolan reports.

TANYA NOLAN: The sworn affidavit given by the former detective will be like a hand grenade thrown into the midst of the West Australian Royal Commission into alleged police corruption when it begins at the end of the month. State Attorney-General Jim McGinty outlined to a stunned media conference what was contained in the affidavit delivered by Anthony Lewandowski to the WA Director of Public Prosecutions.

JIM McGINTY: Firstly, that the evidence that was given in the trial of the Mickelbergs was fabricated; secondly, that both he and others perjured themselves in not only the original trial but also subsequent Court of Criminal Appeal matters; thirdly that there was a physical assault on Peter Mickelberg by both he and Don Hancock. This is one of the most high profile cases that we've had in Western Australia and if these allegations are true, then I think it will rock public confidence in the way in which the police conducted their investigations as well as the subsequent trials.

TANYA NOLAN: Mr Lewandowski's admissions also have the potential to incriminate his former colleague, the past Chief of Western Australia's Criminal Investigations Bureau, Don Hancock who was killed in a car bomb explosion in Perth last year and the Attorney-General says the former officer has only now decided to go public because he didn’t want to go against Mr Hancock's wishes while he was alive. It's been one of the most colourful chapters in Western Australia's criminal history. Three brothers convicted of using stolen cheques to purchase $650,000 worth of gold from the Perth Mint, a bounty which has never been found. The Mickelbergs have always professed their innocence allegedly police acted corruptly in obtaining their confession and while the new evidence has been referred for further investigation, Attorney-General Jim McGinty was quick to point out that the Affidavit doesn't go as far as to clear the brothers of the crime.

JIM McGINTY: The affidavit makes the point that in the mind of Detective Lewandowski that the Mickelbergs did the crime. That was his belief and it is a matter that now needs to be fully and comprehensively investigated.

TANYA NOLAN: It's believed Mr Lewandowski has fled the country in fear of his safety and it's unclear whether he will return to give evidence to the Royal Commission.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Tanya Nolan reporting from Perth.
 

Mint swindle libel suits wrecked health and cash

http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/crimeandjustice/cnj56.php
 
14/2/2009

By Bret Christian

The massive human and financial costs that grew from a corrupt police officer’s libel suit were revealed in the Supreme Court this week.

Pushing libel actions against author Avon Lovell and defending counter-suits have cost the WA Police Union $850,000, including a $275,000 settlement payment to Mr Lovell in 1996. Most of it went to lawyers.

Mr Lovell is now on the edge of bankruptcy and police and a former police union official named in the suits have had their health badly affected by the stress.

Mr Lovell told the POST he was “on the bones of his bum” but was now free to finish a book “exposing the WA legal system as a vehicle for oppression”.

Self-confessed perjuror Tony Lewandowski is dead, as is his boss in the notorious Perth Mint swindle investigation, Don Hancock, who wasblown up by a bikie’s bomb.

Three Mickelberg brothers – Ray, Brian and Peter – were wrongly convicted of tricking the Perth mint out of more than $600,000 in gold in 1982.

Whoever committed the crime used stolen cheques and an elaborate system of phone calls and couriers booked to call at a rented office in Hay Street, Subiaco, opposite Princess Margaret Hospital.

This week three judges of the Court of Appeal ruled against Mr Lovell’s bid to reopen his $5 million claim against the Police Union, its then president Ric Stingemore, law firm Kott Gunning and six police officers involved in the original investigation.

The court ruled that Mr Lovell was beaten by the statute of limitations, which prevents civil actions being pursued after six years. But it was the human and financial details that emerged in the judgment that again proved the saying: “He who goes to law holds a wolf by the ears”.

Tony Lewandowski was the first detective to go to law with his lying statement of claim in 1985.

It said there were untrue assertions in Mr Lovell’s book, The Mickelberg Stitch, that Mr Lewandowski and Mr Hancock had faked evidence against the Mickelbergs, then lied in court to help convict them.

But in 2003 Mr Lewandowski sensationally recanted, swearing affidavits and giving evidence in court to three appeal judges that he and Mr Hancock had “stitched” the Mickelbergs and lied in their jury trial and to judges in subsequent appeals.

All along he and Mr Hancock were backed in their legal actions by the police union and the other young officers, who have maintained that they gave truthful evidence in court.

This week the latest set of appeal judges said Mr Lewandowki’s confessions had implicated only Mr Hancock, not the other officers.

Nobody predicted that Mr Lewandowski’s writ for libel against Mr Lovell would see much older and now ailing officers still fighting in the courts 24 years later.

Most had retired, some were sick, their illness magnified by the stress of massive payouts hanging over their heads.

Mr Lovell said in evidence he had been coerced into settling with the police and their union in 1996 because he had not then heard Mr Lewandowski’s admissions.

But this week the Court of Appeal ruled that the six-year clock for the statute of limitations started ticking with that 1996 settlement.

The court rejected Mr Lovell’s argument that there was an ongoing conspiracy to deprive him of his rights dating from the first 1985 court action, lasting right up to when Mr Lewandowski confessed in 2003, Mr Lovell had claimed the people he was suing had until 2003 “fraudulently maintained false evidence”.

He said this was an unlawful use of the court’s process. But the court ruled that Mr Lovell maintained this more than a decade earlier – he just did not then have the detail of Mr Lewandowski’s admissions.

The court also criticised Mr Lovell for filing his latest appeal four years out of time.

The appeal judges said Mr Lovell had had no formal employment since 2004 – “his income is small and intermittent and he has few other resources”.

He had to represent himself in court.

Justice Neville Owen said: “Given all that has happened in relation to the Perth Mint swindle and its aftermath, I have sympathy for the situation in which (Mr Lovell) finds himself and his determination to pursue a remedy.”

But, the judge said, he was bound to deal with the legal process.

The court also considered the public interest in allowing the case to proceed.

“The continuing threats of litigation by the applicant (Mr Lovell) is having a serious effect on the union’s ability to manage its budget and resources,” Justice Owen wrote.

The union had said it might not be able to continue to pay to defend the officers.

In addition, the deaths of detectives Hancock and Lewan - dowski meant that the defence of other officers would be prejudiced because their evidence was no longer available.

The judge said Mr Stingemore now suffered from cancer and was on daily medication. “The legal proceedings (by Mr Lovell) since 1990 have had a considerable impact on his mental health,” Justice Owen wrote.

“The stress has exacerbated his condition.”

The surviving officers are now aged 56, 57, 59, 67 and 73. Their ailments listed in the judgment range from clinical depression, epileptic seizures, osteoarthritis and growths on the vocal chords.

As for Mr Lovell, the effect of the court decision would be serious, Justice Owen wrote.

“It will be very difficult for (him) to seek redress against these (officers). “That has to be balanced against the prejudice pointed to by the (police) and against the general history of litigation between the parties.

“The public interest in finality of litigation comes into play.” Justices Christopher Steytler and Christopher Pullin agreed.

Mr Lovell said he had been “down” after the decision, but he had done everything he could and would now return to his trade.

“I argued that I was the good guy and that I should be allowed to proceed in the interests of justice,” he said.

“But they stuck to the letter of the law.

“Now I’ll go back to what I do best. There will be two quick books – the first a big critique of the judicial system, and there’s a screenplay waiting in Holly - wood,” he said.

The two surviving Mickelberg brothers, Ray and Peter, were given long jail sentences but were exonerated in 2004 by the Appeal Court after Mr Lewan - dowski confessed.

They are pursuing actions for damages against former police officers and the state government.
 

Mickelberg brothers find unlikely ally


http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s2141883.htm
 
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 18/01/2008
Reporter: Hamish Fitzsimmons
 
The WA Police Union has accused the State Government of selling out its officers by settling compensation to the Mickelberg brothers, who will receive an ex gratia payment of a million dollars for their wrongful convictions for the 1982 Perth Mint swindle, but allowing them to continue legal action against former police officers.
 

Transcript

ALI MOORE: This week, the West Australian Government tried to close the book on one of the country's longest running legal battles when it paid out $1-million to two brothers wrongfully convicted of the infamous Perth mint swindle in 1982. Ray and Peter Mickelberg received ex-gratia payments of $500,000 each after serving more than eight and six years in jail respectively. Their convictions were overturned in 2004 but they say the payment doesn't even come close to covering their costs in clearing their names and they've vowed to press on with civil action against the police officers involved in the case. 

Hamish Fitzsimmons reports. 

RAY MICKELBERG: We lost our families, we lost our homes, we lost our jobs, we've lost the lot and then the Government offers us $500,000, knowing we lost the lot. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: More than 25 years after their wrongful conviction in one of the State's longest running legal sagas, Ray and Peter Mickelberg have received the largest ex-gratia payment in the history of WA. But rather than ending the matter, the payment has made the brothers even more determined to continue their legal battle. 

RAY MICKELBERG: We haven't asked for much more, we just said, "Give us back what you took from us." They couldn't even do that. That's the type of justice that exists in WA. 

PETER MICKELBERG: Ray and I have been fighting this case for 25 years so when you work it out on that basis and put it in that perspective at $20,000 a year, it's not a hell of a lot of money. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: In 1982, in what police described as a heist executed with daring and precision, the Perth mint was defrauded of $650,000 worth of gold bullion. The case had the element offences of a Hollywood movie, tough cops bent on getting a conviction, an SAS and Vietnam veteran, and hundreds of thousands of missing gold. Weeks after the heist, Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were arrested and charged. They were convicted in 1983. 

RAY MICKELBERG: This is how naive we were, on the morning that I was taken for trial I said to my wife and kids, I kissed them good bye and said, "I'll see you tonight." I'll see you tonight and I didn't see my family again for 8 and a half years. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Former soldier Ray Mickelberg served eight years in jail. His brother Peter Mickelberg 6.5 years, another brother, Brian Mickelberg, served nine months before he died in a plane crash in 1986. In 2002, one of the investigating police officers Tony Lewandowski, confessed that he and another senior officer, Don Hancock, fabricated the evidence against the brothers and that he and Detective Hancock had beaten Peter Mickelberg. 

(1989) DON HANCOCK, FORMER DETECTIVE: Go and talk to your scumbag friends there. 

PETER MICKELBERG: He just called me a scumbag. You heard that from the ex-chief of the CIB, called me a scumbag. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Lewandowski was charged and sent to trial over the matter. 

(2005) TONY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER POLICER OFFICER: All I really want to say is that I'm certainly going to fulfil my agreement with the court and see the matter through to the end. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: But after the charges were thrown out of court Lewandowski committed suicide in 2004. Later that year the Mickelberg brothers' convictions were quashed. 

JIM MCGINTY, WA ATTORNEY-GENERAL: I'm very pleased this brings to an end the Mickelberg saga, so far as the State Government is concerned. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The State Attorney-General believe the million dollar payment washes the Government's hands of the case. 

JIM MCGINTY: Altogether, $1.65 million a has now been paid to the Mickelbergs, $500,000 each plus $658,000 has already been paid to meet their legal expenses in mounting both their 1998 and 2004 appeal. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: But the police and Mickelbergs now find themselves agreeing that the case is far from over. 

MIKE DEAN, POLICE UNION: These police officers at the time were employed by Government. He cannot get away from the fact that the Government has responsibility for them. 

RAY MICKELBERG: The decision by the Attorney-General and Government has now left us no alternative other than to go forward in our action against the police. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The Mickelberg civil action is against the estates of Tony Lewandowski and Don Hancock and five other officers who were involved in the case. They hope it will be the fair and open trial they feel they never had. 

RAY MICKELBERG: Every police officer involved will be called, this time they'll be properly cross-examined. 

PETER MICKELBERG: They have to be made responsible for their actions, it's as simple as that. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The Police Union believes the Government may be dragged back into the case, if not by the Mickelbergs, then by the police officers. 

MIKE DEAN: The Attorney General had the opportunity to finally close and put this entire matter to bed. He should have taken that option 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: How? 

MIKE DEAN: Essentially by paying them enough money to get rid of the entire case. 

JIM MCGINTY: That is ultimately a private matter between the Mickelbergs and those individuals, their civil action will not involve the State and there will be no comeback against the State. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Police say the Perth mint swindle is still an open case and no one may ever know who stole the gold. 

MIKE DEAN: My view is that it will never be resolved. The truth got lost many years ago. 

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: But the Mickelbergs say they know one thing - justice is something they've had to fight almost a lifetime for and they've chosen another potentially lengthy legal battle. 

RAY MICKELBERG: If you take us on, be prepared for major, major fight, and we say this now to Mick Dean and the Government. It is not over. 

PETER MICKELBERG: It has consumed our lives to the extent that we haven't had much of a life in 25 years. 

Hamish Fitzsimmons reporting from Perth.
 
 
The knots in the Mickelberg stitch
 
 

The knots in the Mickelberg stitch

By Neil Mercer
June 12 2002

On July 26, 1982, Peter Mickelberg was driving to his home in the northern Perth suburbs when a car pulled across in front of him, forcing him to brake suddenly. It was the police - more specifically, detectives involved in investigating the spectacular swindling of the Perth Mint. Peter Mickelberg was bundled into the police car and taken, curiously, to Belmont Police Station.
Little more than a month earlier, three separate couriers bearing three false cheques had arrived at the mint, been admitted, and not long after driven out with 49 gold bars worth about $653,000. The gold had then been delivered by the unsuspecting couriers to an office a few kilometres away. The couriers then disappeared.
The crime caused a sensation around Australia. It had all the ingredients of a Hollywood heist - it was daring, complex, carried out with almost military precision - and no one was hurt.
The crooks had also carried it out with ridiculous ease, taking advantage of the incredibly lax security procedures at the mint, which was smack bang in the middle of the city. Leading the investigation was one of the hard men of the Perth CIB, Detective Sergeant Don Hancock, or "the grey fox" as he was known at the time.
Through circumstantial evidence, the Mickelberg brothers - Peter, Brian and Ray - had come to the attention of police. They were basically cleanskins, with Peter having been fined $50 for possessing an unlicensed firearm. 
Nevertheless, Ray Mickelberg was no soft touch - he had served in the SAS and Vietnam and once described the selection process for the Special Air Services as "a crushing of the weak". Police believed him to be the mastermind.
So it was that Don Hancock was waiting at Belmont Police Station one rainy day when Peter Mickelberg, the youngest, and whom police believed to be the most vulnerable of the brothers, arrived.
With Hancock was another officer, a more junior detective named Tony Lewandowski.
As author Avon Lovell records in his courageous 1985 book, The Mickelberg Stitch, Belmont was a curious choice of venue given there was a special operational headquarters set up in the city.
Stranger still was that by the time Peter Mickelberg arrived, all the officers stationed there had gone, except the officer in charge, and he left soon after. That officer, Bob Kucera, is now the WA Health Minister. The opposition yesterday called for him to stand down pending an inquiry.
Mickelberg was left alone with Hancock and Lewandowski. For the best part of two decades the WA Police, up to the commissioner himself, have strenuously denied Mickelberg's version of what happened next. It is central to the claims by the three brothers that they were framed for the great mint swindle.
According to Peter Mickelberg, and as recorded in Lovell's book, detective Lewandowski grabbed him by the throat and said: "This is where you die you little fucker."
When Mickelberg asked for his solicitor, Lewandowski replied: "You're on another planet, no one knows you're here. As far as they're concerned, you could be dead."
Don Hancock then entered the room and said to his colleague: "Make him strip." Naked, he was handcuffed and seated.
"It was then that Hancock punched me in the solar plexus on at least two or three times . . . I was pretty shocked. He then chopped me . . . in the throat."
Peter Mickelberg said in the 1980s, and says to this day, he never confessed at Belmont to any involvement in the swindle. Nor did he implicate his big brother Ray, who police claimed was the strong man behind the operation.
Of course, the police, Hancock and Lewandowski, had a different version - Mickelberg had confessed and made statements implicating himself and his brothers, although they were unsigned.
Given the times, it's perhaps not surprising the jury believed the police. Peter, Ray and Brian were found guilty of swindling the mint, although Brian was later acquitted on appeal after serving nine months. Ray got 20 years, Peter 16.
The courts, initially at least, accepted the police version of events without too many qualms.
In November, 1989, seven years after the robbery and a great deal of publicity, the WA Court of Criminal Appeal rejected Peter's appeal against his conviction and sentence.
The police commissioner, Brian Bull, said the decision "totally vindicates the actions of the police in their investigation into the Perth mint swindle".
Brian Mickelberg died in a helicopter crash in 1986. Ray, the Vietnam veteran, served eight years, Peter ended up doing seven. After the two brothers were released they campaigned relentlessly to convince the courts and the public they were framed, although many believe the police had good reasons for "loading them up".
In the meantime, Don Hancock went on to become head of the Perth CIB, partly on the back of his "solving" of the high-profile case.
Enter Tony Lewandowski, the former detective who was with Hancock at Belmont Police Station.
His stunning admission that he fabricated the evidence is a development the brothers would never have dreamed of.
Lewandowski now tells a version of events that fits with the one told by Peter Mickelberg, and published by Avon Lovell, way back in 1985. In an affidavit to Western Australia's Director of Public Prosecutions last week he recalled the incident at Belmont Police Station on July 26, 1982: "I said to Don Hancock that I didn't believe we had enough evidence and he said to me: 'Don't worry, it will get better.'
"(On that day), Don Hancock came into the room and told me to make Peter strip naked. Don then went up to Peter and gave him two or three quick punches in the solar plexus. The statements purportedly taken from Peter Mickelberg . . . on July 26, 1982, were in fact not taken in Peter's presence that day, but were a fabrication made by Don Hancock and myself shortly after September 2, 1982.
"I gave evidence at the trial and numerous appeals. All that evidence in relation to the (brothers') so-called confessions . . . was false."
An insight into Hancock's character and his modus operandi emerged in late 1982 in a conversation involving Hancock, Peter and Ray, just before they went to trial. Secretly recorded at Ray's house, Hancock says at one stage: "Don't ever challenge me to do something because I'll f---ing well do it, all right. You can rest assured about that."
Peter: "You're mean Don."
Hancock: "I'm not a mean person, but I'll tell you what: I've done things in my life that you never did, and harder things, worse things, and if I've got to do them again, well, I'll do them again."
Ray: "In the line of duty?"
Hancock: "That's it, yes. What I believe is my line of duty - to get the job done."
Ray: "With violence if necessary?"
Hancock: "Well, maybe not - tried everything else!"
That conversation was not tendered during the trial, although it later emerged in another matter. Don Hancock's reputation is encapsulated in that tape recording - a hard, tough cop who knew how to get things done, to get results.
Retiring as head of the Perth CIB, and having grown up in the Goldfields, he went to the hamlet of Ora Banda to run the local pub. But in October, 2000, things started to go terribly wrong. Members of the Gypsy Jokers outlaw motorcycle gang started abusing the barmaid - Hancock's daughter - and he threw them out.
Later that night, one of the bikies, William Grierson, was shot dead as he sat around a campfire and the Gypsy Jokers immediately blamed Hancock.
In September last year, he and his mate, Lou Lewis, were blown up by a car bomb. Right to the end, Hancock refused police protection.
According to Lewandowski, it was the death of his former boss that freed him to tell the truth after all these years. "When Don Hancock was alive there was no chance of me going against his wishes. A couple of times I wanted to come clean but there was no way I could go against Don."
Apparently a broken man, he added: "I have had 20 years of hell. I lost my business, I have lost my wife, I have lost my son. I have gained nothing out of this, I am now telling the truth."
"Now that Don Hancock is dead I cannot harm him . . ."
Some of the material used in this article has been drawn from Avon Lovell's The Mickelberg Stitch.
 
Mickelberg movie so wrong: widow
 
The widow of slain former CIB chief Don Hancock has broken down in tears while speaking about the way her late husband has been portrayed in a new telemovie based on the Perth Mint gold swindle.
But Elizabeth Hancock yesterday received little sympathy from Peter Mickelberg, who said Mr Hancock had been corrupt to the core.
"I do feel for her, but I seriously don't care what she thinks," he said. "He (Mr Hancock) committed perjury, he fabricated evidence, he assaulted me, he deprived me of my liberty. Add up how many years you would get for all this.
"To be frank, they've gone easy on Hancock in the movie.
"We won, they lost. Game, set and match, Elizabeth."
Mrs Hancock said she had not yet seen the movie, but had been upset at the advertisements. She does not intend to watch The Great Mint Swindle when it goes to air on Channel 9 next Sunday night after four years in production.
"I just don't know what I can do," she said. "There is nobody there to help me. It's so wrong. If he was so corrupt then what was the police department doing at the time?
"I know how honest he was. I was with him for 45 years and you have only got to read some of the evidence against them (Ray and Peter Mickelberg).
"They are just so obsessed with money and getting even."
In 2003, the Court of Criminal appeal quashed the convictions against Ray and Peter for stealing $650,000 in gold bullion from the Perth Mint in 1982.
The court's decision was based on the admission by corrupt detective Tony Lewandowski that he had helped to frame the brothers and police had falsified their confessions.
They later received a $1 million ex gratia payment from the State government for the 15� years they spent in jail.
A third brother, Brian, was released from jail in 1985, but died in a plane crash a year later.
During the 95-minute movie, Mr Hancock, played by veteran actor Shane Bourne, frames the brothers for the theft and beats Peter at Belmont Police Station. He also threatens to have Mr Lewandowski's son murdered.
The narration, by the actor playing Peter, also hints that Mr Hancock may have been responsible for the swindle and that police may have been responsible for Mr Hancock's murder because he had become a liability.
Gypsy Jokers bikie Sid Reid is serving a jail term over Mr Hancock's death, which he said was payback because Mr Hancock had killed gang member Billy Grierson.
Perth producer Russell Vines said the movie had been sympathetic to the Mickelbergs, but was "co-operation, not collaboration".
He said he did not expect Mrs Hancock to be happy with the way in which her husband was portrayed, but she would probably not be happy with the public's perception of her husband, either.
 
The Perth Mint Swindle is the popular name for the robbery of 49 gold bars weighing 68 kg from the Perth Mint in Western Australia on 22 June 1982. The bullion was valued at A$653,000 at that time (2011:$2.02 million).
According to police at the time, three brothers, Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg, orchestrated the robbery. The three went to trial and were found guilty of the conspiracy and sentenced in 1983 to twenty, sixteen and twelve years in jail respectively.
All three convictions were overturned in 2004. To date the case remains unsolved and continues to be fought by the Mickelbergs who maintain their innocence and allege a conspiracy by the Western Australia Police to frame them.
The Mickelberg brothers
Soon after the robbery police investigations focused on the Mickelberg brothers. According to the police, the brothers stole cheques from a Perth building society and then fooled the mint into accepting those cheques in exchange for gold bullion which, it was alleged, the brothers had a courier pick up. The gold was picked up by a security company who delivered it to an office in Perth and then to Jandakot Airport, from where it seemingly disappeared.
In a separate matter, in September 1982 the three brothers, their parents and another man Brian Pozzi were charged over a matter relating to a manufactured gold nugget known as the "Yellow Rose of Texas".[1] Perth Businessman Alan Bond had purchased the nugget for $350,000 in November 1980. It was later found to be worth less than $150,000 and Raymond Mickelberg and Brian Pozzi pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to fraud at their June 1984 trial.
After serving nine months of his jail term and having his conviction overturned on appeal, Brian was released from jail but died in a light aircraft crash on 27 February 1986 when the twin-engine plane he was flying ran out of fuel near Canning Dam on the outskirts of Perth.[2] Whilst in prison, Ray and Peter embarked on a series of seven appeals against their convictions, essentially on the grounds that their confessions had been fabricated by police investigators. Ray and Peter served eight and six years of their sentences respectively before being released on parole.
In a bizarre twist, in 1989, 55 kg of gold pellets, said to have been from the swindle, were found outside the gates of TVW-7 (currently Channel Seven Perth), a Perth television station, with an anonymous note addressed to one of the station's reporters—Alison Fan—protesting the Mickelberg's innocence and claiming that a prominent Perth businessman was behind the swindle.[3]
The senior investigating officer in the case was Detective Sergeant Don Hancock who was later promoted to head of the State Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). In September 2001 in an apparently unrelated issue, Hancock was murdered when a bomb which had been planted under his car exploded outside his home in Lathlain, killing him and a friend Lou Lewis.
In 2002, midway through a State Royal Commission into police corruption, a retired police officer who had been at the centre of the case, Tony Lewandowski, made a confession of his involvement in fabricating evidence which was used to help frame the brothers. Lewandowski's senior officer during the investigation was Don Hancock, who with Lewandowski, were the only persons present at the brothers' interviews following the Mickelberg arrests. Lewandowski was subsequently charged with attempting to pervert the course of justicemaking false statements, fabricatingevidence and perjury.[4] In May 2004, just before facing trial Lewandowski apparently committed suicide[5] though there has been some speculation as to whether or not this may have been staged to cover his (possible) murder. Although now deceased, through Lewandowski's confession, Hancock was directly implicated in fabricating evidence in the Mickelberg case.[6]
In July 2004 the Western Australian Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the brothers' convictions after seven unsuccessful attempts. The judge ruled that with the suppression of their sentence, they were entitled to a presumption of innocence. The Assistant Police Commissioner, Mel Hay, expressed disappointment with the decision which prompted a threat of a defamation lawsuit from the brothers. The brothers subsequently sued the Western Australian government for libel, and as part of the settlement, the West Australian police issued a public apology in December 2007.[7]
After lodging claims for compensation, in January 2008 State Attorney-General Jim McGinty offered $500,000 in ex-gratia payments to each brother for the "injustice done to them".[8] The payment followed $658,672 paid to cover legal costs of their two appeals. The Mickelbergs' lawyer had asked for $950,000 in compensation for Ray and $750,000 for Peter.[9]

Books about the case

Author Avon Lovell wrote a book about the case in 1985: The Mickelberg Stitch, which alleged questionable investigation practices by the police, including production of unsigned confessions and a forged fingerprint.[10] The police union collected a levy of $1 per week from each member to fund legal action against Lovell and his publishers and distributors to suppress publication of the book.[citation needed] It was estimated that between one and two million dollars was raised. The book was banned by the State Government, but was still freely available to be read at the J S Battye Library. The ban was eventually lifted.
A second book by Lovell, Split Image, was published in 1990 and met a similar fate to the first. This ban was also lifted later.
In March 2011, Lovell launched a third book on the case, Litany of Lies.

In popular culture

Two telemovies based on the swindle have been made.
One actor, Caroline McKenzie, appeared in both features, playing Detective Ljiljana Cvijic in the 1984 version and Peg Mickelberg in 2012.[15]
See also
  • Crime in Western Australia
  •  References
    1. ^ "Mickelbergs sue policeman"ABC 7:30 Report. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
    2. ^ "Mickelberg Dies". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 February 1986. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
    3. ^ Liza Kappelle (11 June 2002). "Mint robbers were framed"Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
    4. ^ "Mint swindle officer seized". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 October 2002. Retrieved 2005-09-07.
    5. ^ "Mickelberg brothers find unlikely ally"ABC 7:30 Report. 18/01/2008.
    6. ^ "Don Hancock and the Perth Mint Swindle"MelbourneCrime. Archived from the original on 2005-09-03. Retrieved 2005-09-07.
    7. ^ "Police apologise to Mickelberg brothers"www.ninemsn.com.au. 15 December.
    8. ^ "Mickelberg payment satisfies neither brothers nor police"thewest.com.au. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-17.[dead link]
    9. ^ ABC News online Micklebergs cleared over Perth Mint swindle
    10. ^ "This time, the stitch is by Lovell"Post Newspapers. Retrieved 2005-09-07.[dead link]
    11. ^ IMDb, 2012, The Great Gold Swindle (1984) TV. (30 March 2012)
    12. ^ IMDb, 2012, The Great Gold Swindle (1984) TV – Release Dates. (30 March 2012)
    13. ^ "Going for gold with Perth crime saga The Great Mint Swindle"The Australian. 3 March 2012.
    14. ^ http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/13123839/the-great-mint-swindle/
    15. ^ IMDb, 2012, Caroline McKenzie (I) (30 March 2012)
    Further reading
  • Lovell, Avon Francis (1985). The Mickelberg Stitch. Creative Research, Perth. ISBN 0-908469-23-3.
  • Buti, Antonio (2011). Brothers: Justice, Corruption and the Mickelbergs. Fremantle Press. ISBN 978-1-921888-47-2.
  • Lovell, Avon Francis (1990). Split image: international mystery of the Mickelberg affair. Creative Research, Perth. ISBN 978-0-908469-24-6.
  • The Great Mint Swindle (2012)

    TV Movie  -  92 min  -  Biography | Crime | Drama  -  11 March 2012 (Australia)
    The Great Mint Swindle (2012). TV Movie - 92 ....
    The bank scene was filmed at Gloucester Park, East Perth WA across the road from the WACA.

    Plot Summary for
    The Great Mint Swindle (2012) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

    It's the beginning of the 1980s boom in Western Australia. Larrikin brothers Ray, Brian and Peter Mickelberg spend their days abalone fishing, flying planes, looking for adventure and developing new ways of making money. Their most bizarre venture? Selling a huge fake gold nugget "The Yellow Rose of Texas" to tycoon Alan Bond. A tale about two innocent men who become embroiled in one of the most famous heists in Australia's history. It is a mysterious twenty-year saga about their fight to clear their names over a crime that has never been solved. Written by Channel 9
    It's the beginning of the 1980s boom in Western Australia. Larrikin brothers Ray, Brian and Peter Mickelberg spend their days abalone fishing, flying planes, looking for adventure and developing new ways of making money. Their most bizarre venture? Selling a huge fake gold nugget "The Yellow Rose of Texas" to tycoon Alan Bond. A tale about three innocent men who become embroiled in one of the most famous heists in Australia's history. It is a mysterious twenty-year saga about their fight to clear their names over a crime that has never been solved. Written by Channel 9

    Cast

    Director:

    Writers:

    Stars:

    Produced by

    Original Music by

    Jim Moginie  
     

    Cinematography by

    Bruce Young  
     

    Film Editing by

    Casting by

    Production Design by

    Art Direction by

    Costume Design by

    Wendy Cork  
     

    Makeup Department

    Peta Hastings .... make up/hair designer
     

    Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

    Art Department

    Veronica Cotea .... buyer assistant
    Rainer Kosok .... standby props
    Mandina Oh .... art department coordinator
    Monique Wajon .... set dresser
     

    Sound Department

    Dan Giles .... boom operator
    Tom Lowndes .... sound re-recording mixer
    Liam Price .... sound effects editor
    Dean Ryan .... sound recordist
    Danielle Wiessner .... foley recording engineer
     

    Special Effects by

    Stunts

    Peter West .... stunt coordinator
     

    Camera and Electrical Department

    Costume and Wardrobe Department

    Adam Dalli .... costume supervisor
    Natalie Dives .... costume buyer
    Lien See Leong .... costume standby
    Lauren Widdicombe .... costume assistant
     

    Editorial Department

    Other crew

    Thanks

    Harry Bardwell .... the producers wish to thank
    Natalie Bell .... thanks
    Sally Browning .... thanks
     
     

     

    The Great Mint Swindle

    The Great Mint Swindle is an extraordinary tale about the Mickelberg brothers who become embroiled in the most famous gold heist in Australian history. It is a mysterious 20-year saga about the fight to clear their names over a crime that has never been solved.
     
    The Great Mint Swindle
     
    Meet the castThe Great Mint Swindle is a mysterious 20-year saga about the fight to clear their names over a crime that has never been solved.
     
     

    Justice for the framed and shamed

     
     
    The Great Mint Swindle.
    The wrongly convicted Mickelberg brothers (from left). Brian (Josh Quong Tart), Ray (Grant Bowler) and Peter (Todd Lasance).
    Show of the week: The Great Mint Swindle, Channel Nine, Sunday, 8.30pm
    LINDY Chamberlain, Gordon Wood, Gabe Watson … to measure the way television has changed our perception of crime, look no further than the way coverage of high-profile trials fuels backyard barbecue debates over people's innocence or guilt.
    In 1982, however, a television trial was a very new thing. And the arrest and conviction of three brothers - Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg - for robbing the Perth Mint was one of the first crimes catapulted by television from the crime pages of the newspaper into living rooms.
    ''The police allowed, for the first time, television cameras into the raid and they filmed the police ripping up floorboards, so it brought the crime into people's homes,'' says Paul Bennett, producer of The Great Mint Swindle, which airs on Channel Nine this week.
    The crime was the theft of 49 gold bars and the enduring TV image was the discovery of gold under the Mickelbergs' floorboards. The gold was legal and the Mickelbergs had receipts to prove it but, Bennett says, ''those television images are powerful. People see it on television and they ask, 'Why would you have gold under the floorboards?'''
    Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were found guilty and sentenced to 20, 16 and 12 years jail, respectively. What makes the case so compelling is that in 2004 all three convictions were quashed, a twist given particular resonance given the recent acquittals for Gordon Wood and Gabe Watson and the fourth inquest into the death of Azaria Chamberlain.
    The Ten Network produced a telemovie in 1984, The Great Gold Swindle. It presumed the brothers' guilt and was caught up in the first of seven appeals by the brothers, not airing until 1986.
    The genesis of Nine's telemovie, however, was an earlier Cordell Jigsaw biographical series, The Two of UsThe Great Mint Swindle co-producer Russell Vines suggested Ray and Peter Mickelberg as subjects and then, he says, ''immediately regretted it'' because it was hard to cover a 20-year saga in half an hour of television. But it did lead to ''the big drama that we have now done''.
    Written by Perth playwright Reg Cribb, the $3 million telemovie tells the story from the perspective of the youngest brother, Peter (Todd Lasance). It stars Grant Bowler as oldest brother Ray, Josh Quong Tart as Brian and Shane Bourne as Detective Don Hancock, who framed the brothers for the theft. It was filmed in seven weeks last year at Fremantle Prison, the Perth Mint and other locations.
    Bowler describes the story as a great mystery. ''To this day nobody knows where that gold is,'' he says. ''But it's also a human story because the family are so tight.''
    Bowler was also struck by what he felt were distinctly Australian qualities in the story. ''It's one of those great Australian stories about getting shafted, which, all the way from Breaker Morant, is something we pay attention to,'' he says. ''Ned Kelly, who is considered an icon, was also a lunatic who tried to blow up a train, Chopper [Read] becomes a star here. Criminals [in Australia] tend to be either very, very quiet, or there is something quality in them we use to redeem them.''
    In the case of the Mickelbergs, the only crime they were ultimately guilty of was the so-called Yellow Rose of Texas case, in which a manufactured gold nugget was sold to Alan Bond for more than twice its value in 1980. ''My Australian DNA goes, that's awesome,'' Bowler says. ''We all love that - that's the little guy getting the big guy.''
    Vines agrees. ''What people love about the Mickelbergs is that they took on the establishment, and in particular an establishment that couldn't admit its mistakes.''
    Quong Tart adds that the case has particular resonance in Perth, which has an uneasy relationship with its judiciary. ''It starts before the Mickelbergs, with people like Beamish and Button [both wrongly convicted of murders in Western Australia in 1961 and 1963, exonerated 44 and 39 years later], all the way through to more recent cases.''
    These include the cases of teenager Patrick Wearing, accused of rape and jailed in 2006 for almost a year before being proved innocent, and Andrew Mallard, wrongfully convicted of murder in 1995 but not exonerated until 2007. ''There is significant concern in this state about judiciary. If you can't trust the system, what can you trust?'' he says.
    And that, Bennett says, is the pivot on which the story sits. ''This could happen to you,'' he says. ''Ultimately, people want to believe the system is strong and works and is on your side but stories like this make you doubt the system and when you do that the fabric of everything starts to fall apart.''


    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/justice-for-the-framed-and-shamed-20120307-1uivt.html#ixzz2YXWGZwhV
     

    Review

    Going for gold with Perth crime saga The Great Mint Swindle

     
    FIRST WATCH: Graeme Blundell
  • From: The Australian
  • March 03, 2012 12:00AM
    Josh Quong Tart, Todd Lasance, Shane Bourne, Grant Bowler and John Batchelor in The Great Mint Swindle.
     
    SINCE the Underbelly saga began several years ago, having been commissioned by a brave Nine network, we've grown to love our mordant fables of avarice, violence and death. We enjoy the idea of a story being lifted from the raw material of life that will hopefully shape experience and deliver some wisdom.
    And Nine, a network in disarray, nevertheless still seems committed to the task of examining untidy truths about slices of our past cultural history, encouraging producers to nudge them into a pleasing shapeliness that continues to be highly addictive for many of us.
    The latest is from the Cordell Jigsaw company that last year gave us the SBS observational series Go Back to Where You Came From, which dealt with the politics of asylum, and the ABC's On Trial, the riveting five-part show featuring unprecedented access to several trials in Australian courts.
    Both were rare, unvarnished television - as is The Great Mint Swindle, a telemovie about the sometimes upsetting ambiguity between institutional law enforcement and true justice. A compulsive true story about Perth's Mickelberg brothers and the way they became embroiled in the most famous - still unsolved - gold heist in our history, the movie is partisan and designed to elicit outrage at injustice. It's a terrific example of TV's burgeoning true crime genre where it's not enough to just present a good story. It has to be authentic, with characters that take you by the hand and lead you deep into the argument and adventure while disclosing interesting secrets.
    Swindle is a 20-year saga of greed, corruption and personal tragedy. And, strikingly condensed into 1 1/2 hours, it's about three knockabout blokes with a taste for adventure and their feud with Perth's sinister brotherhood of cops, in a city where until quite recently the police ran wild.
    In 1982 Ray (Grant Bowler), Peter (Todd Lasance) and Brian (Josh Quong Tart) Mickelberg are implicated in a notorious caper straight out of an Elmore Leonard novel: a brilliant heist of gold bars worth $650,000. Carried out with military precision and ingenuity, there is no violence, no victims and few clues. There are only mysteries that righteous cop Detective Donald Leslie Hancock (Shane Bourne) and his loyal No 2, Detective Tony "Lewi" Lewandowski (John Batchelor) are determined to solve. If they can't, they'll simply pin it on the cocksure boys, using their fists, fabricating confessions and planting evidence. This policing is known in the west as "noble cause corruption".
    Hancock is the hard-boiled detective who must decide for himself just what kind of justice can be accomplished in the ambiguous urban world of increasingly wealthy and corrupt Perth. As the story begins narrator Peter Mickelberg, who will spend most of his 20s behind the imposing walls of Fremantle Prison, tells us that WA is "a big state full of big men with big dreams and big stomachs; greed was good".
    He and his brothers are no match for a new monied establishment embarrassed by the way the leaking Perth Mint, despite its huge iron gates, is the epicentre for crime in the state. Hancock is the pit bull. "There might be guidelines, but there are no rules," he tells his colleagues.
    He's like something out of Mickey Spillane: detective, judge and possibly executioner, the policeman as a means of social control and manipulation, the bad cop who delights in giving the crims a hiding. "It don't get better than this," is his mantra.
    It's a genuinely scary and upsetting piece of work from the redoubtable Bourne, his Hancock loved, loathed and feared by colleagues and criminals alike. He's fond of reciting the colonial bush poets and there's a similar definite individualism in Bourne's subtle performance.
    He sees himself as the only individual of integrity, able to hold his piss, tight-lipped, fearless and righteous. It's the other side of the coin to Stanley Wolf, the gruff, hurt, middle-aged good policeman Bourne played so emphatically on Seven's City Homicide for four years.
    Swindle is a nicely crafted crime thriller based on fact: tight, logical, believable and emotionally resonant. This is a very professional piece of work from Geoff Bennett, an experienced director (Wildside, Underbelly, Rush) with a deft instinct for story and a way with actors.
    The script from Reg Cribb and Paul Bennett pays just the right attention to emotional details, without ever spilling over. All of the "business" - especially the subtext of jokey, needling banter between cops and victimised brothers - has a vivid, often droll, dry texture.
    And, like the Underbelly series, Swindle is not simply a fiction that borrows plot patterns from real events. Rather, it's a highly dramatised narrative whose effect is partly dependent on the watcher's awareness that past events are to some degree being reconstructed.
    I for one have always been fascinated by this case, having worked in Perth through the period of its many troubling developments. The city has never been able to quite make up its mind about the Mickelbergs. Talk to one group of people and the brothers were guilty; another, and they weren't. Then there are those who are certain they were both guilty yet framed by the system. (Bowler, in the film's production notes, says, "It's a kind of two-up bet - a bet each way.")
    There's a red herring at the start of the script, which means we watch with a free-floating feeling of apprehension, not entirely sure of the brothers' innocence. "I worried, a little nervous about that," says Bennett. "I felt they were innocent and I thought this was a dangerous way to go, to suggest they might be guilty."
    But for the viewer it provides an oddly pleasurable experience that clouds our judgment for a while as the events unfold, until Hancock's crusade against the brothers takes his passions to pathological extremes to ensnare them.
    There's a lot to like. Bruce Young's photography is, as always, inventive and there's a textured Underbelly-like soundtrack from Midnight Oil's Jim Moginie. The acting is committed, with no false notes - not easy given the problems of actors portraying people who, in some cases, are still alive. As Bowler, the redemptive centre of the movie, says, an obligation to the person does not always go hand-in-hand with reality in honouring the story.

    THE Australian Children's Television Foundation is turning 30 next Tuesday. And what exactly is that, many of you ask. Most of us lost interest in kids' TV where ours went straight from puberty to adultery. But please take a moment to acknowledge this rather extraordinary, enduring force in Australian culture. Some of your kids will have grown up with shows the ACTF has been involved with, such as Winners, Touch the Sun, Round the Twist, Yolngu Boy, Crash Zone, Worst Best Friends, Noah and Saskia, Holly's Heroes, Hating Alison Ashley, Lockie Leonard, My Place, Mortified and Dance Academy.
    The ACTF has not only ensured kids these days can watch Australian kids' shows but it also has been instrumental in promoting Australian content internationally.
    Three decades on its challenge is dealing with a multi-platform environment and the potential impact of the government's convergence review, continuing to debunk the myth that kids don't watch TV any more favouring other entertainments, and continuing to sell Australian kids' programs to the rest of the world.
    During the past 30 years the ACTF has received many awards, including a coveted Emmy for the 1988 Touch the Sun telemovie, Captain Johnno. This was the first Australian Emmy for a children's show and only the second Australian-won Emmy award. That same year the ACTF won the Austrade Arts and Entertainment award at the national export awards for selling programs into 98 countries and recording more than $8 million in sales for the previous year.
    At the start the ACTF was led by Patricia Edgar, who became synonymous with innovative children's TV in Australia. For decades the indomitable Edgar went headlong against local commercial networks that refused to acknowledge that children were remotely interested in children's programs.
    In her candid Bloodbath, A Memoir of Australian Television, she revealed herself as genetically uncontaminated by compromise, as she kicked down industry doors and pushed over bunker walls with contempt. Phillip Adams called her "a sort of human tank", which she took as a compliment. Edgar took on the networks' resistance to any regulations that meant they acknowledged their obligation to children only if it coincided with minimal impact on their profits.
    When the ACTF was incorporated in 1982 the children's TV industry itself was fledgling, working on a handful of studio-based magazine style shows such as Shirl's Neighbourhood. The leading writers, directors and producers of Australian drama weren't thinking about children's drama.
    The ACTF vision changed all that, but it wasn't easy, as incumbent chief executive Jenny Buckland will attest; through working with ABC TV director Kim Dalton and Mark Scott she helped win the support and funds for the children's channel ABC3.
    "Over the last 10 years the ACTF has changed its focus from the production house model to one where we work and collaborate with independent producers all over the country, assisting other producers to make quality Australian content," Buckland says. "We called this shift a move from 'making it' to 'making it happen'."
    But she acknowledges that making it happen is going to be difficult, as in this age of convergence the digital platforms have already joined with free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters to describe the convergence review's recommendations, aimed at ensuring the continuance of Australian content for Australian audiences, as "deeply flawed".
    Good luck with that, Miss Buckland, and happy anniversary.
    The Great Mint Swindle screens on Nine this month.
     
    Strong WA flavour in mint swindle tale
    great mint swindle movie
    Todd Lasance, Grant Bowler and Josh Quong Tart star in the telemovie The Great Mint Swindle, which airs on Channel 9 next month. Picture: Tony McDonough Source: PerthNow
     
    THE bars were lifted yesterday as WA media secured an exclusive sneak peek of Channel 9’s hotly anticipated telemovie, The Great Mint Swindle.
    The explosive 95-minute film, which is set to air next month, tells the story of one of the most famous gold heists in Australia’s history - the Perth Mint Swindle.
    To this day it’s a crime that remains unsolved.
    The fascinating and uniquely West Australian film was more than five years in the making and tells the compelling saga of Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg’s wrongful conviction.
    In the 1982 swindle, false cheques were presented to the Perth Mint in return for 49 gold bars, more than 65kg of gold, worth $653,000 at the time.
    Brothers Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were found guilty of the conspiracy and sentenced in 1983 to 20, 16 and 12 years jail.
    After a long string of legal appeals, Ray and Peter's convictions were quashed in 2004.
    Shot on location in Perth last year and starring Grant Bowler as Ray Mickelberg, Todd Lasance as Peter Mickelberg, Josh Quong Tart as Brian Mickelberg, Shane Bourne as the controversial cop Don Hancock, and John Batchelor as Tony Lewandowski, The Great Mint Swindle offers a fascinating insight into the case which spanned two decades and saw the brothers’ fight against the WA judicial system to clear their names.
    Producer Russell Vines said Peter Mickelberg had seen a final cut of the film but found it “hard to watch”.
    With a tight script, written by West Australian Reg Cribb and directed by fellow sandgroper, Geoff Bennett, The Great Mint Swindle which is told through the eyes of Peter, the youngest Mickelberg brother, is not a strict biopic but a fast-paced, action-packed epic which is sure to entertain audiences young and old.
    Brilliant costumes, sets and a cracking soundtrack bring this stranger-than-fiction story to life, and stellar performances from the cast and a raft of West Aussie extras make this one television event not to miss.
    As the credits role, final comments from Peter and Ray offer a first hand account of the toll their wrongful conviction has taken on their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
    It’s a truly intriguing film and one set to provide plenty of water cooler chatter.
     
    Why Grant Bowler came home for The Great Mint Swindle
    Grant Bowler
    TV personality Grant Bowler pictured at 9 studios in Willoughby for TV Guide cover. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Daily Telegraph
    Grant Bowler
    Actor and voice of Border Patrol, Grant Bowler. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Daily Telegraph
     
     
    NINE years ago, Grant Bowler got "sick of playing cops" on Australian television, broke the rules, and took a shot at making his mark in America.
    “Back then the rules were: you don’t go to LA if you’re not invited; you don’t go unless you have a red carpet film, and you don’t go if you’re over 30,” Bowler laughs.
    Then 33, Bowler had none of those things.
    He did have an unquenchable fire in his belly.
    “I thought be happy and grateful for what you’re given and shut up, be satisfied, but in the end I couldn’t. I had to go find out if I could play with the big boys,” he says.

    Turns out, Bowler can.
    He’s now a full-time working actor, with a CV that boats stints on Ugly Betty and in cult series True Blood, a string of movie credits, and a lead role in upcoming cable sci-fi series Defiance.
    But every year, the 43 year-old takes a drama role to bring him back to Australia.
    Nine telemovie The Great Mint Swindle is last year’s drawcard.
    And for Bowler, and co-stars Todd Lasance, Josh Quong Tart, Shane Bourne and John Batchelor, it’s a triumph.
    The movie traces the unbelievable but true story of the one of Australia’s most famous gold heists.
    On June 22, 1982 the Perth Mint was presented with stolen cheques in return for more than 65kg of gold worth $653,000. The gold then disappeared.
    The accused were three brothers - Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg.
    The trio, who had been convicted of fabricating a massive fake gold nugget, The Yellow Rose of Texas and selling it to tycoon Alan Bond for $350,000 (more than double its real value) - were found guilty of the Mint Swindle theft and in 1983 sentenced to 20, 16 and 12 years in jail respectively.
    Leading the investigation was rogue cop Don Hancock (played with menacing, violent brilliance by Bourne), and his offsider Tony Lewandowski (a role in which Batchelor shines) - a cop who would later confess to fabricating evidence against the Mickelbergs at a 2002 State Royal Commission.

    Their convictions were ultimately quashed.
    That epic saga has inspired the telemovie revealing Ray (Bowler), Peter (Lasance) and Brian's (Quong Tart) fight for justice.
    The story attracted the Los Angeles-based Bowler from the outset.
    “It’s got everything. It is the story of three brothers, of fighting for freedom, it’s a mystery and it’s true and it’s got that great Australian thing of being utterly, and completely shafted,” he says.
    “I knew Josh and Toddy were on board, and John Batchelor who was my best man at my wedding - as I was at his - was playing the evil copper.
    “And when I was told Shane was cast I lit up.
    “Because I know Bourne has it in him. Comedy is angry, and Shane Bourne is one of the funniest blokes I know.”
    Bowler is no slouch himself in the role of oldest brother Ray Mickelberg.
    One scene, in which Ray, still in jail after years of appeals going nowhere, is told by his wife she has met someone else, showcases the actor at his best.
    Bowler plays it beautifully – a dignified, agonising, heartbreaking portrait of a strong man at breaking point, accepting the inevitable.
    “That was a tough scene,” Bowler reflects.
    “It helps when you’ve met the bloke and you see the cost in his real life.”
    “Ray got a job in the prison library and in order to keep being a father to his children. He would create textbooks for his children according to what year they were studying.
    “He would photocopy things and bind it all into books so they could go through it as a way of being present as a father.”
    Bowler, who split from his wife of nine years, Roxane Wilson, a year ago, knows the importance of that.
    Neither has gone public on the split – both vowing their children, Edie, 8, and Zeke, 6 were their priority. At the time, Bowler made no bones about the fact Wilson was the rock in their family while he pursued work in Sydney and LA, and she acknowledged “it took an enormous amount of sacrifice and sadly, our marriage was one of the things that went along the way."
    A year on, Wilson has relocated to LA to pursue her own career, with the pair’s children, something Bowler says “just happened that way” and has worked out well for all concerned.
    “I haven’t spoken about the split and I won’t, except to say we are both committed to our kids and we’re there cheering them on at every performance of every five minute Japanese presentation and Christmas and Halloween pageant. And we do it all as a team,” he says.
    “She’s really happy there and she’s got a great spot and I’m happy with where I’m at and the kids are over the moon.
    He confesses he is “dating”, then draws the curtain on his personal life.
    Back on professional ground, Bowler has a busy 2012 in store, back in LA ready to begin shooting Defiance next month, having honoured commitments to a new series of Seven’s Amazing Race and Border patrol.
    “Last year I was a blackjack dealer killin’ zombies (in zombie movie Steve Niles’ Remains), a crazy Australian bomber (in US drama The Cape), a cartoon character, a Texan fast foods millionaire (in Good Christian Belles), brother to gay man trying to get green card in New York (in movie I Do),” he says.
    This year looks similar, but he’ll find time to do his “annual Aussie drama jobbie”.
    “I love busy. I’ll do it till I drop,” he says.
    “After the apocalypse it’ll be just me and the cockroaches.”
     





     




    Court rejects Appeal On Perth Mint Swindle

                                                          Friday 3rd November 1989
                                                    By Edmund Doogue, Perth Western Australia
                                                                    The Age Newspaper
     
                                Raymond, left, and Peter Mickelberg ... protested they were "stitched up" with fake confessions and evidence.
     
     
    Court rejects Appeal On Perth Mint Swindle
    Friday 3rd November 1989
    By Edmund Doogue, Perth Western Australia
    The Age newspaper#
     
    Raymond, left, and Peter Mickelberg ... protested they were "stitched up" with fake confessions and evidence.
     
     
    The Western Australian police commissioner, mr Brian Bull, last night defended police under investigation for their part in the arrest and conviction of the three Mickleberg brothers for the 1982 Perth Mint swindle in which 2185 ounces odf gold were brought with forged cheques for $653,000.
    Mr Bull said yesterday’sa unanimous rejection by the Court of Criminal Appeal of an appeal by Peter Mickleberg “totally vindicates the actions of the police in their investigation into the Perth Mint Swindle”.
    Mickleberg had appealed against his conviction and 14-year jail term for the swindle.
     Mickleberg and his two brothers, Raym,ond and Brian, were jailed for a total of 48 years in 1983 for the swindle. Brian Mickleberg was later aquited on appeal and his tweo brothers have continued, form jail, to protest their innocence.
     
     
     
    The Western Australian police commissioner, Mr Brian Bull, last night defended police under investigation for their part in the arrest and conviction of the three Mickleberg brothers for the 1982 Perth Mint swindle in which 2185 ounces of gold were brought with forged cheques for $653,000.
    Mr Bull said yesterday’s  unanimous rejection by the Court of Criminal Appeal of an appeal by Peter Mickleberg “totally vindicates the actions of the police in their investigation into the Perth Mint Swindle”. Mickleberg had appealed against his conviction and 14-year jail term for the swindle.
     Mickleberg and his two brothers, Raym,ond and Brian, were jailed for a total of 48 years in 1983 for the swindle. Brian Mickleberg was later aquited on appeal and his tweo brothers have continued, form jail, to protest their innocence.
     
    Late yesterday, Perth police were still unable to confirm whether 55 kiolgrams of gold pellets left in the grounds of a Perth television station on Tuesday morning were part of the haul from the Perth Mint Swindle. Te gold pellets and a gold ingot sent to the television station (Channel 7)  in July, 1989 were accompanies by anonymous letters claiming that the Micklebergs were innocent and that a Perth businessman was behind the daring crime.
    Peter Mickleberg, who had been released on bail last week pending the result of his appeal, was taken into custody against after yesterday’s decision was handed down.
    Mr Lawton said the only legal action open now was a second approach to the High Court of Australia.  Peter Mickleberg was yet to decide whether to adopt the plan suggested by his lawyer Mr Lawton….Mr Lawton said.
    Mr Brian Bull, (the Western Australian Police Commissioner – effectively appointed behind the scenes by Catholic Mafia Boss Sam Franchina and his strong political, legal and business connections in Western Australa) said: “ Numerous very serious allegations against individual police officers, witnesses and members of the public have been made during the period by the Mickleberg brothers and some of their supporters…”
    “… All of those allegations have either been later abandoned by them or have not withstood judicial scrutiny by the Court of Criminal Appeal or the High Court of Australia…”
    But police said last night that an internal police inquiry into the squad responsible for the arrest of the Mickleberg brothers would go ahead as part of a wide ranging investigation into the discovery of the gold last week..
     
     

    Underbelly movie tops ratings


    Posted Tue Feb 8, 2011
    Nine's new Underbelly movie topped the ratings on Monday night, but its audience of more than 1 million viewers still fell well short of the franchise's peak two years ago.
    Underbelly: Files - Tell Them Lucifer Was Here attracted 1.377 million viewers.
    That was well clear of the second most-watched program, Seven's My Kitchen Rules with 1.332 million.
    But the audience failed to match the 2.584 million who tuned in to watch the second series premiere of the television franchise, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, in February 2009.
    It also failed to reach the 2.2 million viewers who watched the premiere of the third series, Underbelly: The Golden Mile, last year.
    Tell Them Lucifer Was Here was the first of three telemovies to be aired on Nine on consecutive Monday nights.
    Seven and Nine took out the top 10 places on Monday night with Seven's Today Tonight (1.249 million), Seven News (1.248 million) and Bones (1.208 million) in respective third, fourth and fifth spot.
    Nine's US import, Two And A Half Men (1.193 million), took the sixth spot for the night, while $#*! My Dad Says (1.061 million) was in eighth position.
    Nine's 6pm news (1.186 million) filled the seventh position and A Current Affair (1.051 million) ninth.
    Long-running Seven soap Home And Away took the final spot in the top 10 with 1.049 million.
    AAP
    Topics: televisionarts-and-entertainmentaustralia


     
    Disgraced NSW police officer Graham 'Chook' Fowler on Underbelly: The Golden Mile
     
    HE claims he's been "dudded" by the latest Underbelly series and refuses to watch it, even though his kids are fans.
    His appetite for nostalgia is limited to a desire to catch up with former detective Trevor Haken, the fellow corrupt copper who trapped him for the Wood royal commission, passing him his cut of a bribe in the front seat of a car while a secret camera was rolling.
    The infamous scene is replicated in an upcoming episode of Underbelly: The Golden Mile.
    Graham "Chook" Fowler, whom The Sunday Telegraph found this week living a low-profile life on the Central Coast, hasn't had any contact with Haken since. But he'd like to.
    "Do you know where he is?" he asked us. "I'd like to catch up with him."
    Haken went into witness protection after giving evidence against his Kings Cross police colleagues 15 years ago.
    Fowler was sacked after the "car cam" videos were revealed in 1996 and sentenced to two years' jail for giving false evidence to the royal commission. He staged an accident involving slipping on a milkshake at a police station to try to get out of appearing and claim a payout.
    He is not enjoying reliving the humiliation of the final days of his police career through the screening of Underbelly: The Golden Mile, in which he's depicted as a hard-drinking, arrogant and corrupt cop played by Damien Garvey.
    "None of the makers asked me about the series. I've been hung out to dry," said Fowler, who still protests his innocence.
    "It's fine if they're going to make a show about it, but it's very far away from fact.
    "I'm not watching it because I don't want to upset my kids. They were knee-high when it happened, and I want to keep them out of it, but they want me to watch it because they were fans of the (first two) series."
    Fowler said characters had been concocted, dates were wrong and storylines, including a $200,000 heist from the Australian Federal Police, had been manufactured.
    "They've got dates wrong - Johnny Ibrahim didn't arrive until 1995 and I was gone in 1992. And the $200,000 sting never happened."
    Fowler refers to the royal commission as the Spanish Inquisition and is dismissive of its findings, saying that one day, he will reveal the truth.
    What is that, exactly?
    "Maybe I'll tell you about it one day. I'll take you deep-sea fishing - do you like fishing? I'll use you as bait."
    He still keeps tabs on old Kings Cross personalities.
    "I see Louis Bayeh has been in the paper this week, he wasn't a bad sort of a bloke.
    "He was different to his brother (Billy). They were like chalk and cheese."
    When the topic turns to another notorious former Sydney detective, Roger Rogerson, Fowler lights up at the celebrity profile which Rogerson has built for himself.
    "He's a great bloke, but he's gone on to be a bloody celebrity. He's doing bloody shows, and look what happened to me."
    Following his jail stint, Fowler lost his home and several businesses, including a pub, to pay for legal bills. He went on the dole after his infamy prevented him getting a job and began a delivery business with his third wife

    Underbelly 3 targets corrupt cops

    By David Knox on February 1, 2009 / Filed Under News

     
    A third series of Underbelly is already on the drawing boards for Channel Nine and Screentime.
    The third outing will explore the corruption of the NSW and Victorian police forces throughout the 1980s and the clean up job that started in the early ’90s.
    “It’s a no-brainer to go again and have Underbelly 3 on Channel Nine as soon as possible,” Gyngell said.
    He even alluded to the show being on air this year.
    This year the ABC will also produce a documentary on police corruption by the authors of Leadbelly, John Silvester and Andrew Rule, whose book led to the Nine series.
    NSW Police were the subject of the ABC’s acclaimed Blue Murder series, which like Nine’s drama, was banned in its home state. Yet Victorian police corruption did not emerge until some time after their northern counterparts.
    The Nine drama, which premieres Monday week, has also been criticised today by Jonty Bush, the Young Australian of the Year. As chief executive officer of Queensland’s Homicide Victims Support Group, she said, “I find it interesting we would never sensationalise victims of other crimes, such as assaults or child sexual crimes.
    “Everyone appreciates the severity of the impact of that on those victims.
    “Yet when it comes to homicide we have a number of TV shows at the moment that I believe do glamorise murder and perhaps the underworld influence on violence.”
     
    Whistel Blowing Directory
    • AlaskaGroupSix.org Open site in a new window - Official site of the Alyeska Group of Six, the anonymous Trans Alaska Pipeline System whistle-blowers.
    • Blowing the Whistle Open site in a new window - Guidance for would-be whistleblowers from a father and son team.
    • Government Accountability Project Open site in a new window - Protects the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability through advancing occupational free speech and ethical conduct, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizens.
    • Lighthouse Services Open site in a new window - Offering anonymous whistleblower reporting services.
    • National Whistleblower Center Open site in a new window - Advocates the right of employees to blow the whistle on fraud, corruption, government waste, and violations of environmental laws.
    • Project on Government Oversight (POGO) Open site in a new window - Investigates, exposes, and seeks to remedy systemic abuses of power, mismanagement, and subservience by the federal government to powerful special interests.
    • Public Concern at Work Open site in a new window - As the whistleblowers charity we provide confidential legal advice to people at work and training for organisations.
    • SEC Whistleblower Program Open site in a new window - Information about corporate and securities fraud, including description about different types of fraud, and how to become an SEC Whistleblower.
    • Twitter: WikiLeaks (wikileaks) Open site in a new window - Get realtime updates from WikiLeaks' Twitter page. Follow WikiLeaks for announcements, links, and more.
    • U.S. Office of Special Counsel Open site in a new window - Primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing. Includes information on the Hatch Act.
    • WhistleBlower Open site in a new window - Includes information on U.K. legislation, and the Public Interest Disclosure Act, as well as the ability for anonymous disclosure through the site.
    • Wigand, Jeffrey@
    • WikiLeaks Open site in a new window - Allows whistleblowers to anonymously release government and corporate documents, allegedly without possible retribution.

    Wronged former police officer wins latest court battle

    Date; March 6, 2012- Lisa Davies
    "They stole my identity" .... Wendy Hatfield leaves court yesterday.
    "They stole my identity" .... Wendy Hatfield leaves court yesterday. Photo: Nick Moir
     
    WENDY HATFIELD is exhausted. For two years, she has been fighting ''lies'' and ''fictionalised'' portrayals of her time in the NSW Police Force.
    It started with the TV series Underbelly: The Golden Mile, when she launched legal action against the Nine Network, Screentime for the defamatory script, as well as the publishers of a ''tie-in'' book that contained the same allegations.
    She won those in a clean-sweep, a confidential settlement against the TV production likely to have netted her damages well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
    Actor Jessica Tovey photographed at Fairfax studio on April 5, 2011. SHD photo by Marco Del Grande
    Actor Jessica Tovey plays Wendy Hatfield's character in Underbelly: The Golden Mile. Photo: Marco Del Grande
    Then yesterday, Ms Hatfield stepped into the Supreme Court to witness the final step in her battle to reassert her reputation, collecting a verdict in her favour against publishing giant Allen & Unwin for another book Snitch, also published in 2010.
     
    With that settlement came $29,000, a costs order and peace of mind - the one-time Kings Cross cop had fought the ''big corporate giants'' and won.
    Among a slew of defamatory material contained most explicitly in Underbelly was the assertion that while she was a serving police woman Ms Hatfield had an affair with John Ibrahim, then a young nightclub entrepreneur.
    ''It has made me feel a range of emotions from angry to distraught … [they] stole my identity, fictionalised a character and sold it as truth to millions,'' she told the Herald yesterday.
    ''When I watched [Underbelly] with the rest of Australia, I felt helpless and felt that I had been raped of my dignity. I spent many hours crying.''
    Ms Hatfield was a junior Kings Cross constable when in 1996 she was summonsed to appear at the Wood Royal Commission into police corruption: ''My life was never the same from that point on.''
    ''I was compelled to give evidence as an unwilling witness - not for any allegations of corruption or misconduct but for payback from commission investigators, [because I did not want] to spy on my colleagues,'' Ms Hatfield said.
    ''They made an example of me, warning others to co-operate; they paraded me in full uniform and told the media to print that I had come forward willingly when I certainly did not.''
    The commission, headed by Justice James Wood, was designed to examine ''systemic and entrenched corruption'' within the police force.
    Ms Hatfield has submitted an official complaint to the NSW government about the conduct of the commission, including that she was denied her ''basic human rights''.
    ''In my opinion, the Wood Royal Commission is a NSW historical failure and an embarrassment to the government,'' she said.
    ''Their investigators have committed numerous hideous affronts by airing untested statements from known criminal liars and as a result lives were lost - and those people and their families never had the chance to defend themselves and clear their names.''
    Indeed, there has been a lasting effect on policing, with Ms Hatfield believing that the ''polarising distrust of external agencies'' continues to damage the force.
    ''It has confirmed an 'us against them' policy must always apply,'' she said.
    Ms Hatfield told the Herald she has had no contact with John Ibrahim since she last saw him while still a serving police woman in Kings Cross in 1996.
    But, for whatever reason, Ms Hatfield feels she was robbed of a fulfilling career in the NSW Police Force.
    ''I enjoyed being a police officer. Kings Cross was an amazing 'office' and a steep learning curve,'' she said.
    ''Two months prior to the Wood Royal Commission, I had completed an undercover course, and that is the direction that I wanted to work. I liked the challenges … but of course, after the intense publicity in uniform [those] goals were over.
    ''The stress of being constantly harassed by the royal commission exhausted me, and I sought a new career. If I had not been embroiled in the mess of the royal commission, I believe that I would still be a serving officer.''
    She said she still shook her head because her real life seemed closer to fiction than reality. ''I am an ordinary person that has gone through some extraordinary circumstances and miraculously I am still standing.''
     

    Wronged former police officer wins latest court battle

    Date; March 6, 2012- Lisa Davies


    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/wronged-former-police-officer-wins-latest-court-battle-20120305-1ueej.html#ixzz2YjT3B6Rg

     

    Simon Illingwort
    "They stole my identity" .... Wendy Hatfield leaves court yesterday.
    "They stole my identity" .... Wendy Hatfield leaves court yesterday. Photo: Nick Moir

    • AlaskaGroupSix.org Open site in a new window - Official site of the Alyeska Group of Six, the anonymous Trans Alaska Pipeline System whistle-blowers.
    • Blowing the Whistle Open site in a new window - Guidance for would-be whistleblowers from a father and son team.
    • Government Accountability Project Open site in a new window - Protects the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability through advancing occupational free speech and ethical conduct, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizens.
    • Lighthouse Services Open site in a new window - Offering anonymous whistleblower reporting services.
    • National Whistleblower Center Open site in a new window - Advocates the right of employees to blow the whistle on fraud, corruption, government waste, and violations of environmental laws.
    • Project on Government Oversight (POGO) Open site in a new window - Investigates, exposes, and seeks to remedy systemic abuses of power, mismanagement, and subservience by the federal government to powerful special interests.
    • Public Concern at Work Open site in a new window - As the whistleblowers charity we provide confidential legal advice to people at work and training for organisations.
    • SEC Whistleblower Program Open site in a new window - Information about corporate and securities fraud, including description about different types of fraud, and how to become an SEC Whistleblower.
    • Twitter: WikiLeaks (wikileaks) Open site in a new window - Get realtime updates from WikiLeaks' Twitter page. Follow WikiLeaks for announcements, links, and more.
    • U.S. Office of Special Counsel Open site in a new window - Primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing. Includes information on the Hatch Act.
    • WhistleBlower Open site in a new window - Includes information on U.K. legislation, and the Public Interest Disclosure Act, as well as the ability for anonymous disclosure through the site.
    • Wigand, Jeffrey@
    • WikiLeaks Open site in a new window - Allows whistleblowers to anonymously release government and corporate documents, allegedly without possible retribution.
     

    Lisa Davies

    Latest books

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    THE GOLDEN MILE

    THE GOLDEN MILE

    Wobbly Underbelly hides criminal truth

    Featured Programs about Crime and Corruption

    Crime and Corruption

    Rape: The Unspeakable Crime - 27 Jun 1975

    Utah and Australia - 4 Nov 1977

    What's a Nice Girl Like You... - 20 Nov 1982

    The Big League - 30 Apr 1983

    Branded - 3 Nov 1984

    The Moonlight State - 11 May 1987

    Bondy's Bounty - 13 Mar 1989

    Police Story - 23 Sep 1991

    Bondy's Benefactor - 9 May 1994

    Academy of Crime - 5 Jun 1995

    Fixing Cricket - 24 July 2000

    Melbourne Confidential - 14 Mar 2005

    Supermax - 7 Nov 2005

    Simon Illingwort

    Australia's premier consultant in building culture, anti-corruption systems and ethical decison-making models

     
    Ethical business culture does not begin and end with a code of ethics or a definition of ethics. Historically, corporations that collapse due to unethical behavior had ticked the ethics box, albeit in a tokenistic way. The fact is that employees in many businesses find themselves in legal and ethical minefields with no ethical decision making framework. This puts the employee and the business at risk. Tackling ethical issues requires a solid set of business values, principles and sometimes a fair bit of courage too.
    What we do.
    Speeches, Training and Corporate Assistance .
    LATEST MEDIA INTERVIEW ABC RADIO NATIONAL
    A handful of Client Quotes. 
    • Simon was outstanding.  I’m sure he’s had this feedback before but his quiet, understated style is a unique and powerful contrast to his core messages.  He had the audience fully engaged throughout his presentation.  His messages have stuck very firmly with the group and have been invaluable in our efforts to continue dialogue around our organisational culture. TABCORP 2012
    • Simon commanded the audience with his ethics and culture presentation which touched every professional delegate and speaker at the conference including myself.  Mr Kem Warner (Director)  Caribbean AML & Fraud Conference 2011
    • Brilliant. Best feature of the week. Very principled and purposeful… WOOLWORTHS LTD 2012
    • Simon is an excellent guest speaker for conferences, management forums and training sessions  CEO, HESTA
    • Whatever the situation, ethical culture isn’t created by slapping up a code of of ethics, it takes on-going persistence. Focussing specifically on culture is good for everyone, and yes, the long term rewards can be lucrative.
    Ethics Specialist
    Amongst Simon’s diverse qualifications is his selection for the Sir Vincent Fairfax ethics and leadership fellowship (1 of 14 Australians chosen in 2002). Simon has investigated and debated some of the world’s hardest ethical dilemmas, ethics theory and ancient philosophy.He was also awarded the prestigious AusDavos Future Summit Award which brings leaders together annually to map out Australia’s future.
    Speeches and Training
    Simon is presently one of the most sought after corporate speakers and trainers in Australia, he uses his experiences and expertise to motivate, challenge and build organisational culture. He has the capacity to switch people back on.
    Simon’s clients include some of Australia’s largest corporations, sportsclubs, media outlets and schools. If you need a speech or workshop that cuts through and sticks - you need one from a person who’s been in the trenches.
    Ethics, Leadership and decision making programs
    Programs are made to order.  Ethical Strength has built a network of carefully selected consultants and experts over 10 years. Ethical Strength is also an associate of the Mettle Group and Morgan Productions.
    BLOG…
    Ethical Brain Tester: What should he / she do?
    “I work for a multi-national company based off shore, I constantly juggle two cultures, the Australian way and the other country’s way. One country calls it a bribe, the other calls it a fee. This is a quarter billion dollar contract. The so-called “fee” in comparison is loose change. What should I do?*
    *This question is real, it is also a very common dilemma for employees of  large corporations.  The details of the question have been altered to protect the client. It is my job to work through this type of dilemma with the client to achieve a satisfactory outcome for the employee and the corporation in the long and short term.
     
    If TRUST is important to you and your business – read this blog of my meeting with an international money launderer.
    I met Kenneth Rijock in the hotel lobby as we checked in for our presentations for the Caribbean Fraud and Anti-Money Laundering conference; Just to get to Antigua takes four connecting flights, so I carried the bare minimum luggage.
    Ken took ‘travelling light’ to another level; he had a plastic bag that I assumed held nothing but a pair of underpants, a toothbrush and a tie for tomorrows conference. A risk taker.
    Rijock is low profile, with a warm demeanor that is likeable and relaxed. Like most international successful fraudsters Rijock is a welcoming person. But he’s turned his hand away from crime these days. In fact he’s one of us now, a good guy.
    Rijock’s expertise stems from being a Miami based lawyer who’d laundered $200 million USD for Cuban and Columbian drug lords in the 1980’s. That’s his claim to fame; he’s a former international crook whose dominant skill is his rat-cunning.
    Rijock’s skills are in select company, notably that of the other US born confidence trickster, cheque forger, impostor, and escape artist Frank Abagnale of the movie, ‘Catch me if you can’ fame although Abagnale only got away with $2.5 million.
    Rijock and Abagnale had long terms of imprisonment cut short when they agreed to assist the FBI and other US authorities to learn ‘the craft’ as Rijock calls it. And clearly, these men have a commodity to sell as I found during his presentation.
    First, Rijock warns, ‘Beware of internet ghosts’ (a person with no internet history). “If you Google search a legitimate business person they’ll have an internet history, whether it’s a charity, school or business event they will come up.”  Fraudsters can create new identities using forged documents but they can’t build an internet history; that takes time.
    Many organised crime groups use ‘clean skin’ friends to open accounts for them. To counter this, Rijock suggests using Google images; this is a simple search that displays internet pictures of the person searched for.
    “You’re not looking for a photo of the potential client per say but more importantly, to see who they’ve been photographed with”. Like the photo Rijock found of a potential client with his arm around a US crime boss; that internet photo saved a bank.
    Rijock also says that criminal organisations targeting banks and businesses don’t stop after one attempt, they’ll try the front door, then the side door and so on; “That being the case it’s imperative not to explain how their attempts fail; you don’t want to educate them for their second and any subsequent attempts.”
    Rijock finished explaining his past; laundering money for evil Columbian drug lords, whose trade kills people worldwide. But he didn’t describe it like that, he called it ‘the craft’; in a  ‘clever’ kind of way that I thought, lacked remorse.
    Dr Alden Cass the Psychologist to Wall Street, then presented the ‘Psychology of a white collar criminal’. He might as well have described Kenneth Rijock. You can’t just shrug off your DNA I thought.
    “Ken’s a nice guy. You have no idea how a famous ex-money launderer gives us a good rep’ in business… ” Ken’s colleague told me in his American accent.
    “But what about the risk he’ll return to his old tricks?” I asked.
    “Nah… (thoughtful pause)… but recently I saw him driving a new Bentley.” (laughs)
    “Gee, how can he afford that?” I enquired.
    “I don’t know… I was wondering the same thing.” He said.
    Whilst that conversation was in jest. That’s the problem for any reformed craftsman. Trust is an issue, and, just like a legitimate internet history, it takes time to create it.
    But, even for a cynical ex-detective, I have to say Ken has won me over. Rijock has spent the last 21 years, since his release from prison in anti-money laundering pursuits, including concentrating during the 1990s as a lecturer, expert witness, and adviser to law enforcement, government and intelligence services in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Ken’s even worked undercover for US law enforcement, recreating his old role as a laundryman, to sting narcotics traffickers, at a substantial personal risk to himself.
    Rijock has written over 5000 financial crime analysis articles, which are all available at no cost, on the World-Check website. He appears at over 30 conferences a year, and has  presented on every continent on a regular basis.
    That is unique,  post-conviction activity of any individual.
    Ken may not show remorse when he tells his personal story, but as one of the US Marshals observed prior to Rijocks guilty plea, and acceptance of responsibility, the court system couldn’t do anything more to him, he’d committed a number of crimes, and he knew that it was wrong.
    There are a few crims in Australia that could take a leaf out of Ken Rijock’s book.
    I’d like a ride in that Bentley one day.
    Simon Illingworth
    And now to the West Indies,
    Caribbean Anti-Money Laundering and Fraud Conference… Antigua (think West Indies) a beautiful place to have a holiday, but 40 hours of flying to do a presentation?
    The low down
    Money Laundering in the Caribbean region has figured prominently over the years. Primarily because narcotics traders from Columbia and Cuba have taken a particular liking to the wash, fold and iron of their $USD (if you know what I mean). Hence the AML and Fraud Conference organised by a bright spark, Mr Kem Warner.
    The event promised a lot, with Kem and the sponsors paying big sums to get the world’s best over there and it certainly paid off, so I’m confident the laundrymen are about to get the shock of their lives.
    I managed  to catch up with a few mates (other presenters).
    Declan Hill is an Investigative Journo, Expert in Match Fixing and Author of ‘The Fix’ a World Best Seller. A very good book.
    Declan Hill gave me a solid run down on the new challenges of match fixing around the World and specifically in Australia. Sure enough, when I arrived back home Declan’s first ‘predication’ came true (Pakistan Cricket team was about to take a dive), no-ball, $$$no-ball … $$$
    other links:
    our garlic farm www.garlicworld.com.au
     
     
    INSIDE THE AUTHOR TV -
    Follow the link to view the interview of Deborah Locke with Grant Boyden discussing WATCHING THE DETECTIVES
     
    Underbelly: The Golden Mile.   We've got all the dirt on the gripping season finale. Who gets their comeuppance and who gets away with murder? We also speak to the real-life protagonists to find out what life is like for them now.  TV WEEK MAGAZINE JUN 26, 2010
     
    UNDERBELLY'S DEBORAH LOCKE
    Deborah Locke is the former NSW police officer whose allegations of misconduct in the force helped to spark the Wood Royal Commission - a pivotal part of the Underbelly: The Golden Mile story. WHO meets the courageous 46-year-old and discovers what she believes is the lasting legacy of her decision to reveal the truth about her corrupt colleagues ("As a whistleblower, I was trying to do the right thing, and then my son ends up brain-damaged") and tells that many years later she still fears possible retribution.  (click here) to see WHO WEBSITE
     
    Underbelly 3 - The Golden Mile with Deborah Locke - Live Chat
    She was one of the first police officers to raise complaints about harassment and police corruption, and now the real Deborah Locke joins readers of The Daily Telegraph to talk about the myths and facts of Underbelly 3 - The Golden Mile. (click here)
     
    See Lelia McKinnon's interview with Deb tonight (31 May, 2010) on A Current Affair,
    "...Detective Senior Constable Deborah Locke, characterised as "Deb" in Underbelly, blew the whistle on the webs of illicit money-making and money-taking operated by dozens of NSW detectives. She tells Leila Mackinnon of those dangerous times in her life... and if she really went skinny-dipping with five police colleagues, as portrayed in Underbelly....
     
    UNDERBELLY:- THE REAL DEBBIE WEBB
    Interview on The Cage, Triple M Brisbane
    You can also listen to an interview with Kym, Ali & Dzelde on Triple M Adelaide
     
    Interview on 2UE Breakfast with John & Sandy
     

     
    Australian Druglords
    Hosted by Gary Sweet, Australian Druglords is a ground-breaking true crime series, with unprecedented access to confidential police files, which takes you inside the secret world of the NSW Police drug squad as they bring down Australia's biggest druglords. (click here) to find out more...
     
    Might be interesting.  Let's see...
     

    WATCHING THE DETECTIVES – 2nd Edition has nearly SOLD OUT.

    The Second Edition of ‘Watching the Detective’s’ is selling out quickly.  This is great news for those people who were unable to grab a copy when it was originally published.  The book was so popular it was sold out quickly leaving people with the only option to search for it on eBay. The book has new cover.
    Read the Debbie Locke story and get a head start on what will be coming up in Underbelly III in April 2010.
     
    Underbelly is disgraceful, says former judge
    CRIME shows such as Underbelly are disgraceful glamorisations of crime and there is nothing admirable about events depicted in them, says the man who led a royal commission on NSW police corruption.
    The former Supreme Court judge James Wood said the Channel Nine series and programs like it tended to make guns and violence acceptable and glamorised characters based on people who were nothing but ''hoodlums and thugs''...
    TIM DICK
     
    Driven out ... the authors and former police officers Deborah Locke and Glen McNamara outside Kings Cross police station. Photo: Steven Siewert
     

    Dangerous days in the Cross

    It was an extraordinary period in Sydney's history, as we will soon be reminded by Underbelly 3. One dark tale that deserves to be much better known is the story of how two police officers did something about the corruption, and the terrible price they paid.
    Deborah Locke joined the police in 1984 and began a three-month secondment with the Kings Cross drug squad the next year. She soon realised how things worked: on her way to work in the mornings, the prostitutes on Darlinghurst Road would tell her, "I've already paid sergeant so-and-so today." One of the girls warned her, "Be careful of the blokes you're working with, they are not nice." This proved to be an understatement...
     
     
     
    WOMEN OF UNDERBELLY
    Women on the edge ... Cheree Cassidy plays Constable Debbie Webb, Emma Booth plays Kim Hollingsworth, Sigrid Thornton plays Gerry Lloyd, Natalie Bassngthwaighte as Maria Haken,Jessica Tovey as Constable Wendy Jones. Source: The Daily Telegraph
    Detective Constable Debbie Webb (Locke)
    Being a cop is all Debbie Webb (played by Cheree Cassidy) ever wanted to do.  Young, blonde and pretty, she was determined to succeed in life where her alcoholic parents had failed.
    When she realises the police officers around her are corrupt and subsequently blows the whistle on them, all hell breaks loose.
    "Reading her book, I welled up with tears numerous times," says Cassidy, 27, who met Webb, a consultant on Underbelly 3.
    "It's amazing that she came out the other side. I have a lot of respect for her. She is a woman  remarkable courage.  If you didn't love her character and respect her, then you couldn't play it - but I do.
    "Battling alcoholism, depression and what she went through and survived is amazing."
    Played by Cheree Cassidy
    Cassidy was broke, working as a cashier at a cinema chain before she won the role of Webb and has been lauded for her acting talent.  A dancer whose dream of becoming an actress came later than most, she studied at Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts. Her Underbelly role is set to make her a household TV name.
     
    Deborah was recently presented at Parliament House with the  Inaugural Woman of achievement  Award "Service Above Self" This award was presented by Sydney Rotary in recognition for her service to the community through her efforts to uncover Police Corruption, her service in the field of disability services and her present work in relation to domestic violence in her role as Manager of Elsie Women's Refuge.
    Emma Booth talks about her role as Kim Hollingworth in the Telegraph
    (click here) today. Underbelly  III  will be screening soon.
    ‘Watching the Detective’s’ is a major source of material for the latest production in the Underbelly series. Deborah is one of the featured characters that will appear throughout the series as it highlights the events surrounding Kings Cross in the late 1980’s through to about 1996.
    Deborah and her husband worked closely with the Screentime writers and producers to assist them with making Underbelly III as authentic as possible.
    Cheree Cassidy (Debbie Locke) and Andrew Bibby (Greg Locke) on the steeps of Parliament House 2 November, 2009 during the filming of Underbelly III: The Golden Mile.  John Waters portrays Independent MP John Hatton.

    Links

    You might find some of these Press stories and related sites interesting


     

    Glenn Dyer’s TV ratings: ABC shows them how it’s done

    Despite the lowish audience, the ABC again showed the Nine Network how to make a terrific drama out of a significant crime and social issue story in last night’s telemovie Dangerous Remedy.
    READ MORE
     
     
    The internet vs. the world part 1: gatekeepers lose control as we connect
     
    Here are some scenes from the internet in the last decade of the twentieth century and the first of the 21st, in no particular order.
     
    • The internet versus music and movies. The digitisation of audio-visual content and higher internet bandwidth enables mass downloading of music, movies and television programming entirely outside the legal copyright system. In Australia, much of it is driven by the FTA television networks’ refusal to screen foreign programs for many months after they’ve screened in the US. The response of copyright owners and media companies is to prosecute individuals, websites or companies that download illegally, or facilitate downloading, and convince governments to impose new, often draconian, copyright laws. Their efforts are futile. About 25% of global internet traffic is estimated to be file sharing, nearly all of it illegal.
    • The internet versus lawyers. Lawyers in jurisdictions across the world become increasingly concerned about jurors using the internet to find out about cases. Judges take to threatening jurors with contempt of court if they breach agreements about using the internet. In 2008, a Victorian judge demands the suppression of an episode of Underbelly. As soon as the banned episode is broadcast elsewhere, it is available online and downloaded thousands of times. In 2009, a judge orders Australian websites to take over 1500 articles offline about an individual on the basis that they will prejudice a trial jury. The material remains easily accessible even after removal by the sites in question.
    • The internet versus gambling opponentsMoral panic over gambling and pressure from casinos prompts the Australian Government to ban online gambling in 2001. According to the Productivity Commission, the ban fails to prevent continued growth in online gambling at rates similar to other countries. The ban ensures Australians’ money goes to poorly-regulated foreign sites and not safer local sites and Australian taxpayers.
    • The internet versus government secrecyThe website Cryptome began publishing classified and confidential government information in 1996. Similar sites like Cartome, Eyeball Series and Cryptome CN also offer other types of information governments want suppressed. Cryptome’s founders claim FBI harassment, the site has its server capacity removed and companies like PayPal refuse to enable contributions to the site. But as WikiLeaks will demonstrate, the harassment appears to have no noticeable impact on the release of material.
    • The internet versus transnationalsIn October 2009, the transnational energy company Trafigura, which has successfully used the UK courts to suppress reporting of evidence it released toxic waste in Côte d’Ivoire, obtains a “superinjunction” against the Guardian on the same issue. But “Trafigura” becomes a trending topic on Twitter, and a number of websites and WikiLeaks publish material on the case. The company abandons its attempts to suppress efforts to expose it.
    • The internet versus journalistsSome Australian p olitical journalists, angry at criticism of their coverage of the 2010 election, lash out at “parasites”, “free riders” and “armchair critics” online. “Just let the professionals do their job” demands one on Twitter. But the editor ofThe Australian goes further. Angry that online critics are routinely deriding the paper’s partisanship and anti-science stance on climate change, he threatens to sue an academic over tweets made about a presentation at a journalism conference — though not the presenter herself, a former journalist at his own paper — and boasts about bringing his lawyers into the matter. His Media Editor then threatens to report another academic to police over a Twitter comment. The result is extensive coverage of the original presentation here and overseas.
    • The internet versus the Australian GovernmentIn response to WikiLeaks releasing US diplomatic cables, the Australian Prime Minister labels the act “illegal” and her Attorney-General talks about measures to prevent the release of national security material in the media. He writes to mainstream media editors with the goal of developing a protocol to do so. Later, Australian police advise that WikiLeaks has not broken any Australian laws, and the Prime Minister is forced to carefully parse her claim about illegality.
    • The internet versus Big RetailAustralia’s major retailers, used to earning oligopoly profits, are unhappy Australians are using the internet to shop online at overseas sites. They demand the Government take “decisive action” in the form of higher taxes to deter consumers and protect their profits.
    The common theme across these examples is that the gatekeepers and the privileged intermediaries of late twentieth century Western economies — politicians, lawyers, the mainstream media, large corporations — are threatened by the connectedness that the internet enables.
    Humans are, to nick a phrase from David Attenborough, compulsive communicators. The urge to converse, debate, joke, fight, trade, play and form relationships with each other is hard-wired into us. And the internet dramatically expands the community within which we can do that, from one constrained by geography to one only constrained by technology.
    And it directly undermines the power of those who want to regulate that interaction, or profit from it. Governments that want to police it. The media that profits by connecting us. The corporations that rely on consumers knowing less than they do. The courts that regard jurors as easily-swayed fools who need to be treated like mushrooms. All now confront interconnectedness on a scale far greater than ever seen before, with far fewer opportunities to regulate or exploit it.
    But the gatekeepers and intermediaries are unwilling to let their power go easily, even as it slips away from them. And they reflexively resort to litigation, regulation and prohibition to maintain their power.
     
     
     

    Get into an old-school crime novel

     
    Underbelly (TV series)
    Underbelly is a 13-part Australian television mini-series that retells the real events of the 1995–2004 gangland war in Melbourne, and is the first series in the larger Underbelly Franchise. It depicts the key players in Melbourne's criminal underworld, including the Carlton Crew and their rival,Carl Williams. The series is based on the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by The Age journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule,[1] and is produced by the Australian Film Finance Corporation,[2] in association with Film Victoria.[3] The executive producers are Des Monaghan and Jo Horsburgh.[2]
    The lead-up to Underbelly involved a heavy marketing campaign which covered radio, print, billboards and an increased online presence, including the use of social networking tools.[4] At a reported cost of $500,000,[5] both this marketing investment and potentially millions of dollars in advertising revenue were claimed to be put at risk by the Victorian Supreme Court's injunction,[5] as the series was expected to attract 800,000 to 1 million viewers in Victoria alone.[6] The injunction was put in place to ensure that upcoming criminal trials were not unfair to the accused, because the series contained fictionalised re-enactments of several disputed events. Underbelly began screening on 13 February 2008 on theNine Network in all states and territories except Victoria.[7] An edited version of the series premiered in Victoria on 14 September 2008 after the injunction was partially lifted, although only the first five episodes were shown.[8] In 2011, the injunction was partially lifted and the series was screened as "Underbelly: Uncut". This rebroadcast included scenes from the original DVD release, as well as several significant changes that were made to keep the show current, including a newly recorded final voiceover and the crediting of several characters that were previously uncredited(allowable due to the ending of related trials). Some previously named characters in the final episode however are now unable to be named, resulting in a continued banning of the sale of the video release in Victoria.
    Underbelly was a critical and ratings success,[1] being described as "Australia's best ever crime drama".[9] The opening double episodes, which aired on 13 February, attracted an average of 1,320,000 viewers nationally, minus Victoria.[10] Every episode of the 13-part series was soon made available for download on a range of sites, with the Nine Network saying it was considering legal action.[11] The legal DVD of Underbelly was released on 8 May 2008, a day after the final episode was aired on television. Due to the legal suppression, the release was not able to be distributed through any retail or rental outlets in Victoria or on the internet.[12]. It was the first in a continuing series, and was later followed byUnderbelly: A Tale of Two CitiesUnderbelly: The Golden MileUnderbelly: RazorUnderbelly: BadnessUnderbelly: Squizzy(Currently Airing), as well three television films released as Underbelly Files.
     
    Overview
    Underbelly is a fictionalised account of the events behind the Melbourne gangland war that lasted from 1995 until 2004. In the first episode, theCarlton Crew crime syndicate is introduced, comprising stand-over man Alphonse Gangitano (Vince Colosimo), Domenic "Mick" Gatto (Simon Westaway), loanshark Mario Condello (Martin Sacks), retired bank robber Graham Kinniburgh (Gerard Kennedy) and drug-dealing siblings Jasonand Mark Moran (Les Hill and Callan Mulvey) and their father Lewis (Kevin Harrington). Jason Moran's seemingly harmless and half-witted driverCarl Williams (Gyton Grantley) is also introduced, along with two police characters; Steve Owen (Rodger Corser) and Jacqui James (Caroline Craig), the most prominent members of Task Force Purana.
    Alphonse Gangitano, the self-styled "Black Prince of Lygon Street", kills a man at a party over a small debt and, with Jason's assistance, injures 13 innocent people. During his trial, Gangitano is murdered by Jason, although the killing goes unsolved. The Moran brothers buy a pill press and employ Carl Williams to produce their drugs. Carl secretly begins making his own supply and forms an alliance with Moran rival Tony Mokbel(Robert Mammone). When Carl is busted by the police, Jason discovers his double-cross and shoots him in the stomach, before Jason is arrested. Mark Moran takes over the drug business, selling Tony Mokbel out to a corrupt officer from the drug squad. Carl kills Mark with the assistance of drug dealer Dino Dibra (Daniel Amalm) and L (Ian Bliss), who establish an alibi. Lewis Moran hires Andrew "Benji" Veniamin(Damian Walshe-Howling) to avenge his stepson, believing the killer to be Dibra. Benji kills Dibra then offers his services to Carl and becomes his bodyguard, although Carl is eventually jailed. Carl's wife, Roberta (Kat Stewart), is forced to run the business and she begins an affair with Benji.
    Carl is released from jail and Jason Moran is given special parole conditions to allow him to move to London. Moran rival Nik "The Russian" Radev(Don Hany) becomes a liability and Carl has him murdered by Benji and T. (Alex Dimitriades). Jason returns from London and a concerned Lewis offers to run the business, but is arrested during a bust. With Benji under constant police observation, Carl asks L. and T. to murder Jason, who is executed in front of his children. Carl orders a hit on small-time dealer Willie Thompson, who turns out to be a friend of Tony Mokbel. However, Tony blames another small-time dealer, Michael Marshall, for the crime and asks Carl to kill him. Carl's hitmen L. and T. shoot Marshall and are immediately arrested, but the police are unable to prove Carl's involvement in the crime.
    When Graham Kinniburgh is murdered, Carl agrees to end the violence and asks Benji to murder Gatto. Gatto instead kills Benji and is arrested, although he is later acquitted. A new thug, Keith Faure (Kym Gyngell) (only named in the 2011 "Uncut" broadcast), offers to team up with Carl, while his real motive is to take over for himself. Several days later, Faure kills Lewis Moran in a crowded bar. Consumed by revenge for Benji's death, his friend, convicted killer Lewis Caine (Marcus Graham), decides to kill Condello, the only surviving member of the Carlton Crew. However, Caine is double-crossed by his accomplices and is murdered beforehand. Detective Owen has Condello's bodyguard "Tibor" arrested. They agree to have Tibor act as an undercover agent to record Condello ordering a hit on Carl. Meanwhile, Carl's jailed associates testify against him. In the series final episode, Task Force Purana and Owen arrest Carl at a family barbecue. A voice-over, performed by police officer Jacqui James, reveals that Mick Gatto is eventually acquitted for the killing of Andrew Veniamin and that Mario Condello is killed while awaiting trial on attempted murder charges. The final voice-over was rerecorded during the production of Underbelly: Razor in preparation for the 2011 airing of the show in Victoria to also include information on Carl Williams' murder, and Tony Mokbel's arrest in a "cheap wig" in Greece
     
    Inaccuracies
     
    While the series retells the real events of the gangland war, several inaccuracies have been pointed out and some delibrate fictionalizations have been made. The Purana Taskforce, as presented in this series, is not a portrayal of the real Taskforce, as laws in Victoria do not allow real police officers, including those who previously served and were not sacked, to be portrayed by actors in the media. As a result, the characters presented are entirely fictional characters vaguely based on the real officers, leading to some major differences such as the series suggesting that a senior officer died due to a heart attack, which never in fact occurred.
    In the second episode, during the outdoor scene after Alphonse's funeral, a tram stop sign can be seen. This style/design of tram signage wasn't introduced until well into the 2000s.
    In the seventh episode, Paul Kallipolitis is murdered in his home by Andrew Veniamin, and in the following episode, Victor Peirce is murdered outside of his home. When Carl Williams is shot in the series by Moran there is a beach shore evident in the background, however the real shooting occurred in Broadmeadows, where no shoreline can be seen. While both murders occurred in 2002, the series timeline is incorrect, as Peirce was murdered on 1 May,[13] and Kallipolitis was murdered on 15 October.[14] The execution of Victor Peirce in episode eight is portrayed as taking place in his car at the front of his home, but Peirce was shot dead while parked opposite a supermarket in Bay Street, Port Melbourne.[13] The murder of alleged drug dealer Willie Thompson was portrayed in episode ten as Thompson being shot after leaving a martial arts class in broad daylight. However, Thompson was shot dead at around 9:30pm, and the murder occurred on Waverley Road in the Melbourne suburb of Chadstone, as he began to drive off in his car, directly outside the entrance to the martial arts centre. Another fiction portrayed was the murder ofNik Radev by both Victor Brincat and Andrew Veniamin in the late hours of the night when Radev was in fact ambushed on a residential street inCoburg in the company of 2 bodyguards in the late afternoon.[15]
    In all episodes showing the Melbourne Skyline, the Eureka Tower is shown, however, the building was not actually completed until 2006, at least 2 years after the events depicted in the series.
     
    Underbelly features four regular cast members, with 27 actors who recur throughout the series.[16]
    The regular cast includes Rodger CorserCaroline CraigGyton Grantley and Kat Stewart. Corser stars as Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Owen, a prominent member of Task Force Purana. Craig stars as Senior Detective Jacqui James, Owen's partner in Task Force Purana and also narrates the series. Grantley stars as Carl Williams, a seemingly harmless and half-witted driver who becomes a killer and convicted criminal. Stewart stars as Roberta Williams, Carl's wife.
    The recurring cast includes:

    Production

    Development

    Underbelly is based on the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by Age journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule.[1] As the Nine Network was interested in creating local and world-class television, they decided to invest in a drama series that told the story of the Melbourne gangland killings. Jo Horsburgh, Nine Network Head of Drama, stated that the network was "100 percent committed to bringing Underbelly to the small screen".[18] Des Monaghan, executive producer for Screentime, called the series "one of the most exciting and challenging drama projects ever shot in [Australia]".[18] The script took 12 months to write, beginning in June 2006, with the main writers, Greg Haddrick, Peter Gawler and Felicity Packard putting together an entire episode themselves before their scripts were edited.[19] Haddrick, Screentime's Head of Drama, felt that the challenge for the writing team was to "capture the essential truth of these extraordinary events in a compelling and coherent manner".[18]
    Underbelly was filmed in Melbourne, at locations around the city where the real-life events occurred.[20] Filming took over 82 days, from 2 July to 19 October 2007,[16] with 150 inner urban locations utilised and 450 locations surveyed making the series as close to life as possible.[21] Parts of the series were filmed in the Essendon area, near many of the houses and schools associated with the "Underworld".[22] Many of the Carlton scenes were filmed in North Melbourne, primarily around Errol Street. All La Porcella filming was done at Rubicon Restaurant Errol Street, and jail visit sequences were filmed in the dressing rooms at the Telstra Dome.[23]

    Marketing

    The Nine Network spent more than fifteen million dollars producing and promoting Underbelly.[24] The lead-up resulted in a heavy marketing campaign which covered radio, print, billboards and an increased online presence, including the use of social networking tools.[4] When the CEO of the Nine Network, David Gyngell noted the need to up its online presence, and embrace social networking as a valuable marketing tool,[25] the official website was launched. The original website was launched on 15 January 2008, with only a 3-minute trailer; while the full site, with all its features, launched on 1 February 2008.[26] It was announced that the full first episode would be available for download on the site on 10 February, three days before the show premieres on television,[27] but this option was made unavailable due to the Supreme court suppression case.[28] This intention follows a similar strategy used for the launch of Sea Patrol in 2007.[27] The site was "poised to become" the biggest and most detailed website the Nine Network has hosted for a show so far, including features such as behind the scenes footage, profiles, visitor interactivity and the use of social networking tools.[4] Due to the court injunction, the Nine Network was ordered to remove character profiles from its official website in Victoria.[29]
    According to its marketing, Underbelly "uses the framework of the murderous war between the two gangs, and the bigger moral war between the gangs and the Purana Task Force, to explore a complex array of individual stories and relationships—some touching, some incredible, all breathtaking—it is a mini-series that examines the kaleidoscopic nature of loyalty, love, revenge and pride when the normal and identifiable emotions of human attachment are moved from the context of social decency to social indecency."[2]

    Franchise

    The series' first prequel, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, revolves around the organised crime groups that stemmed from theGriffith-based dope trade.[30] The series follows the lives of two late infamous drug lords, "Aussie Bob" Trimbole and Terry "Mr Asia" Clark, portrayed by Roy Billing and Matthew Newton respectively.[31] Filming took place in both Sydney and Melbourne until March 2009.[31] Sydney locations RichmondBondi Beach and Warwick Farm were used to portray Griffith in the 1970s. Writers Peter Gawler and Greg Haddrick admitted that there was more nudity and sex than the original.[32] The prequel premiered on 9 February 2009 to 2.5 million viewers, making it the highest rated non-sporting program in the history of Australian television ratings.[33] The second prequel, titled Underbelly: The Golden Mile, began airing on 11 April 2010.[34] A telemovie trilogy known as The Underbelly Files was made and then aired in early 2011. The three telemovies InfiltrationThe Man Who Got Away, and Tell Them Lucifer Was Here.[35] The fourth series, Underbelly: Razor, began airing on 21 August 2011 and was mostly concerned with telling the story of 1920s criminal matriarchs Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh. It was also therefore a prequel to the original series. A New Zealand version titled Underbelly NZ: Land Of The Long Green Cloud aired in 2011. The fifth series, Underbelly: Badness which tells the story of modern Sydney underworld figure Anthony Perish first aired on 13 August 2012. The current production, Underbelly: Squizzy, is set to air in late 2013 and is a biography of Squizzy Taylor.

    Impact

    Critical reception

    The first episode of the series was screened privately to media on 17 January 2008, prior the media had been treated with extracts and trailers promoting the series. On 3 January 2008, The Sydney Morning Herald's critic Michael Idato declared the series "The Blue Murder of its time", referring to the critically acclaimed 1995 ABC TV drama Blue Murder, considered by many to be the finest crime drama ever produced in Australia.[36] In a review on his blog on 17 January 2008, David Knox, stated that Underbelly "is our ownSopranos", and awarded it 4.5 out of 5. He also commented "If there are any criticisms to be found with Underbelly, they are few. One or two shots give away that period Melbourne was actually shot in 2007. And while watching these gangsters thrive on power with ballsy disdain, it was hard not to think of the behaviour of some television executives in recent history. This aside, Underbellylooks set to be one of the highlights of the 2008 television year."[37] A review appeared in the Herald Sun on 18 January 2008, in which critic Paul Anderson quoted: "Whether you followed the Melbourne gangland war or not, there's a fair chance you will be blown away by the coming TV series Underbelly. [It] is a slick, violent and sexually charged dramatisation backed by a ripping soundtrack."[38] In an article appearing on 31 January 2008, The Daily Telegraph's TV editor, Marcus Casey, said of Underbelly after viewing the first four episodes: "If the quality is maintained then, while not perfect, Underbelly should equal, if not better, Australia's best ever crime dramas – the Phoenix series and Blue Murder."[9]

    Australian Family Association's reaction

    On 11 February 2008 the Australian Family Association (AFA), was publicly outraged that Underbelly would be screening at 8:30 pm, well within reach of children, after clips of the series were leaked onto the internet. The clips highlighted the use of extremeprofanities, and scenes that show a violent bashing, a cold-blooded murder, and a sexual encounter. The Nine Network defended the timeslot and the M classification, saying the clips, leaked from the Network's production department, were indeed from the series, but not all of them made the final cut. The Network set its own classification, under the accepted rules of the Australian Commercial Television Code of Conduct. The Australian Family Association threatened to take the matter to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy if the content of the show was anything near that of an unauthorised promotional clip leaked from Nine's production department.[39]

    Ratings

    The opening double episodes, which aired on 13 February, attracted an average of 1,320,000 viewers nationally, minus Victoria, making it the third most-watched show of the night.[10] In Victoria alone, the series was expected to attract 800,000 to 1 million viewers,[6] which would have put Underbelly figures over the 2 million mark. The replacement movie for Underbelly in Victoria, The Shawshank Redemption, managed only 271,000 viewers.[10] The third episode, which aired on 20 February, managed to hold most of its viewers from its premiere, attracting 1,273,000 viewers nationally,[40] a decline of only 50,000 viewers. The fourth episode, which aired on 27 February, managed to hold nearly all of its viewers from the previous episode, attracting 1,250,000 viewers nationally, a decline of only 23,000 viewers. Although leaked copies of all the episodes became available online, the show continued to attract "huge television audiences".[41] Underbelly averaged 1.26 million viewers for all 13 episodes.[32]

    Awards

    Underbelly was nominated for eight awards at the 2008 AFI Awards, winning six. The awards won were: Best Drama Series; Best Director (Peter Andrikidis, for episode 7); Best Lead Actor (Gyton Grantley); Best Lead Actress (Kat Stewart); Best Guest or Supporting Actor (Damian Walshe-Howling, for episode 7); and Best Guest or Supporting Actress (Madeleine West, for episode 7). The series was also nominated for Best Screenplay (Peter Gawler); and Best Guest or Supporting Actor (Vince Colosimo, for episode 2).[42] At the 2008 Screen Music Awards, composer Burkhard Dallwitz won two awards for best television theme and best music for a television series.[43]
    The show was also nominated for nine Logie Awards. It won three awards from the nominations of Most Outstanding Drama Series, Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (Gyton Grantley) and Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series (Kat Stewart). The other six nominations were from the categories of Most Outstanding Actor (Vince Colosimo and Damian Walshe-Howling), Most Outstanding New Talent (Lauren Clair), Most Popular Drama Series, Most Popular Actor (Gyton Grantley) and Most Popular Actress (Kat Stewart).[44]

    Legal issues

    Supreme Court writ threat[edit]

    George Defteros, a high-profile lawyer cleared of charges relating to underworld war, disrupted the lead-up to the series' launch, when he threatened the Nine Network with a Supreme Court writ on 26 January 2008. Defteros, said to be portrayed by George Kapiniaris, engaged a top Melbourne defamation specialist, saying:

    "Any attempt to depict me as a lawyer of low impropriety and unethical behaviour will be met with legal proceedings instituted by my lawyers, I regard the depiction of the gangland wars, in particular my role as a lawyer acting for parties, as nothing more than farcical and pure pantomime. We'll be watching it very closely."
    —George Defteros[45]

    Nine Network had subsequently said there would now be no direct reference to Mr Defteros, despite earlier publicity. A spokeswoman for the network said "There is no lawyer called Defteros in Underbelly", but Defteros said he could still be defamed by implication, noting "it's already been advertised as me". The case was dropped by Director of Public Prosecutions Paul Coghlan, QC, due to a lack of evidence.[45]

    Supreme Court suppression[edit]

    One of the many pages sporting a "This functionality is not available due to current legal restrictions" notice.

    The screening of Underbelly in Victoria was put into jeopardy after last-minute legal proceedings were instituted by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Jeremy Rapke, QC. Rapke secured an urgent viewing of the series, after which he decided to seek an injunction stopping its broadcast in Victoria. A Supreme Court judge called prosecutors and defence lawyers together after serious concerns were raised about whether the show could prejudice the jury in the trial of Evangelos Goussis, who had pleaded not guilty to the 2004 gangland killing of Lewis Moran. Although Goussis was not named in the series, there were concerns the show could hurt his chance of a fair trial.[46][47]

    The Supreme Court hearing took place on 11 February 2008 – only two days before the series was due to premiere.[48] The Nine Network was ordered by a DPP subpoena to hand over tapes of all 13 episodes, as well as outlines and story lines, to the Victorian Supreme Court by 10 am on that date.[48][49] The Nine Network refused to voluntarily hand over the tapes, saying they were incomplete and that the network's lawyers were closely supervising production. However, it was willing to comply with any Court order and took the matter very seriously. The Network was also adamant that the series makes no assertions about the guilt of the accused killer. At the hearing, which took place at the Geelong Supreme Court, Justice Betty King gave prosecution and defence lawyers 24 hours to view the series and return to court the following day to decide whether it had the potential to affect the forthcoming trial.[50] Justice King issued a suppression order on 12 February banning the Nine Network from broadcasting the series in the state of Victoria and on the internet until after the murder trial was completed.[7] The Nine Network offered to air a heavily edited version in Victoria, but the offer was rejected by Justice King. It was initially planned that an alternative program,Underbelly: A Special Announcement, discussing the subject matter of the series, would air in Victoria instead of the series premiere.[29] This idea was scrapped, and the movie The Shawshank Redemption was aired in Victoria instead.[10] The Nine Network declared their intention to appeal the decision, and Network lawyers stated that they would exercise all legal options.[29]

    The injunction also affected national audiences receiving transmissions from Imparja Television, a Nine Network affiliate, because its single national satellite distribution signal is retransmitted in some parts of Victoria. Alternative programming was to be shown until the restriction was lifted.[51]

    The appeal began on 29 February 2008 in the Victorian Court of Appeal. Nine Network lawyers argued that the network should be allowed to broadcast the first three episodes of the series, arguing Justice King had erred in her decision to suppress the series because she had viewed the unedited version, rather than the final edited cut that was to be shown to audiences. The network believed the first three episodes, which depicted events from the beginning of the underworld war in 1995, would have no potential to prejudice any part of the trial.[52] Goussis's murder trial was due to begin on 31 March 2008. The judges overseeing the appeal retired to decide their verdict on 3 March 2008.[53] Their decision on 26 March 2008 upheld Justice King's ruling that the series was not to be broadcast or distributed in or out of Victoria. During the appeal the Nine Network had proposed to screen the first three episodes immediately after any successful appeal, and would give the court seven days written notice of its intention to show any further episodes that it believed would not prejudice the murder trial. The Court of Appeal had dismissed the network's application to appeal, and the network was compelled to comply with the suppression order issued by Justice King until the offending trial was complete.[54]

    The ban expired the week ending 30 May 2008, with the conviction of Goussis for the murder of Lewis Moran, paving the way for Nine to begin screening episodes;[55] however, Andrew Rule, who co-wrote the book on which the series is based, says Underbellywill not be seen in Victoria anytime soon, saying "the problem now will be that Tony Mokbel is back in Australia and ready to stand trial on very serious charges. That will effectively prevent the series being screened in Victoria until that trial is held ... That could be some time. I'm not sure about several [years], but it might be two years."[56] However, Underbelly was legally shown in Victoria in September 2008, after a court ruled that the network could air the first five episodes. Supreme Court Justice Peter Vickery gave the network permission to air the specially edited episodes, but said screening the sixth episode could prejudice the upcoming trials of an accused criminal.[8] The edited versions had whole scenes cut out, and Tony Mokbel's face was pixelated. Reactions from viewers were not favourable, mainly because most had already seen the entire series.[57]

    Underbelly: Uncut (2011 Victorian Broadcast Version)[edit]

    The suppression order was partially lifted after Mokbel's trial in April 2011,[58] after which the series was broadcast in Victoria. A 9:30pm timeslot allowed the airing of the 'Uncut' edition, based on the episodes as they appeared in the DVD/Blu-ray release, and a few further alterations were made to update the show's significantly outdated summary of current events. The final voice over of the series, in the episode "Purana", was rerecorded(during production of Underbelly: Razor) to include events that occurred up to, and including, 2011(such as Carl Williams' murder and Tony Mokbel's arrest). It is almost a minute longer than the original voice over summary. Other episodes contained less significant changes to the original voice over summaries, indicating they had also been rerecorded.

    Kym Gynell (Keith Faure), Alex Dimitriades (Victor Brincat) and Ian Bliss (Thomas Hentschel) are now fully credited in the episodes in which they starred, with the textual explanation given that their characters could not be named at the time of production but can now be named as of 2011, due to the end of their related trials. They are still unnamed in the dialog of each episode.

    The show, however, is still not allowed to be sold on DVD/Blu-ray in Victoria, because a character in the "Purana" episode that was named in the original broadcast and DVD/Blu-ray release, was not allowed to be named at the time of the rebroadcast due to a pending court case and subsequently had their name edited out. Because the DVD/Blu-ray release is based on the original 2008 broadcast and not the 2011 "Uncut" broadcast, it is still not allowed to be sold in Victoria until the suppression order is fully lifted, or the alternative version is released.

    Distribution

    International distribution

    Underbelly began airing in New Zealand on TV3 on Sunday at 9:30pm,[2] but the network put the series on hiatus after three episodes because it was "not performing as expected in the time slot".[59] Due to a public outcry, TV3 reversed their decision 48 hours later, saying it was "bowing to the pressure of angry fans".[60] TV3 reinstated the series in its old timeslot, but rescheduled it to 11:15pm on Tuesday evenings just weeks later. TV3 senior publicist Nicole Wood said the show had failed to win new viewers in the Sunday slot, and even though they were "inundated with fans" when they took it off air, it "still didn't rate" on its second showing. The series was brought back to primetime in July 2009, after the sequel series performed well in New Zealand. Beginning with episode 1, the series is currently playing every Thursday at 9:30pm.[61] In April 2008, the Nine Network signed an international distribution deal with Fox International Channels and Portman Film & Television. The series will be broadcast in Scandinavia, Canada, France,[62] the UK, Italy (Rai 4), Balkans, Korea, Pan-Asia, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and Germany. Gyngell said, "to say we are pleased is an understatement – we are delighted that the series will gain international audiences and global recognition".[63] Scottish commercial broadcaster STV have signed up to broadcast the series. Series 3 is now broadcasting after the good reception of the first two series.[64] U.S. satellite-only service DirecTV will broadcast the entire trilogy, beginning in February 2010, on its channel "The 101".[65]

    Season 1 airs in the Republic of Ireland on free-to-air channel TV3 Ireland from Thursday, 23 September 2010 at 10pm.

    The series is also available on Netflix.

    Illegal distribution[edit]

    Despite the ban on broadcasting the series in Victoria, Victorians were still able to access episodes via illegal online distribution. The first episode was made available on torrent sites within 20 minutes of it concluding in New South Wales. The Nine Network reportedly obtained the IP address of the first person to upload the show, and network lawyers were considering legal action. The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) was investigating the matter, and was expected to make a list of recommendations to Victoria Police.[66] Fears of inside leaks were aroused when advance screener versions of the first eight episodes were posted online.[40]

    Every episode of the 13-part series was soon available for download on a range of sites. It was reported that on mininova.org more than 3,000 users were attempting to download episode seven late on the afternoon of 27 February 2008. The Nine Network said it was considering legal action, and was looking into how copies got into the hands of underworld figures in Victoria, including Roberta Williams, the former wife of gangland kingpin Carl Williams.[11] Unauthorised copies of the entire series were also made available to the public. People were offered a 4-disc DVD set for between A$10 and $80 in public places such as carparks and building sites. The episodes were commercial-free and came with introductory station countdowns, suggesting a major leak from inside the network's production department.[67]

    Two network employees had been questioned by the network over the matter, but both denied distributing any copies of the series.[68] Pirated DVDs containing the first nine episodes of Underbelly were seized in a raid by police on a business in Melbourne's western suburbs on 11 March 2008. As well as facing serious copyright charges, the 41-year-old man arrested with connections to the piracy set-up will also risk prosecution for breaching the court suppression order banning broadcast of the program in Victoria. Along with the Underbelly DVDs, more than 7000 other pirated DVDs were uncovered, as well as eight printers and 70 new DVD burners. The piracy ring contained several members, some of which had been arrested for offences in the recent months prior.[69]

    Merchandise

    The legal Underbelly DVD was released 8 May 2008 by Roadshow Entertainment, a day after the final episode was aired on television. In accordance with the legal suppression, the release was not distributed through any retail or rental outlets in Victoria or on the internet. Roadshow Entertainment has confirmed that all box sets and point of sale displays will carry a sticker or stamp reminding buyers the series is not for sale, distribution or exhibition in Victoria. Legal experts said Victorians who bought the box set interstate and watched it themselves at home would likely not fall foul of the law, but anyone who showed it more widely could be charged with contempt.[12] The DVD has sold 265,000 copies around Australia.[57] In September 2008, a Limited Edition DVD was released, containing a numbered steel case and an extra disc with a documentary entitled Carl Williams – A Day of Reckoning.[70]The Underbelly soundtrack was released on 29 March 2008, both as a CD and online. It features elements of the score by Burkhard Dallwitz in addition to music tracks that were featured in the series.[71] Underbelly was released on Blu-ray on 5 August 2010.

    See also

    References







    London's United Kingdom
    Legal selection system is corrupt, admit judges

    Lord Chancellor's Department report condemns secret soundings

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/legal-selection-system-is-corrupt-admit-judges-706668.html 

       
       
      

    Judges and senior lawyers admit that the system under which they are appointed is riddled with corruption and open to widespread abuse.

    Judges and senior lawyers admit that the system under which they are appointed is riddled with corruption and open to widespread abuse.

    In a damning report produced by the Lord Chancellor's Department, it is likened to "the old-fashioned class or caste system" by many of the judges and QCs interviewed.

    The findings will deeply embarrass the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, who has repeatedly rejected calls to end the "secret soundings", whereby judges and senior lawyers are consulted on the suitability of judicial candidates.

    Responses from 137 sitting judges or senior lawyers showed a "clear consensus" for the appointments processes to be "based on openness, objectivity, and selection on merit rather than patronage". It is the first detailed research to include judges.

    Of the 137 respondents only 10 said no changes were needed to the system. A total of 52 were interviewed face-to-face.

    One judge said: "I don't know what the criteria are for silk... maybe there is a document somewhere that I haven't seen but it seems to me that it depends on who you know, what committee you sit on rather than anything else. There doesn't seem to be a system of interview. It seems to be on general reputation and I think that is unreliable."

    Many of those who responded expressed concern that the present system deterred applications from women and the ethnic minorities. Women account for 11 per cent and ethnic minorities for 1.7 per cent of all judges in England and Wales, according to figures from 1999.

    A serious concern among those consulted was the domination of an "elite group of chambers" in both London and the regions from which most appointments were made.

    One white barrister admitted: "I'm the wrong person to ask about the difficulties in applying for silk. I mean in these chambers usually everyone gets silk, usually the first time of asking and everyone becomes made a judge. It is a sort of 'golden road'."

    The report's authors, Kate Malleson, of the London School of Economics, and Fareda Banda, of the School of Oriental and African Studies, said many respondents wanted proper recruitment of under-represented groups.

    The report said: "The need for the active encouragement of good candidates and the adoption of processes which are, and can be seen to be, more open and objective were most commonly proposed as ways of improving the accessibility and fairness of the processes."

    However, the authors noted that there was widespread support for efforts by the Lord Chancellor to increase the number of women and ethnic minority judges. One respondent described it as a vicious circle, saying: "Black and Asian barristers don't get the work because they are considered to be incompetent and because they don't get the work they are considered to be incompetent."

    The respondents felt that there was a need for a judicial appointment commission with many favouring a broad range of membership including judges, lawyers and civil servants. The authors said that the growing concern about the unrepresentative background of the judiciary had become more acute because of the "ten-fold" increase in the size of the judiciary since the 1970s.

    Last year Sir Leonard Peach produced a report on the process by which judicial and silk appointments are made, commissioned by the Lord Chancellor.


    Judges and senior lawyers admit that the system under which they are appointed is riddled with corruption and open to widespread abuse.

    Judges and senior lawyers admit that the system under which they are appointed is riddled with corruption and open to widespread abuse.

    In a damning report produced by the Lord Chancellor's Department, it is likened to "the old-fashioned class or caste system" by many of the judges and QCs interviewed.

    The findings will deeply embarrass the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, who has repeatedly rejected calls to end the "secret soundings", whereby judges and senior lawyers are consulted on the suitability of judicial candidates.

    Responses from 137 sitting judges or senior lawyers showed a "clear consensus" for the appointments processes to be "based on openness, objectivity, and selection on merit rather than patronage". It is the first detailed research to include judges.

    Of the 137 respondents only 10 said no changes were needed to the system. A total of 52 were interviewed face-to-face.

    One judge said: "I don't know what the criteria are for silk... maybe there is a document somewhere that I haven't seen but it seems to me that it depends on who you know, what committee you sit on rather than anything else. There doesn't seem to be a system of interview. It seems to be on general reputation and I think that is unreliable."

    Many of those who responded expressed concern that the present system deterred applications from women and the ethnic minorities. Women account for 11 per cent and ethnic minorities for 1.7 per cent of all judges in England and Wales, according to figures from 1999.

    A serious concern among those consulted was the domination of an "elite group of chambers" in both London and the regions from which most appointments were made.

    One white barrister admitted: "I'm the wrong person to ask about the difficulties in applying for silk. I mean in these chambers usually everyone gets silk, usually the first time of asking and everyone becomes made a judge. It is a sort of 'golden road'."

    The report's authors, Kate Malleson, of the London School of Economics, and Fareda Banda, of the School of Oriental and African Studies, said many respondents wanted proper recruitment of under-represented groups.

    The report said: "The need for the active encouragement of good candidates and the adoption of processes which are, and can be seen to be, more open and objective were most commonly proposed as ways of improving the accessibility and fairness of the processes."

    However, the authors noted that there was widespread support for efforts by the Lord Chancellor to increase the number of women and ethnic minority judges. One respondent described it as a vicious circle, saying: "Black and Asian barristers don't get the work because they are considered to be incompetent and because they don't get the work they are considered to be incompetent."

    The respondents felt that there was a need for a judicial appointment commission with many favouring a broad range of membership including judges, lawyers and civil servants. The authors said that the growing concern about the unrepresentative background of the judiciary had become more acute because of the "ten-fold" increase in the size of the judiciary since the 1970s.

    Last year Sir Leonard Peach produced a report on the process by which judicial and silk appointments are made, commissioned by the Lord Chancellor.

    The British Justice System is rotten to the core.

    http://100777.com/node/125 

    by Maurice Kellett

    Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven

    - Christ in Luke 6:37

    Police will willingly protect corrupt judges. Corrupt solicitors and barristers abound. This is the true state of the present UK justice system. When people don’t stand up against corrupt judges and policemen that is the most dangerous part of it. They gain more confidence to carry on with yet more evil acts against innocent victims. On web site http://www.mason-rule.com there is part of the evidence to show what happens when a judicial and police victim stands up and defies their evil. These people have nothing to do with justice whatsoever. They are criminals covering under the umbrella of alleged justice. They are amongst the very reasons why terrorism exists. It will exist just so long as they exist. Under the New World Order, which is now underway, more of the worlds downtrodden will turn more to terrorism. World leaders will condemn terrorism but will continue to ignore the reasons that terrorists exist. Just so long as the general public are led by evil people the outcome will itself be evil. I don’t condone terrorism but I can say that I know one of the main reasons of why it exists. There are many hypocrites within British authority, those same hypocrites help to make sure that those with similar tendencies will always remain in the chain of authority.

    In 1986 I was battered and then struck by a car that was deliberately driven at me after I had uncovered corruption at then British Coal Estates Department.. The court proceedings at Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne-Wear were illegal. The single magistrate who on sat on the matter was not qualified to act alone. There were in fact two magistrates sitting on the bench but he was a close friend of the man who had battered me and the struck me with the car he deliberately had driven at me. It would have been against court rules for him to have sat on the case in these circumstances. When I raised that matter , even though he sat on the bench, he claimed that he had stood down. Magistrates generally have a few days notice of cases coming before them so they can withdraw from the proceedings in cases such as this. The Clerk to the Justices of Houghton Magistrates Court, along with the Lord Chancellors Department were party to the cover up of those illegal proceedings. After years of trying to have the matter brought to true justice the reaction of authority has been to give me more trouble by continued corruption so rife amongst their ranks. I have recently made a claim for damages against Houghton-le-Spring Magistrates Court and demanded a full inquiry into my case and into others to see if I was the courts only victim since 1986 or whether there were others. I have also formally refused to accept the jurisdiction of that court until such Inquiry is set up. The new Clerk to the Houghton-le-Spring Magistrates Court has not replied to my Statement of Truth setting down the facts of 1986 and the years following it. I delivered that statement to the court several weeks before Christmas. I can only arrive at one conclusion. Northumbria Police have promised over the past few years to investigate the matter of the courts illegal proceedings. But that has been nothing short of a smokescreen set up while they have plotted yet further acts of corruption against me. Even the Crown Prosecution Service situated at Washington, Tyne-Wear attempted to blackmail me. The Northumbria Police Authority have failed to answer a letter I sent to them several months ago asking what Northumbria Police were doing in regard to my allegations of bent judges Durham Constabulary have also failed to act on the matter. of bent judges at the Durham County Court. There is also the matter of perjury that was used against me.

    Member of Parliament Mr Fraser Kemp has known about my allegations for several years. Previously he had passed me on to former MEP Alan Donnely. Alan Donnely then informed me that what was being done to me was nothing to do with him and he would not act. Only now after a further approach to him, has MP Fraser Kemp referred my case to the RT Hon. Baroness Scotland QC Parliamentary Secretary to the Lord Chancellors Department. He has also referred my case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. That was several weeks ago but to date nothing further has been heard from Mr Kemp.

    Durham Constabulary have falsely alleged that when a judge lies it is a judicial decision and is therefore protected. That is in fact a lie. A judge who decides to lie and use fraud to arrive at his or her judgement is not protected other than by bent policemen. Such a judge is a criminal by reason of such acts.

    To date the mob I mention above, for that is what they are, have cost me my thirty year marriage and the death of my father. They have also caused me other severe damage. With the assistance of bent judges operating within the North East Court Circuit they engineered my bankruptcy. It was two days later that my father collapsed and died after my alleged bankruptcy was published on the front page of the Sunderland Echo newspaper. He had been extremely upset at what was being done to me and begged me to give up my fight against our corrupt justice system because he said that ultimately it would kill me.. My conscience would never allow me to do that. It was the damages awarded by a criminal judge named onhttp://www.mason-rule.com who is still being protected by both Durham and Northumbria Police which allowed my alleged bankruptcy. The proceedings before that judge were also illegal and he used considerable fraud as a means to arrive at his judgement. He also allowed my civil law opponent the use of very material perjury. Some of the evidence of that fraud etc. is published on http://www.mason-rule.com It is known that several police forces are monitoring this website. These scum operating within the UK justice system have made my life so bad that I am no longer afraid of death so I am no longer afraid of them.

    "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell-fire."

    - Christ in Matthew 10:28

    By means of their corrupt practices, they have provided me with evidence of what they are capable of doing to people such as myself. I am using that evidence. And providing it to others. I will never give up until these people are brought to trial. Prime Minister Tony Blairpromised us a fairer Britain. Britain is less fair now than I can remember in the fifty eight years of my life. We remain the laughing stock of other countries who have what can be called a credible justice system. I think it is now time for judges to be elected as in the North American system. The old boys network, often with Masonic membership or leanings, who are responsible for the employment of judges. That must be brought to a halt as soon as possible. People holding public office must be made to declare any membership of any secret society as a first step to trying to achieve something resembling a true justice system.

    I can no longer rely on the police for protection. A visit to http://www.mason-rule.com will give the reason for this. I cannot rely on the courts either for justice but that has been the situation for a long time now. Bent judges don’t like being exposed. Straight judges don’t like bent judges being exposed either. My life has been threatened and a threat was also made to burn my home down unless I stopped publicising judicial and police corruption much of which has its roots in Freemasonry. Northumbria Police simply did not want to know about that. Neither did they want to know about a man who threatened that my wife, daughters and I were to be stabbed. He even repeated that threat to a Northumbria Police officer who took no action on it. When we heard evidence that the threat to burn down our home was probably real, my wife begged me to sell our home and run. I could not do that so she went and there effectively ended my thirty year marriage.

    In the name of God Almighty all I ask is that the general public wake up to what is going on. My health is now such that my efforts to publicise the situation, even if I eventually get justice, will not help me much. I have concluded that what I am doing may well cost me my life but what is a life when it has been made pure pain and suffering at the hands of the corrupt justice establishment? It is a sad reflection when Tony Blair has recently been preaching at home and abroad on the matter of justice when Britain remains second only to Turkey for the abuse of human rights.

    Maurice Kellett
    16A The Lyons, 
    Hetton-le-Hole, 
    Tyne-Wear DH5 0HT.

    e-mail: maurice.kellett@ntlworld.com

    6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth Seal (using his "Key"), and, lo, there was a great "earthquake"; and the "sun" became black as sackcloth of hair, and the "moon" became as blood; (Please see "The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse & the Two Witnesses" Booklet for the Bible Prophecy "Code")
    6:13 And "the stars of heaven" fell unto the "earth", even as the "fig tree" casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind (Ezekiel 13:13).
    9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

    It can´t be much more before the "earthquake", that is, a great upheaval of people...

    In this context the scriptural code "sun" means The Throne of David - (Psalm 89 v 36) - which is the British Throne. The "Stone of Scone" is Jacob's Pillar and Israel's Throne of David.

    and the "moon" Reflects the light of the SUN. The SUN is the British Throne and the "Commonwealth" reflects her light and power (like the moon does to the sun).

    please see http://jahtruth.net/horse.htm for the complete document.


    Fw: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST A BLACK JAMAICA MAN IN THE U,K

    ----- Forwarded Message ----
    From: Stacie Banton <mssbstbess@yahoo.com>
    To: yourstory@equalityhumanrights.comyourstory@equalityhumanrights.com
    Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 9:30:57 AM
    Subject: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST A BLACK JAMAICA MAN IN THE U,K

    To whom it may concern,my name is Stacie Banton i am writing this story to you asking you to please help us ,my brother Paul Banton lives in the UK, he was setup by his EX-Girlfriend and her daughter.these two girls plotted all sorts of allegations against him,had him arrested and sentence to 8 years in prison just for revenge,all the legal representative in Great Britain believed these girls.they did not gave Paul Banton the opportunity to defend himself,he was represented by the legal aid department,the legal aid lawyers did not defined paul banton the way they should have,they did no investigation in to these girls allegations,they had no evidence or proof against paul banton to collaborate these girls allegation.they found paul banton guilty from the very moment they arrested him know that he was a black jamaica, he was found guilty before they tried him,now paul banton is doing 8 years hard labor for something he did not do,all because of his origination and race .this girl also had custody of our nephew by lying,manipulating coning and schemeing the entire justice department, the immigration officers and most of the legal Representatives of great Britain,she was abusing our nephew until the social service found out and took him away from her,the social services report this to the cat-ford police station from November 2008 until today March 2009 nothing has been done by the police or the social workers regarding the abuse.our family is poor and we don't have much this trial has taken a great tole on us,and has cost our family a lot trying to get justice for paul banton and our nephew.please help us we need your help,now more then ever before.please do not turn your backs on us.paul banton and our nephews rights has been violated in every way possible by these girls and the legal Representatives of Great Britain,i thank you sinclery stacie banton .contact details email mssbstbess@yahoo.complease respond A,S,A,P. thank you God bless.

    I am mother to 4 kids after

    I am mother to 4 kids after moving districts 2yrs ago our lives have been a living hell,All I did was ask local authorities for help as I ran into problems with the house we moved into and also a reluctant negligent landlord,that was it! After being held at gun point 17 yrs ago i suffer from a nervous debility, most days have a fear of leaving the house.The landlord that thought it was acceptable to leave us for 11 months with no drainage and raw sewerage coming in to the house via up the waste pipes just so happens to be married to one of the registrers for births,deaths and marrages! health visiter ,CPN,housing support worker,msp,environmental I can now identify the stench in the air when I first drove into the town 2yrs ago and its the rotten smell of corruption.And I have saw how low they are willing to go,my youngest was 5 month old when it began the disease from 5yr old sewerage from a main drain in my kitchen easily could have killed her.Not 1 single legal requirement did this man meet he even went 1 yr renting house and wasnt registered after I requested an environmental officer to come out and even though to the naked eye this house was sellotaped together and in serious disrepair,but because she said it was tolerable we were left for another year 5 of us between 2 rooms .Then in june they did what I would call an illegal eviction with the aid of my housing support wrkr and her boss waving the threats of "for the welfare of". I started studying the housing law 4 month ago when i realised what was happening.They made it into this I only wanted me and my children a safe home.Now they are making it hard for us to move into our new home they are even refusing to refer me to any charity as we have lost almost everything we ever had.If Anyone that reads this is one of many corrupt people stop and think How can anyone say this is right there are child molesters and rapists people that are a waste of space why not concentrate on scum if you'se have to terrorise anyone.Im sure if there was a public outroar something would have to be done.There really is no one willing to help it is my childrens rights I am fighting for. I hope we all get judged at the gates who would get the last laugh the

    I am mother to 4 kids after moving districts 2yrs ago our lives have been a living hell,All I did was ask local authorities for help as I ran into problems with the house we moved into and also a reluctant negligent landlord,that was it! After being held at gun point 17 yrs ago i suffer from a nervous debility, most days have a fear of leaving the house.The landlord that thought it was acceptable to leave us for 11 months with no drainage and raw sewerage coming in to the house via up the waste pipes just so happens to be married to one of the registrers for births,deaths and marrages! health visiter ,CPN,housing support worker,msp,environmental I can now identify the stench in the air when I first drove into the town 2yrs ago and its the rotten smell of corruption.And I have saw how low they are willing to go,my youngest was 5 month old when it began the disease from 5yr old sewerage from a main drain in my kitchen easily could have killed her.Not 1 single legal requirement did this man meet he even went 1 yr renting house and wasnt registered after I requested an environmental officer to come out and even though to the naked eye this house was sellotaped together and in serious disrepair,but because she said it was tolerable we were left for another year 5 of us between 2 rooms .Then in june they did what I would call an illegal eviction with the aid of my housing support wrkr and her boss waving the threats of "for the welfare of". I started studying the housing law 4 month ago when i realised what was happening.They made it into this I only wanted me and my children a safe home.Now they are making it hard for us to move into our new home they are even refusing to refer me to any charity as we have lost almost everything we ever had.If Anyone that reads this is one of many corrupt people stop and think How can anyone say this is right there are child molesters and rapists people that are a waste of space why not concentrate on scum if you'se have to terrorise anyone.Im sure if there was a public outroar something would have to be done.There really is no one willing to help it is my childrens rights I am fighting for. I hope we all get judged at the gates who would get the last laugh then! 

    THE MOST CORRUPT BRITISH JUDGES TO THE LORD CHANCELLOR By Dr A Adok 
    http://www.ukfathers.co.uk/THE%20MOST%20CORRUPT%20BRITISH%20JUDGES%20TO%20THE%20LORD%20CHANCELLOR%20By%20Dr%20A%20Adoko%20Barrister.htm
    Welcome to UK Fathers 

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MensIssuesOnline/message/14590 

    THE MOST CORRUPT BRITISH JUDGES.

    TO THE LORD CHANCELLOR

    By

    Dr. A Adoko
    Barrister: 
    (Voluntarily disbarred)
    Papal Knight 
    of St. Gregory the Great.

    PRINTED & PUBLISHED
    BY
    LONDON TRUTH PUBLISHERS
    DR. A ADOKO
    10 SOANE HOUSE
    ROLAND WAY
    LONDON SE17 2JT
    TEL: 0171 640 0583 

    ISBN: 1 871694 05 1
    CONTENT
    Cover Page: 01

    JUDICIAL CORRUPTION: THE START.
    1. Millennium Present: 03-08

    THE MOST CORRUPT LAWYERS:
    2. (Chronology of Events of Racial Discrimination): 09-14
    3. The Gang of Four: Rendall, Saunders, Hone & Coles: 15-22
    4. Individuals Members of the Gang: 23-31
    5. The Cross Examination of Mrs. Coles. 32-35
    6. Lord Anthony Lester of Herne Q.C. 36-44
    7. Solicitor Robin Lewis: 45-51

    THE MOST CORRUPT JUDGES:
    8. Chairman: Ms. E R Donnelly 53-62
    9. (Chronology of Events of- Publishing Proof of Offences): 63-69
    10. Chairman David Booth 70-84
    11. Mr. Justice Morrison 85-91
    12. Anonymous Judges 92-94
    13. Mr. Justice Michael Wright: 95-98
    14. His Honour Judge Mitchel : 99-105
    15. Mr. Justice Potts: 106-111
    16. The Legal Aid Board 112-118
    17. & Mr. Justice Maurice Kay: 
    18. Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. 119-134
    19. Lord Chief Justice, Lord Bingham of Cornhill: 135-140

    THE MOST JUST PRACTISING LAWYER:
    20. Counsel Richard Clayton 141-145

    THE MOST JUST JUDGES:
    21. Mr. Justice Brooke: 146-147
    22. His Honour Judge Altman: 148-151
    23. His Honour Judge Prosser: 152-165
    24. Lord Denning: 166-173
    25. People, People everywhere 174-182
    26. Conclusion: 183
    27. Inspired Verses: 184-195 

    CHAPTER 1.

    MILLENNIUM PRESENT
    TO THE VICTIMS 
    OF JUDICIAL CORRUPTION

    The content of the book sounds very much like a wild burlesque. And, I wish it were. Unfortunately, it is a sinister reality. Nor is it a unique sinister reality. It is about common place corruption, within our courts of law. And, still much more within our legal system i.e. the Law Society and the Bar of England and Wales. 

    What is written here, is the tip of the iceberg. I was embarrassed, not by the paucity, but, by the abundance of the incidences of judicial abuses of power, from which I had to select, what to publish, and what to leave unpublished. It reminded me of the claim made in the Bible, that if everything that Jesus said and did were written down, the world would not be able to hold the publication! 

    COMPARATIVE STUDY:
    The enormity of the offences of corruption, dealt with may be brought home by comparing what our corrupt judges and lawyers have done, with what Jonathan Atkin and Oscar Wilde did. Both Jonathan Atkin and Oscar Wilde ended up in prison. The charge against them was perjury, that is, telling lies in court. Yet, many of our judges, who have committed worse offences, are still trying cases! 

    THE NEED TO SPEAL OUT:
    It is necessary to the commonwealth of justice, for all persons, especially those of us who are lawyers, to uphold justice without fear or favour. And we should do so, even if, by so doing, the firmament may fall upon us. In an effort to ensure that a few frogs do not pollute the source of the well of justice, this book is written. It is my millennium present to the victims, in England and Wales, of judicial abuses of power. 

    It has been said that:
    “No individual however ... resourceful, can bring a court into disrepute ... The conduct of the judiciary itself and not the individual or group criticising it. determines whether or not it is respected”.

    Indeed, honest judges do welcome criticisms. As Lord Denning puts it:
    We will never use this jurisdiction to uphold our own dignity ... Nor will we use it to suppress those who speak against us. We do not fear criticisms. Nor do we resent it. For there is something more important at stake. It is no less than the freedom of speech itself”.

    There is no law, which make judges immune from the legal consequences of their false oaths. Indeed, the provision of s.4(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1968 makes it mandatory that their criminal offences should be reported to authorities. It is now the practice in England, as is seen in the case of Jonathan Atkin, and Hamilton and of other ministers, that a case alleging sleaze, in a public office, is first reported in a media of public opinion. This book, is that media of public opinion. 

    In accordance with the requirement of the law, a copy of this book will be sent to the Lord Chancellor, by way of a formal complaint. It will stress the fact that the judges, whose conduct is criticised in this book, are not fit and proper persons to be judges. It will demand that a public investigation of the serious accusations of gross misconduct made against those judges. Further, it will insist that those judges be tried for the criminal offences that they have committed i.e. the course of justice, or defeating the end of justice.

    THE OFFENCE OF DEFEATING JUSTICE
    BY SWEARING FALSE OATH:
    It does not make sense that these judges should escape scot-free from the offence, for instance, of perjury that they have committed. The more so when persons like Jonathan Atkin and Oscar Wilde are made to suffer grievously, for the offence of perjury. Indeed, the offence of perjury committed by Jonathan Atkin and Oscar Wilde, compared to the offence of perjury committed by the corrupt judges such as Lord Bingham, Mr. Justice Morrison and Judge David Booth, to name but a few, look like a grain of sand, compared to a huge balloon! 

    The charges against Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Atkin were merely that they had committed breaches of a witness' oath, to tell the truth. But, these judges have committed breaches of their Oath of Loyalty to the Sovereign, as well as their Judicial Oath, plus the offence of swearing falsely, in the name of God! 

    The 3 oaths, which those judges have broken, are as follows. 

    First, in their Oath of Allegiance to the Sovereign, all these judges had sworn that they would:
    Well and truly serve our sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second, in their various judicial offices. 

    Second, in their Judicial Oath, all the judges had sworn to:
    Do right to all manner of people after the laws and usage of this realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. 

    Third, all the judges ended the swearing of their Judicial Oath, by calling upon Providence. Each said: 
    So help me God.

    Yet, all of them, in the course of their duty as judges, have maliciously committed atrocious breaches of the oaths to the Sovereign, the Court and to God.

    THE OFFENCE OF DEFEATING JUSTICE 
    BY IGNORING ISSUES: 
    The legal requirement about what a judge should and should not deal with, may be said to have had it origin in our prayer book. The prayer book commands us not to leave undone that which we ought to do, and not to do that which we ought not to do. The law requires judges to deal with the issues raised in the case before them, by giving their reasons for determining those issues, in one way, or the other. in the cases that I have brought against the Law Society, the judges invariably ignored to deal with the issues that I had raised! The reason is quite clear. If they dealt with those issues, they would have had no alternative, but to make a ruling in my favour. However, since, they had already conspired to defeat justice, they had no alternative but to avoid dealing with the issues raised by me! Their conduct, could not merely be explained in terms of judicial bias. It was the very definition of the offence of a conspiracy to defeat the end of justice!

    Just as a judge would have to be insane to deny that the object of the eye, is to see and, of the ear, is to hear, so would he be insane, to deny that the object of judgement, is to determine the issues in the dispute between the parties. There can therefore, be no defence, in law or in fact, to a judgement, which ignores to deal with the issues that constitute the cause of action or the grounds of appeal. Just as no judge dares say that he believes in the self-contradiction, or in the existence of the impossible, so, no judge dares say that he believes that the purpose of pleading causes of action, or grounds of appeal, is for him to ignore them! 

    Consequently, judgements which ignore causes of action, or grounds of appeal, such as the judgements of Mr. Justice Potts, Mr. Justice Morris Kay, Judge Mitchel, and Judge David Booth etc are, law and in fact, a confession by the judges concerned, that they have maliciously defeated the end of justice. And that confession constitutes grounds for prosecuting them for the criminal offence of a conspiracy to defeat the end of justice. 

    According to the law, as stated by the Court of Appeal, a fully judicial body, is required by natural justice to give 

    "Sufficient reasons for its decision to enable the parties to know the issue to which it addressed its mind and acted lawfully". See R v. Civil Service Appeal Board, ex parte, Cunningham [1991] 4 All E.R. 310 at 318 as per Lord Donaldson M.R.

    The most corrupt judge in the country, Mr. David Booth, does not merely ignore issues in a case. He goes all the way out to conceal material evidence from assessors! His conduct is like that of the watchdog who steals the property in its trust. Or that of a father, who sexually assaults his minor daughter. He cannot be trusted. 

    THE OFFENCE OF DEFEATING JUSTICE 
    BY SECRET BRIEFINGS:
    The offence of giving judgement on the basis, not according to evidence as required by law, but according to secret briefings sent to judges has now become prevalent! Suson Forscey-Moore, of Campaign for a Fair Hearing, discovered a written secret briefing, warning the Court of Appeal, in case number FC2 96/6193/E (LTA 96/5619) against the plaintiff, Geoffrey Harold Scriven! Mrs. Moore carried out necessary investigations, and learnt that such Secret Briefings to judges, was not an exception to the rule, but the order of the day! 

    Accordingly, she wrote a strong complaint, denouncing the judicial Secret Briefings, as judicial corruption. The prejudicial Secret Briefing to the judges of the Court of Appeal, stated: 

    "It will be noted that after reading the Attached Affidavit, Lord Justice Russell directed that the papers should be submitted to Her Majesty's Attorney General to consider what further action, if any, he should take in the public interest. The Court should be warned, that the present Plaintiff has made it clear in discussions with the writer on the telephone that he has completely misinterpreted the basis of the referral. The writer has not commented in response to his expression of delight that Lord Justice Russell has referred the topic of alleged perjury committed by Lords and Lady Justices of Appeal to the Attorney General for further investigations. The Plaintiff has no idea he is the subject of the referral"!

    Judges being human, and human nature being what it is, Secret Briefings of the kind, warning the judges that a litigant was a dangerous person, who accused judges of perjury and corruption etc, could not fail in their object. Indeed, it did not fail in its object! Geoffrey Harold Scriven narrowly escaped criminal penalty. 

    Nor indeed, did it fail in its object in the cases I brought against the Law Society! Look, for instance, at my appeal against the judgement of Chairman Donnelly! The appeal was based on very serious judicial misconduct: 
    The misconduct of Judge Donnelly accepting a bribe! 
    The misconduct of Judge Donnelly receiving blackmailing letter from solicitor Robin Lewis and complying with the term of the blackmail!
    Yet my appeal did not succeed! Why did it fail?

    The answer is, because of secret briefing! In his judgement, Mr. Justice Mummery, who determined the appeal himself, confessed, without shame, that the appeal failed on the basis of a secret briefing that he had received from the bribed and blackmailed Judge Donnelly! Up to now, I do not know the content of the secret briefing, which is the basis upon which my appeal was determined! I hope and pray that the Lord Chancellor will cause an investigation to take place and then, I will know the content of the secret briefing and give an answer to it!

    In its campaign to judges, the Law Society seems to have made my accusation of their officials to appear as a violation of the Law Society franchises! Consequently, my publication of the crimes committed by the Law Society officials was treated, by the court, as the kind of conduct that the court must severely punish! I was to be compelled, by a denial of my right to practise law, to kneel before the Law Society and to apologise for publishing the offences of the Law Society officials! I was to be denied an opportunity to earn a penny of income, as a practising solicitor! 

    Some of the judges who conspired to defeat the end of justice still show some conscience. For instance, Mr. Justice Morrison and Mr. Justice Potts were, at least, so ashamed of their fictitious judgements, that they did not have the courage to deliver the figments of their minds, which they called judgements, in an open court, attended by their judicial victim! In order to prevent me from attending the deliverance of his judgements, Mr. Justice Potts dared not deliver it in London! He insisted on delivering it in Leeds, in the absence of the parties! Had the courage to deliver his judgement in London, in my presence, I would have had the discourtesy to call him by the name that describes him best: 
    A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.

    And had Mr. Justice Morrison had the courage to deliver his judgement in open court, in my presence, I would have called him, in his face:
    "Sir, Macbeth might have murdered sleep. But you have murdered Justice".

    I did, however, had the courage to tell Chairman Booth that he was who he is: 
    The Most Corrupt Judge in England. And A Racist!

    BIBLICAL DESCRIPTION OF INJUSTICE:
    The Bible describes well, the conduct of these corrupt judges. Their conduct is not different from the conduct of bad parents. When litigants ask for bread, these corrupt judges, like bad parents, give stones. When litigants asked for fish, they give snakes! When we ask Morrison for Justice, he gives us Injustice. And when we ask Booth for Judicial Determination, he gives us Malicious Determination!

    By their own conduct, they have opted out of being judges. They should be butchering cows, and weighing meat.

    LEGAL MAFIA:
    During the trial of the several cases that I brought against the Law Society, it became clear, why the Law Society hired Lord Lester Q.C. and Solicitor Robin Lewis to represent it! The legal practice of Lord Lester and Solicitor Robin Lewis is essentially Mafia in nature! Lester and Lewis were hired to represent the Law Society solely because of their ability to corrupt the judiciary! 

    There is absolutely no question that there are some officials of the Law Society, to whom justice is fearful for its own sake. They are like former President Iddi Amin of Uganda, who, having no academic qualification, held that persons with academic qualifications, were fools fit only to be hewers of wood and drawers of water! 

    These owl-like creatures of darkness, known as the Gang of Four, are:

    The Law Society Director John Rendall 
    Head of Department Nicholas Saunders.
    Legal Adviser Anne Coles.
    And Manager Mark Hone. 


    A DEMIGOD:
    There is nothing more natural than that those of us brought up under the English system of law should find ourselves addicted to crying ourselves up, as belonging to the best legal system in the world. I never heard a single person cry us down as being a part of a legal system, which was not the best in the world. I had taken for granted that when those addicted to such puffing, stoop to conspire against justice, they would, because of such puffing, at least commit a breach of justice, while still appearing to be doing justice. 

    I was thus shocked that a number of judges in England go all the way out to publish at least where black people are concerned, that they are neither doing justice, nor pretending to do justice!

    Again, there is nothing more natural that a person brought up under the English system of law, as I am, should have entertained the greatest respect and even affection towards our judges. In terms of his independence, and above all, in terms of his unshakeable impartiality as a judge, a person like Lord Denning has always been, to me, as some sort of demigod. 

    THE SINS OF INJUSTICE & THE VIRTUE OF JUSTICE:
    Hence, upon the heads of those corrupt judges, the sins of injustice must be heaped. And, it must be seen to be heaped. 

    And upon the heads of the just judges, such as Lord Denning, Mr. Justice Brooke, His Honour Judge Altman and his Honour Judge Prosser the virtue of justice must be heaped. And it must be seen to be heaped.

    Adlai Stevenson once described a free society, as a society, where it is safe to be unpopular. We should not allow our corrupt judges to succeed to describe our free society as:
    A society, where it is safe for corrupt judges, to defeat the end of justice!

    CHAPTER 2 CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CASES:

    CHAPTER 3 THE GANG OF FOUR: RENDALL, SAUNDERS, HONE AND COLES

    CHAPTER 4 INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE GANG OF FOUR:

    CHAPTER 5 THE CROSS-EXAMINATION OF MRS. COLES

    CHAPTER 6 LORD ANTHONY AS LORD CAMOUFLAGE!

    CHAPTER 7 SOLICITOR ROBIN LEWIS: MASTER OF BLACKMAIL

    CHAPTER 8 CHAIRMAN E R DONNELLY: JUDGEMENT BY FEAR.

    CHAPTER 9 SECOND CHRONOLOGY - PUBLISHING THE CRIMINAL OFFENCES OF LESTER ETC:

    CHAPTER 10 CHAIRMAN DAVID BOOTH: THE MOST CORRUPT JUDGE.

    CHAPTER 11 MR. JUSTICE MORRISON: THE MURDER OF JUSTICE.

    CHAPTER 12 ANONYMOUS JUDGES:

    CHAPTER 13 MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL WRIGHT:

    CHAPTER 14 HIS HONOUR JUDGE MITCHEL

    CHAPTER 15 MR. JUSTICE POTTS.

    CHAPTER 16 LEGAL AID BOARD & MR. JUSTICE MAURICE KAY:

    CHAPTER 17 OFFICE FOR THE SUPERVISION OF SOLICITORS

    CHAPTER 18 LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, LORD BINGHAM

    CHAPTER 19 COUNSEL RICHARD CLAYTON:

    CHAPTER 20 MR JUSTICE BROOKE:

    CHAPTER 21 HIS HONOUR JUDGE ALTMAN:

    CHAPTER 22 HIS HONOUR JUDGE pROSSER:

    CHAPTER 23 LORD DENNING

    CHAPTER 24 PEOPLE, PEOPLE EVERYWHERE:

    CHAPTER 25 CONCLUSION


    http://www.ctjnet.co.uk/dossier%20of%20corruption.htm 

    Dossier of Judicial Corruption in the UK

     

    Ahmed Balogun and Others

    Highbury Corner Magistrates' for Ultra Vires Abuse of Judicial Powers

     

    Mr. Grant outside the RCJ
    Unlawfully Denied Access to the courts by a corrupt Judiciary 
    read more > 

    Shetreet v SHARP and Lovells / Hogan & Hartson NHS and UK Attorney General v Shetreet


    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/draconian-judge-says-riot-sentences-were-fair-7855270.html 

    'Draconian' judge says riot sentences were fair

    Justice who gave teenager eight-month jail term for stealing Lucozade bottle breaks silence

       
       

    The judge who sent a teenage girl to jail for eight months for stealing a bottle of Lucozade and a bag of sweets during last summer's riots has vigorously defended the tough judicial response in which two-thirds of defendants were denied bail and harsh custodial sentences were handed down to first-time offenders.

    In a public interview – highly unusual for a serving judge – District Judge Tan Ikram, who sits at Camberwell Green magistrates' court, warned those who incite others using social media such as Facebook that they can expect similarly harsh sentences in future.

    Mr Ikram revealed that it was the threat of "widespread public disorder" which justified the large numbers of youngsters remanded in custody for petty crimes which would have ordinarily attracted little more than a caution. "There were a large number of people being brought to court and evidence of a large number of people involved in civil disorder. The question each judge had to ask was: 'What is the risk of future offending?' In light of what was going on that was a very different question to one that might be asked in the calm of today."

    Mr Ikram says there was no political pressure on judges to come down hard on the thousands of rioters and opportunistic thieves: "I can assure you, no politicians told me or any of my colleagues what to do. We applied the law."

    The Home Secretary, Theresa May, was among senior ministers forced to cut short their summer holidays to return to deal with the riots, and who had promised tough action against those involved.

    Dozens of first-time offenders, who were not directly involved in the rioting but were later caught stealing booty such as cigarettes and shoes, ended up in prisons already struggling with intense overcrowding.

    Mr Ikram says judges got sentencing "just about right" and insisted each case had been treated fairly on its own merit despite the all-night court sessions and political outrage. The district court judges were speaking to more senior judges "on a regular" basis right from the start, he said.

    In one of last summer's most controversial cases, Jordan Blackshaw, 20, was sentenced to four years in prison for inciting people to riot on Facebook even though no rioting occurred.

    Mr Ikram this week told his audience in Ealing, west London, where violence and looting also spread: "It is my personal view that [in the Blackshaw case] it was the potential to reach many people through Facebook, far and wide, when there was already widespread disorder going on, and this is why the Lord Chief Justice came to the view that the sentence wasn't excessive."

    He added: "The world is changing and the judiciary and society have to deal with new situations. While we can't second-guess where technology is going to, we can have general principles: encouraging widespread disorder is a serious offence and that is not new."

    Mr Ikram praised the "good will" and "resilience" of judges, court staff and prosecutors. He said that they had enabled the courts to deal with dozens of rioters every day last summer.

       




    NEW YORK - A small plane carrying New York Yankee Cory Lidle slammed into a 50-story skyscraper Wednesday, apparently killing the pitcher and a second person in a crash that rained flaming debris onto the sidewalks and briefly raised fears of another terrorist attack

    E qual  Justice Under Law                                
    READ THE FULL STORY AND WATCH 30 VIDEOS EXPOSING THE TRUTH AND ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED
    CONCERNING WHY THE WACO SEIGE HAPPENED, WHO ORDERED IT AND WHAT REALLY DID HAPPED AND WHO WAS INVOLVED
    ON THE 
    USAWeeklyNews.com
    http://www.usaweeklynews.com/WacoSeige_HillaryClinton.php
    http://www.usaweeklynews.com/WacoSeigeShockingTruth.php.
    http://www.usaweeklynews.com/WacoSeigeShockingTruthP2.php
    http://www.usaweeklynews.com/WacoSeigeShockingTruthP3.php

    When barbarities are practiced by a government, civilized people must stand up and say STOP! lest the whole society be consumed by barbarism.   Over the cornice of the US Supreme Court these words are etched 
    To fair-minded Americans, those words apply to both the Branch Davidians and their murderers.
    http://www.usaweeklynews.com/WacoSeigeShockingTruthP3.php

     

     

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    Ron Down Under


    The MIckleberg Stich by Allan Loval 

    www.smh.com.au/.../06/11/nws_creep.jpg
    Running for justice ...
    one of the three Mickelberg brothers, Peter, chases the then CIB chief, Don Hancock, down the street after losing an appeal in the Perth Supreme Court in February 1999. Photo: WA News


    Mint robbers were framed Sydney Morning Herald By Liza Kappelle June 11 2002
    A former police officer has admitted that he and another detective lied and faked evidence during the trial of the Mickelberg brothers for the Perth Mint gold swindle 20 years ago. The West Australian Attorney-General, Jim McGinty, said yesterday that Anthony Lewandowski had given an affidavit to the Director of Public Prosecutions admitting he and the former CIB chief Don Hancock, who was murdered last year, had lied and fabricated evidence to convict the Mickelbergs. Raymond, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were convicted in 1983 of swindling $650,000 worth of gold from the mint. Raymond, a former SAS soldier, was released from jail in 1991 after serving eight years of a 20-year sentence. Peter served six years of a 14-year sentence. Brian Mickelberg had his conviction overturned after nine months in jail. He died in a helicopter crash in 1986. 



    Perth Mint
    The Perth Mint Swindle is the popular name of a 22 June 1982 gold robbery at the Perth Mint in Perth, Western Australia. A total of 49 gold bars weighing 68 kg were stolen. The value of the gold at the time was A$653,000. Three brothers, Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were sent to court and were sentenced in 1983 to twenty, sixteen and twelve years in jail respectively. The convictions against all three were eventually overturned. To date the case remains unsolved and continues to be fought by the Mickelbergs who maintain their innocence and allege a conspiracy by the police to frame them. Soon after the robbery police investigations focused on the Mickelberg brothers. According to the police, the Mickelberg brothers stole cheques from a Perth building society and then fooled the mint into accepting those cheques in exchange for gold bullion, which it was alleged, the brothers had picked up by a courier. The gold was picked up by a security company who delivered it to an office in.



    The WA Court of Criminal Appeal has quashed the Mickelberg brothers' convictions.


    www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1145443.htm

    Micklebergs cleared over Perth Mint swindle

    The Western Australian Court of Criminal Appeal has quashed the Mickelberg brothers' convictions over the 1982 Perth Mint swindle.

    More than two decades ago, Ray and Peter Mickelberg were convicted for stealing 68 kilograms of gold from the Perth Mint.

    They made seven unsuccessful attempts to have their convictions quashed.

    Their eighth appeal was launched after one of the investigating officers, the late Tony Lewandowski, confessed to helping fabricate evidence against them. The pair was not in court today to hear the court's 2-1 decision in their favour.

    But their lawyer, Malcolm McCusker QC has called this a great day for justice in Western Australia.

    Mr Lewandowski's mother, Irene Burns, says she is elated for the Mickelbergs and is proud of her son for coming forward.

    "This is the reason that he did confess, to get a good outcome, and he's done it," she said.

    "The Mickelbergs have come through fine, and I'm happy for them."

    Compensation

    The Western Australian Government will consider making a one off ex-gratia payment to the Mickelbergs for their wrongful conviction.

    The state has already paid out $600,000 towards the Mickelberg's legal costs, including $250,000 that funded today's successful appeal.

    Attorney-General Jim McGinty says while the brothers are taking legal action for compensation, an ex-gratia payment is an option the Government will be looking at.

    "We would give consideration to this because it is now clear from the court of criminal appeal that the Mickelbergs had the wrong thing done to them as a result of Tony Lewandowski's perjury," he said.

    "That was obviously a failing on the part of the police and the law enforcement processes of this state."

    Doubt

    The Assistant Police Commissioner, Mel Hay, has expressed disappointment about the decision to quash the convictions against the brothers.

    Mr Hay has refused to apologise to the Mickelbergs, saying there remains considerable evidence to suggest they committed the crime.

    "There is an abundance of evidence to suggest and point the finger in their direction so that evidence is still there that hasn't been taken away in any way, it still exists today and one can't ignore it," he said.

    Mr Hay has also defended the officer in charge of the case, the late Don Hancock.

    "He was a good officer, a officer that had a great deal of pride in being an officer with the West Australian Police Service and during his time he locked up a lot of good criminals and that ought to be never be forgotten," he said.

    But investigative journalist Avon Lovell who wrote a book 20 years ago that revealed that the Mickelbergs had been framed by police says today's decision is long overdue.

    Mr Lovell's book, The Mickelberg Stitch, was banned for many years and he was sued by Tony Lewandowski and other detectives.

    He later taped Mr Lewandowski's confession to fabricating evidence against the Mickelbergs.

    Mr Lovell says their convictions should have been quashed many years ago.

    "One of the lawyers says it's a great day for justice, a great victory for justice, in fact it's nothing of the kind, it's an appalling indictment on a system that failed to correct itself over 22 years," he said.



    Perth Mint Swindle From Wikipedia

    The Perth Mint Swindle is the popular name of a 22 June 1982 gold robbery at the Perth Mint in Perth, Western Australia. A total of 49 gold bars weighing 68 kg were stolen. The value of the gold at the time was A$653,000.

    Three brothers, Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were sent to court and were sentenced in 1983 to twenty, sixteen and twelve years in jail respectively. The convictions against all three were eventually overturned.

    To date the case remains unsolved and continues to be fought by the Mickelbergs who maintain their innocence and allege a conspiracy by the police to frame them.

     

    The Mickelberg brothers

    Soon after the robbery police investigations focused on the Mickelberg brothers. According to the police, the Mickelberg brothers stole cheques from a Perth building society and then fooled the mint into accepting those cheques in exchange for gold bullion, which it was alleged, the brothers had picked up by a courier. The gold was picked up by a security company who delivered it to an office in Perth and then to Jandakot Airport, from where it seemingly disappeared.

    After serving nine months of his jail term and having his conviction overturned on appeal, Brian was released from jail but died in an air crash in 1986when the twin-engine plane he was flying ran out of fuel and crashed near Mundaring Weir. Whilst in prison, Ray and Peter embarked on a series of seven appeals against their convictions, essentially on the grounds that their confessions had been fabricated. Ray and Peter served eight and six years of their sentences respectively before being released on parole.

    In a bizarre twist, in 1989 55 kg of gold pellets, presumed to have been from the swindle, were found outside the gates of TVW-7 (currently Channel Seven Perth), a Perth television station, with a note addressed to one of the station's reporters, protesting the Mickelberg's innocence and claiming that a prominent Perth businessman was behind the swindle.[citation needed]

    In 2002, midway through a State Royal Commission into police corruption, a retired police officer who had been at the centre of the case and who was present at the interviews with the Mickelbergs, Tony Lewandowski, made a confession of his involvement in fabricating evidence which was used to help frame the brothers. He was subsequently charged with attempting to pervert the course of justicemaking false statements, fabricating evidence andperjury. In May 2004, just before facing trial, Lewandowski committed suicide.

    Lewandowski's senior officer during the investigation and the other person who had been present at the brothers' interviews was Detective Sergeant Don Hancock who later went on to become head of the State Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). Hancock was directly implicated in fabricating evidence by Lewandowski's confession. In September 2001 in an apparently unrelated issue, Hancock was murdered after a car bomb planted under his car exploded outside his home in Rivervale, killing him and a friend Lou Lewis.

    In July 2004 the Western Australian Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the brothers' convictions after seven unsuccessful attempts. The judge ruled that with the suppression of their sentence, they were entitled to a presumption of innocence. The Assistant Police Commissioner, Mel Hay, expressed disappointment with the decision which prompted a threat of a defamation lawsuit from the brothers. The brothers subsequently sued the Western Australian government for libel, and as part of the settlement, the West Australian police issued a public apology in December 2007. [1]

    After lodging claims for compensation, in January 2008 State Attorney-General Jim McGinty offered $500,000 in ex-gratia payments to each brother for the "injustice done to them".[2] The payment followed $658,672 paid to cover legal costs of their two appeals. The Mickelbergs’ lawyer had asked for $950,000 in compensation for Ray and $750,000 for Peter.

     

    A book about the case

    Author Avon Lovell wrote a book about the case, The Mickelberg Stitch (1985) in which he described questionable investigation practices by the Western Australian Police Force and made allegations of unsigned confessions and a forged fingerprint. The police union collected a levy of $1 per week from each member to fund legal action against Lovell and his publishers and distributors to suppress publication of the book. It was estimated that between one and two million dollars was raised.

    The book was in fact banned by the State Government, but was still freely available to be read at the J S Battye Library. The ban was eventually lifted.

     

    See also



     




     Ron Down Under
    I wanna rant about the police here. If you all back in the US think that Australia is a peaceful and fair land, you are wrong. The police here are terrible. No better than the criminals in my oppinion.
    In particular, there are two cases here in Perth that illustrate how bad it is. First, there is the case the the Perth Mint Swindle. Back in the mid 80's, someone, or some group, stole some gold from the Perth Mint. The police blamed it three brothers, the Micklebergs. The three brothers were convicted on very flimsy evidence and thrown in prison for a very long time. In the last couple of years, one of the detectives on the case decided to come clean. It turns out that he and some other detectives had fabricated all the evidence. They had beaten the Mickleberg boys at remote police stations. When they still refused to confess, they simply made the confessions up. Last week, after 20 years, the bothers finally had their convictions reversed. There is a good book about all of this. It is called "The Mickleberg Stitch". The other case concerns the other detective involved in fabricating the Mickleberg evidence. He was a senior detective named Don Hancock. After he took early retirement, he bought a bar out near Kalgoolie. A few years ago some bikers (Hell's Angel types) got into a row in his bar. He threw them out. It apparently was no big deal... just the usual weekend brawl between drunk bikies. The bikers went over their camp site outside of town and sat around the campfire drinking beer. A shot rang out the only house nearby. On the bikers was shot through the skull from a high-powered rifle. The evidence was clear as a bell to everyone involved. The only house nearby belonged to Don Hancock. The path of the bullet came from the house. He had rifles, being ex-law enforcement and all. He had a grudge against the bikers he had thrown out of his bar. But, the police did nothing. They refused in investigate. When forced, they somehow could not come up with anything. They said the muder was a complete mystery to them. After a number of years of stonewalling it became apparent to the bikers that nothing was going to be done. So they took things into their own hands and blew Don Hancock up with a car bomb. Don and a friend went to the horse races for an afternoon of betting and drinking. When they got back into their car, it exploded, killing them both instantly. Someone had placed a bomb under the car while they were inside. Of course the police were all over this. They eventually got some low ranking biker to admit to it. They had him somewhere for three weeks getting info out of him. It saw his photo after the confession. To me, he looked like he had been tortured. He looked like those American POW's you saw having to apolgize on TV in Vietnam. After Don Hancock was murdered, his partner detective, Tony Louwinski, decided to come clean out the Micklebergs. He claims he waited so long because he was afraid of Hancock. It turns out Hancock was as dirty and mean as they came. It doesn't seem to me that the police are at all suprised that he got what was coming to him. To me it illustrates how bad the corruption is. There is more. The police investigate themselves. They comission reports to, get this, the police. So, there are no checks on their activities. 

    Recently, the boyfriend of a friend of mine got into a scrap with the police. He was on a party riverboat when two of the patrons got too rowdy and started breaking things. The captain called the police. When the boat docked, the two rowdy guys took off on foot. Then the police showed up and arrested my friend's buyfriend. He protested telling them they had the wrong guy. The captain even told the police that the two guys had left and they had the wrong guy. The police didn't care. They eventually let him go, but they decided to charge him with a felony, resisting arrest. There were two cops there. A guy and a woman. The woman cop tired to tell the guy cop that he had the wrong guy, but he wouldn't listen. Her boyfriend is a law student, and nice guy. He was very ticked off. So he pleaded not guilty and demanded a trial. The prosecuter tried to offer him a deal on a lesser charge. He refused. In June his trial came up. He showed up with his friends who had been on the boat as witnesses. He also got the captain there. He suponed the female officer, but she refused to show up. The guy officer lied like a rug under oath. The boyfriend and the other witnesses could not believe some of the outright lies he was telling. He was sure the female officer refused to show up for the trial because she would have to perjure herself under cross examination. Either that, or get blacklisted and posted out in the middle of the desert. He was aquitted. Fortunately for him, the judge could smell bullshit when he heard it. Good thing too because if he had lost, he would not be able to get licensed to practive law when he graduates because of a felony on his record. posted by Ron Larson @ 4:13 PM 0 comments links to this post Police get demoted The detectives who were involved in the brawl with the American university students were demoted back to beat police. They may be fired. The police union is of course claiming that this is all a bunch of nothing. They are wrong. These detectives used their police power for personal revenge matters. They abused their authority. The police where holding one of the American students in jail and trying to charge him with assaulting an officer and all sorts of crap. He was the one that managed to get a clean punch in and knock out the front teeth of one of the detectives. However, the prosecutors refused to file charges claiming that everyone was at fault for the brawl and no blame could be laid on one person. The student flew home to the States. I don't blame him. The cops will be looking for him and trying to make his life hell.
    48% of 1.0GB

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    Lovell, Avon. Split Image. Perth, Western Australia.:
    Creative Research, 1990. First Edition Hard Cover. Signed by Author. Good / Good. 415pp sequel to the well known Mickelberg Stitch which was removed by booksellers from their shleves by threats of litigation. This is a clean copy signed by the author. Jacket is edge worn and has a few marks. $35.00 [010025] Lovell, Avon. The Mickelberg Stitch. Perth, Western Australia: Creative Research, 1985. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Mass Market Paperback. Good This is the book that was too hot for the shelves of Western Australian book shops. A controversial view of the Perth Mint gold swindle and its aftermath. 285 pp with some b/w photos. Old price label on front

     
    1998 Death in Custody of 18-year-old Stephen Wardle

          A justice of the peace alleged he had evidence of a police cover up in the 1998 death in custody of 18-year-old Stephen Wardle, arrested for alleged drunkenness on his way to an AC/DC concert. JP Geoffrey Waldock, who was on duty at the East Perth lockup the night Wardle died, told the Sunday Times an official log he made on that night disappeared from the cells in the days after the death. "No one is pretending that the next few months will be an easy time for the police service," Dr Gallop told about 80 delegates from 39 union branches meeting in Fremantle.......

     Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct sometimes involving political corruption, and generally designed to gain a financial or political benefit for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest. An example is police officers accepting bribes in exchange for not reporting organized drug or prostitution rings or other illegal activities. Police corruption can involve a single officer or group of officers, or can be the standard practice of entire police precincts or departments. In most major cities there are internal affairs sections to investigate suspected police corruption or misconduct. However, sometimes the corruption is so widespread that investigation requires an external body with far reaching powers, such as a Royal Commission. 
            
             Mint robbers were framed By Liza Kappelle June 11 2002   
     
           A former police officer has admitted that he and another detective lied and faked evidence during the trial of the Mickelberg brothers for the Perth Mint gold swindle 20 years ago. The West Australian Attorney-General, Jim McGinty, said yesterday that Anthony Lewandowski had given an affidavit to the Director of Public Prosecutions admitting he and the former CIB chief Don Hancock, who was murdered last year, had lied and fabricated evidence to convict the Mickelbergs. Raymond, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were convicted in 1983 of swindling $650,000 worth of gold from the mint. Raymond, a former SAS soldier, was released from jail in 1991 after serving eight years of a 20-year sentence. Peter served six years of a 14-year sentence. Brian Mickelberg had his conviction overturned after nine months in jail. He died in a helicopter crash in 1986.                          
           Raymond and Peter Mickleberg made four unsuccessful attempts to have their convictions overturned - three appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeal, at which Mr Lewandowski and Mr Hancock testified, and an appeal to the High Court. Mr McGinty said Mr Lewandowski had admitted that he and Mr Hancock had fabricated confessions from the brothers, and had lied at the trial and the appeals. He had also admitted that Peter Mickelberg was stripped naked and beaten by interviewing officers during the investigation. Mr Lewandowski had said he had not come forward earlier because he had not wanted to cross Mr Hancock, who died in a car bombing in what police believe was a payback killing by Gypsy Joker bikie gang members after the murder of a gang member in 2000. Mr McGinty said Mr Lewandowski's belated admission - if it were truthful - would strike at the heart of public confidence in the justice system. "This is one of the most high-profile police investigations we have seen in Western Australia, and if it was found that convictions were obtained by police fabricating evidence, the ramifications are enormous." Mr McGinty has referred Mr Lewandowski's affidavit to the royal commission into alleged police corruption, which is due to recommence hearings on July 1. The robbery on June 22, 1982, was the most audacious ever staged in Perth - an ingenious swindle which saw 49 gold bars spirited out of the impregnable Mint to a mystery hiding place. Although the evidence against the Mickelbergs was compelling - in particular Ray Mickelberg's fingerprint on one of three fake cheques used to pay for the gold - the brothers insisted from the start that the police had framed them. They said the detectives, led by Don Hancock, had lied at their trial in the District Court, had fabricated confessions by all three, and had planted the damning fingerprint. It would have been easy for the police to get hold of a mould of Ray's finger, they said. One of his hobbies was casting hands, in brass, plastic, rubber and perspex. There were about 20 of the hands in his Marmion Beach home when the police first arrived, and several were taken away for inspection. In 1989, 55 kilograms of gold pellets, said to have been from the swindle, were found outside a Perth television station, accompanied by a note protesting the Mickelberg brothers' innocence and claiming that a prominent Perth businessman was behind the swindle
                                            

    Ray Mickleberg with the two Allan Lovell books on their extraordinary life: The Mickleberg Stich and Split Image

    Ray and Peter Mickleberg during press interviews after their convictions were quashed by the Court of Criminal Appeal in June, 2004


     
    Mickelbergs unstitched – 22 years too late
      Congratulations to the framed Mickelbergs
     
       allegation two weeks ago by a former detective, Tony Lewandowski, that police also framed the now-infamous Mickleberg brothers for the Perth Mint swindle
    22 years too late Congratulations to the framed Mickelbergs Almost twenty years ago a woman from Perth – 5,000 kilometres away on the other side of Oz – came to my office requesting support for a campaign to free the three Mickelberg brothers. It's so long ago, I can't remember her name, nor whether she was a wife or simply a family member of one of the three. She gave me a copy of a mind-shredding new book, The Mickelberg Stitch. I recall I was impressed with her sincerity and dedication, and that, when I read it later, the book blew me away. She told me an extraordinary tale of how the Mickelbergs had been "stitched up" by the police. On my side of the continent, we say "fitted up", but I knew that she meant "framed". It doesn't matter where you are in this great country, a frame-up is a frame-up. These men's supposed crime was a fraud that involved a lot of gold bullion from the Australian Mint in her home city. She told me that one of the brothers was a plaster figurine hobbyist, and that sometimes he made latex moulds of hands, to cast in plaster. I was intrigued when she explained that the cops had used one of these latex moulds to fabricate a fingerprint that had helped fit up the brothers and send them to jail for extraordinarily long laggings (meaning "sentences", on my side of the Wide Brown Land). 
                                                   Exonerated
    These poor buggers have been fighting to clear their name for 22 years and finally their convictions have been quashed. In the meantime, one of the brothers has died, and one of the cops in the case was blown up in his own car. Another policeman died, but confessed before he did, which was very decent of him, for a bent copper. I've been interested in the Mickelberg Stitch for almost half my life, and wish I'd done more to help. Like the incredible Sydney Hilton Bombing case on which I've reported in the Scriptorium, it is one of the worst cases of cop frame-ups this country of daily frame-ups has ever known. But at least I can send my congratulations to Ray and Peter Mickelberg and hope that they get a helluva lot more compo for not robbing the Perth Mint than the lousy hundred grand that Tim got for not bombing the Hilton and killing two garbagemen and a cop. One hundred million would be more like it, for the suffering it must have caused the Mickelberg men and their loved ones. Let's hope the real swindlers get nabbed. And we can only hope (probably vainly) that some cops will do laggings like these blokes did for eight and six years, unlike in the Hilton case. In the Hilton, the crooked wallopers not only remain free, they have kept their promotions and bravery awards for arresting innocent men with non-existent bombs. Amazing, is it not? Just imagine how corrupt Australian police would be if we didn't have an expensive Royal Commission into every State's police force every five minutes or so.
     * Ø * Ø * Ø * "After more than 20 years of maintaining their innocence, the brothers convicted of the infamous Perth Mint swindle had their convictions overturned. "Ray and Peter Mickleberg's eighth appeal against their conviction for the 1982 theft of $653,000 in gold bullion from the mint was upheld in the West Australian Supreme Court of Criminal Appeal. "In a 2-1 split decision, Chief Justice David Malcolm and Justice Christopher Steytler agreed the conviction should be quashed and no retrial ordered. "Justice Michael Murray disagreed, saying the appeal should be dismissed on the grounds that no miscarriage of justice had occurred. "Ray Mickelberg served eight years of a 20-year sentence for the swindle, while Peter served six years of a 14-year term. "The third Mickelberg brother, Brian, whose conviction was overturned after nine months behind bars, died in a light aircraft crash in 1986." Source: The Age "But where there is exercise of power there is always resistance, and despite police threats some used less than ordinary means to distribute Lovell’s book. One proprietor was selling plain paper bags for $8.95 with ‘an entirely free copy’ of The Mickelberg Stitch inside. Another provided customers with a free copy with every bookmark he sold. "However the attempted suppression was soon successful, as most of the booksellers felt they had no other choice than to remove it from the shelves. And the Mickelberg brothers remained in jail." Unpicking the Mickelberg stitch "The Mickelberg stitch has shocked many people in Perth but it is worth going back and examining the evidence to see just how shocking an affair this really was." Anatomy of a stitch-up Copies of The Mickelberg Stitch (and a subsequent book, Split Image, on the defamation actions and the Mickelberg appeals) used to be available from the Mickelberg Committee, 81 Mullalloo Drive, Mullalloo WA 6025, Australia, and may well still be.
          

    Thu, Jun 13 2002 12:25 PM AEST
     Opposition targets Kucera over mint swindle framing The Opposition is preparing to step up its attack on the WA Health Minister, Bob Kucera, over his links to the Mickleberg mint swindle. It is insisting the Minister be removed from Cabinet, for his involvement in what they have dubbed Kucera-gate. Since losing last year's election, the Opposition has not had got whiff of anything it believes can trouble the government as much as this. Liberal leader Colin Barnett will target Mr Kucera in parliament during question time again today, insisting the former policeman is in an untenable situation. "If he thought about it, it would be in his own best interest and political career to step aside," Mr Barnett said. The police royal commission will revisit the Mickelbergs' case, in light of new evidence that the two investigating officers, Tony Lewandowski and Don Hancock, lied to stitch up the Mickleberg brothers. Mr Kucera was head of Belmont CIB where their interview took place, and may be called as a witness. He is giving every indication of digging his heels in. "My principal role in government now is as a Health Minister... this is a distraction for me, but I'm focused on what I want to do," Mr Kucera said
    .                     
                                                   

                                               Micklebergs claim $14 million Monday, 9 August 2004 Presenter: Liam Bartlett The Mickelberg brothers have defended a claim for nearly 14 million dollars in compensation, after being wrongfully convicted of the 1982 Perth Mint Swindle. Ray and Peter Mickelberg last month had their convictions quashed. The Mickelbergs have told the ABC Radio they lost property, lucrative abalone fishing licences and earnings as a result of their 21 year legal fight. Ray Mickelberg says they are not being greedy in wanting to be compensated for substantial financial losses: "We say it's not unreasonable and I'm sure the majority of the community would agree that if someone takes from you something that you legitimately own and charges you with a crime you didn't commit, and then concedes that they were wrong, isn't it fair to get back what you owned when you were first taken into custody?" Western Australian Attorney General Jim McGinty says the Mickelberg brothers need to take their claim to the courts. He says the gap between what the brothers are seeking, and what the government would be prepared to pay is enormous.


      Peter and Ray Mickleberg
    are claiming close to $14 million dollars compensation after their 21 year old conviction was quashed.

        
    Micklebergs continue fight to clear their name
     The Mickleberg brothers are heading back to the courts as a continuation of their defence of the Perth Mint swindle. Last year, the Western Australia Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the criminal convictions of Ray and Peter Mickleberg, almost 25 years since their first trial. Following their win, former WA assistant police commissioner Mel Hay told the media that he and other police believed the Micklebergs were guilty of the swindle. The Micklebergs are suing Mr Hay, but the WA Government became the defendant as his former employer. The Micklebergs' lawyer, Martin Bennett, says the state solicitor filed the Government's defence in the Supreme Court last week, saying it will prove what Mr Hay said was true. He says the brothers welcome the opportunity to air new evidence, but are disappointed it has come to this. "It reflects a stubborn intransigence on the part of the Government who won't deal fairly in a compensation sense with the brothers," he said. WA Attorney-General Jim McGinty says the Micklebergs have initiated the legal action and the Government is defending it. 
    Mr Bennett says he does not believe the matter will go before the courts this year.


    What is Police corruption?
        

    Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct sometimes involving political corruption, and generally designed to gain a financial or political benefit for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest.

    An example is police officers accepting bribes in exchange for not reporting organized drug or prostitution rings or other illegal activities.

    Police corruption can involve a single officer or group of officers, or can be the standard practice of entire police precincts or departments. In most major cities there are internal affairs sections to investigate suspected police corruption or misconduct. However, sometimes the corruption is so widespread that investigation requires an external body with far reaching powers, such as a Royal Commission.

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    ITV News journalist Terry Lloyd was "unlawfully killed by US forces"
     when he was shot dead in southern Iraq, his inquest has concluded. 
    The veteran reporter was killed alongside French cameraman Fred Nerac and Lebanese translator Hussein Osman in the early days of the Iraq war in March 2003. Daniel Demoustier, 44, was the only survivor of the four-man ITN team.

    Mr Lloyd got caught up in US and Iraqi crossfire near Basra and was shot in the back. As he was taken away for treatment, US forces opened fire on the minibus he was travelling in and shot him in the head. Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker said: "I have no doubt that it was an unlawful act to fire on this minibus." He said he would write to the Director of Public Prosecutions to call for the US perpetrators to be brought to justice.

    Mr Nerac and Mr Osman, who were travelling in the car behind the minibus, both disappeared. Mr Osman's body was later found and the fate of Mr Nerac remains unknown. Summing up Mr Walker said: "It is only now that the sequence of events that led to this tragedy can be discovered, for a tragedy it is when the lives of innocent civilians are lost." He added: "I am certain that the world is a lesser place following their sad death. "Their professionalism and dedication in the face of danger is and can only be admired by those they left behind." Mr Lloyd and his team had gone through extensive preparation for their trip to Iraq in the month before leaving London, added Mr Walker. He said: "In my view on the evidence I have heard, those preparations, from the initial setting of Independent Television News, through their training of staff and equipment, was of the highest possible standard." David Mannion, the editor in chief of ITN, said the company would fully support Mr Lloyd's family to "bring those responsible for Terry's death to account before a court of law".

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    People appear to be becoming less superstitious about Friday the 13th being an unlucky day. A survey of 1,000 adults shows that breaking a mirror, walking under a ladder and having a black cat cross your path were becoming less of a problem. Three out of four people questioned for Surrey theme park Thorpe Park said they had no intention of staying off work just because of the date. Peter Ronchetti, the park's general manager, said people were not as easily scared as they used to be. But he warned: "October this year happens to be one of the freakiest months, with both Friday the 13th and Halloween within two weeks of each other."
        Bulgarian  Properties-They call it the land of dreams-
    Land in Bulgaria brought to you by Homefinders Bulgaria Ltd. 
    We currently have over 300 plots of land for sale in Bulgaria in many different locations (mountains, countryside, & beach). 
    Land in Bulgaria is a very good investment, in some areas last year land prices increase by 100%. Investors who have purchased land in Bulgaria through 
    Homefinders Bulgaria have already seen dramatic prices rises 
    on their investments and we still expect the prices to rocket in value even further.
        Probe into £1 billion loan insurance blackmail
    -customers ‘forced into taking useless policies.. A Major Investigation of “rip off” insurance policies sold by banks and building societies was ordered today ......
     
    ..see press room for full story           
         

    Flames and smoke are seen coming out of windows at the location where a small plane crashed into a 50-story residential apartment building near 71st Street and York Avenue in New York, Wednesday, October 11, 2006. New York Fire Department officials reported two deaths in the crash. (AP Photo/Dax Gardner).
    NEW YORK - A small plane carrying New York Yankee Cory Lidle slammed into a 50-story skyscraper Wednesday, apparently killing the pitcher and a second person in a crash that rained flaming debris onto the sidewalks and briefly raised fears of another terrorist attack. A law enforcement official in Washington said Lidle — an avid pilot who got his license during last year's offseason — was aboard the single-engine aircraft when it plowed into the 30th and 31st floors of the high-rise on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said both people aboard were killed. Lidle's passport was found on the street, according to a federal official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear who was at the controls and who was the second person aboard.
         Investigators look for answers in NYC plane crash death.....     
         

        New York Yankee Cory Lidle slammed into a
        50-story skyscraper Wednesday
      
        
    Check out the latest Gossip from Chicago's Sun Times Team 
                                                                                                BILL ZWECKER
     BIOGRAPHY : From the top stars of Hollywood to Chicago's best-known celebrities like Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey, Bill Zwecker is the expert when it comes to knowing the scoop on the rich and famous. The Chicago Sun-Times columnist -- who is also the entertainment reporter and film critic for WBBM-TV (CBS) in Chicago -- covers the globe finding out the latest news about celebrities for his readers and viewers. From 2000-2003, Bill was the entertainment reporter and film critic for WFLD-TV (Fox) in Chicago. From 1995-2005, Bill was the entertainment contributor and film critic for ''The Eric & Kathy Show'' on WTMX-FM radio. From 1993-2000, Bill was the entertainment reporter and film critic for WMAQ-TV (NBC) in Chicago. He was also a regular contributor to ''The Joan Rivers Show,'' 1990-1994. The Chicago native grew up in Oak Park and River Forest -- graduating from Oak Park-River Forest High School before heading to Princeton University where he received his bachelor's degree with honors in American History and American Civilization. He also attended the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. After working in politics (for former U.S. Sen. Charles Percy), banking and retailing, Bill turned to journalism fulltime in the early 1980s, following in the footsteps of his mother, Peg Zwecker, the nationally-syndicated, award-winning fashion editor and columnist for the Chicago Daily News and Sun-Times. Bill was associate editor and columnist for the Lerner Newspapers, 1987-92. Bill has been a frequent contributor to various national news and entertainment programs -- including Access Hollywood,'' Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Today Show, The NBC Nightly News, Biography on A&E and Larry King Live. Among numerous honors, Bill has twice been awarded the prestigious Peter Lisagor Award, Chicago journalism's highest accolade. He has been nominated for three Emmy Awards for the Midwest/Chicago region for his work at both WBBM-TV and WFLD-TV. Bill was part of the WBBM-TV news team honored with an Associated Press award in 2004 for coverage of the E-2 nightclub disaster in February, 2003. Oak Park-River Forest High School inducted Bill into its Hall of Fame in 1995, presenting him with its top alumni honor, the ''Tradition of Excellence'' award. In 2000, Bill was named ''Man of Vision'' by the Midwest Eye Banks for his various civic and charitable contributions. The Isreal Film Festival presented Bill with it's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, along with Larry King and Hollywood producer, Laura Ziskin. Bill Zwecker currently serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Academy for the Arts -- one of only four private high schools for the performing arts in the U.S. He's a board member of Off the Street Club, Chicago's oldest organization serving children and teenagers on the city's West Side; and the Advisory Board of the Midwest Eye-Banks. Past board memberships have included: Auxiliary Board, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, Auxiliary Board of Lincoln Park Zoo (founding member), Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago, Chicago Lung Association, Princeton Club of Chicago, Henrotin Hospital, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Junior Governing Board), AIDS Foundation of Chicago, North Dearborn Association and the Headline Club of Chicago (Society of Professional Journalists). Bill lives in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood and is the father of one son and recently became a grandfather for the first time.            

       
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    What The Bush Administration Won't 
    Tell You About The War in Iraq

    The United States has thoroughly destabilized the Middle East by invading Iraq. The task of the occupying forces is no longer confined to fighting a Sunni insurrection; they have to contain an incipient civil war. The country has divided along sectarian lines and each faction has established a fighting capacity. Now the situation in the Middle East is dire. Iran threatens to become a nuclear power. The low-grade civil war in Iraq threatens to broaden into a regional conflict. We are facing a clash of civilizations and/or armed sectarian conflict. And all this in a region that is responsible for the bulk of the world’s oil supply. Something is fundamentally wrong with President Bush’s contention that he has made us safer at home by taking the war on terror abroad. There are many more people willing to sacrifice their lives to kill Americans than there were on 9/11. The Bush administration shows no awareness of the contradictions in its policies or of the negative consequences. Here is President Bush’s introduction to the 2006 National Security Strategy so that you can judge for yourself.
     
    George Soros's new book, "The Age of Fallibility: Consequence of the War on Terror" is now available in 
    stores. In his new book George Soros reveals the philosophy that he attributes to his successes and shows you how you can use this philosophy to make your world a better place.
    "I have developed a philosophy that has played a central role in my life. It has guided me in making money and spending it, although it is not about money. I know how important that philosophy is for me personally, but I am still in the process of finding out whether it can have a similar significance for others. That is my first priority and this book is probably my final effort in this regard."
    ~ George Soros, The Age of Fallibility

                             
    The World of Cannibalism
    -One of the most misunderstood subjects that is hardly ever discussed


       
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    Drastic changes in media ahead: PackerThursday November 23, 11:18 PM

    James Packer forecasts the media landscape in Australia will change dramatically in the next 15 years as technology steers the industry into a new age.The chief executive of Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL) was among four of Australia's principal media leaders, also including Fairfax chief David Kirk, ABC managing director Mark Scott, and Foxtel head Kim Williams, speaking at the Oxford Business Alumni's annual forum in Sydney.

    In their discussion, on the theme The Future of Australia's Media Industry, Mr Packer said today's booming mass media tools were unheard of in the early 1990s and the scene in the 2020s would be just as different."If you look back 15 years ago, there were virtually no mobile phones, no internet, no Pay TV and they were very hard to foresee," he said."I think 15 years from now the change is going to be as dramatic as it has been in the last 15 years." Mr Kirk, whose company publishes The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review and the Sun Herald, said the newspaper industry would live through developments in technology and thrive on the proliferation of online news."Absolutely it will survive ... but we have to make adjustments to find new products to offset some of these changes," Mr Kirk said.

    He said secure display advertising and steady circulation ensured newspapers were in a strong position, but quality content was more important than the medium through which it was delivered.Mr Kirk said while consumers could determine news and programming on pay TV and the internet, and even generate their own content, readers still demanded informed and quality views and news in a convenient and well presented form."There is absolutely no doubt newspapers will have to provide greater quality. We cannot dumb down the product," he said."I firmly believe there is a real demand for high class editing."People do want an easy and comprehensive way of getting their news."Mr Scott agreed that quality content would play a bigger role in consumers' choice than technology.But he said the internet generation who "don't want to be broadcast at, they want to write their own news, contribute" will be the biggest consumer force in the next 15 years."Fifteen-year-olds today ... they are the dominant media consumers," he said."They're used to having it where they want it and when they want it and want to contribute to it. "That's a big shift that all media organisations are going to have to come to terms with."He said technology helped the ABC fulfil its charter to deliver Australian content.He cited the two million ABC podcasts downloaded around the country each month which, he said, made the national broadcaster "probably" the leading provider of podcast material in the world.Twenty-five new ABC television programs next year will also be available from video on-demand download, he said.

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    Welcome to Bookscope The online bookstore for independent publishing company Creative Research.

    The Mickelberg Stitch
    Avon Lovell
    The book they tried to ban!
    Featuring controversial and previously banned books written by investigative journalist Avon Lovell.
    Based in Perth, Western Australia there is now a convenient online or mail-order service - so you can choose which you prefer. The plan is to make these texts available to everybody, even lawyers.

    In 1982 an ingenious swindle at the Royal Perth Mint netted a fortune in gold bullion. Police focused in on the Mickelberg brothers, Ray, Peter and Brian who were sentenced respectively to 20, 16 and 12 years gaol.
    The Prosecution case was based on a mass of questionable evidence:
    - unsigned `confessions' - fabrications, omissions - and a forged fingerprint!
    Now the Mickelbergs are after their persecutors.
    Avon Lovell's documented expose of an Australian courtroom Watergate is a triumph of investigative writing.
    The facts are explosive; 
    The story unfolds like a drama. Police methods in Australia will never be the same .
    Official Book Release
    On Monday the 12th of August, 2002, Dymocks booksellers launched the infamously unatainable text, The Mickelberg Stitch.
    The launch itself generated interest from all media circles, celebrities and the general public alike. More on the launch and speech by Bret Christian of the Subiaco Post.




    Bookscope News Headlines: items marked with a  contain a link to more info.
    17/08/02   "Mickelberg gamble pays off for author - His supporters say his behaviour in front of the police royal commission that led him to the brink of a jail sentence has succeeded in getting the Mickelberg case sent to the Supreme Court...After Mr Lovell walked out of the commission, Mr McGinty changed his mind & signed the order referring the Mickelberg case to the Court of Criminal Appeal...Mr Lovell says he also had a genuine belief that his summons to appear before the commission was not valid because it referred to events in 1982. The commission's terms of reference appear to restrict it to investigating matters from 1985 onwards. He now admits he was wrong in his belief, & that his 1200 court appearances on his own behalf might have given him some misplaced confidence about his abilities as a 'bush' lawyer" Subiaco Post
    16/08/02   Avon was quoted as saying he had achieved his goal to get the Mickelberg case to the court of criminal appeal, "I just want to get on with my business, my work and get my life back" - The Australian Newspaper.
    15/08/02   Sentencing! Judges fine Lovell $30,000 for 3 contempt of court convictions.
    15/08/02   "Mint witness back - An application to expedite the evidence of former detective Tony Lewandowski, who admitted framing the Mickelberg brothers over the 1982 Perth Mint Swindle, will be heard by a Perth court tomorrow. Mr Lewandowski is believed to have returned to Perth from Thailand at the weekend."The Australian
    12/08/02 Avon's book 'The Mickelberg Stitch' finally enjoys a public launch at Dymocks, Perth City Store
    06/08/02   "Lovell faces jail sentence - Convicted author says he wants to help commission 'get the bastards'. Author Avon Lovell faces a possible jail term after being found in contempt of the police royal commission. Lovell...was convicted in the State Full Court yesterday on three counts of contempt." The West Australian
    25/07/02   "I will be first person jailed: Lovell - Mr Lovell said he had provided evidence of major police corruption yet he was the first person most likely to be jailed in relation to the royal commission. He had wanted his case heard by a single judge so that he could appeal against an unfavourable decision to the Full Court. As it stands the Full Court will hear the contempt case...In the Full Court yesterday Mr Kevin Penkin said it would be submitted that there had been no contempt because the summons was beyond the power of the royal commission." The West Australian
    24/07/02   "Brothers get day in sun - Attorney-General Jim McGinty sent the Perth Mint swindle case back to the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday, saying it was time Ray & Peter Mickelberg had their day in court." The West Australian
    19/07/02   "Lovell bailed on contempt - The original arrest warrant alleged Lovell committed three contempts: failing to answer a summons to appear on Monday, refusing to give evidence when he did attend on Wednesday & leaving without being released. Lovell replied that he had not committed contempt. He had made submissions that the commission did not have authority to ask him questions as he was not a police officer & his evidence did not fall within the term of reference." The West Australian
    17/07/02   "I'll face inquiry as a courtesy: Lovell - Mickelberg advocate Avon Lovell, who defied a subpoena to go before the royal commission into police corruption on Monday, intends to appear before today's hearing out of courtesy. He said yesterday he wished to know what it wanted from him in relation to the confession he got from self-confessed corrupt former detective Tony Lewandowski." The West Australian
    16/07/02   "New moves to get witness home - Negotiations to bring Tony Lewandowski back from Thailand to Perth were taking place behind the scenes, author Avon Lovell said yesterday...he railed against Attorney General Jim McGinty's handling of the affair. He denounced the possibility of his imprisonment for failing to attend the inquiry as 'stupid' pointing out the paradox of jailing him when he had exposed police corruption." The West Australian
    15/07/02   "Mickelberg author defiant - The police royal commission resumes today with the threat of imprisonment hanging over author Avon Lovell" The West Australian
    13/07/02   "Confession in the spotlight - Author Avon Lovell...said he had been subpoenaed to the inquiry (royal commission) but would boycott it because it was an inappropriate forum for the case. He said he got a sworn & signed confession from Mr Lewandowski to support a petition to refer brothers Ray & Peter Mickelberg's conviction to the Court of Criminal Appeal. Instead, the case was going to the Royal Commission which did not have the power to overturn the brothers' conviction.", "I have told the commission I'm not going to attend,' Lovell said" The West Australian
    13/07/02   "Hopes rest on bent cops - Top detective's death may break wall of silence", Mickelbergs will apply today to have their case heard again by the court of criminal appeal. The West Australian
    23/06/02   "Stitch has become a smokescreen...A week has passed since The Sunday Times asked Attorney-General Jim McGinty a list of questions about the handling of the confidential new evidence in the Mickelberg case. The newspaper has not even received a telephone call in response. This from a state government which has declared itself open & accountable in dealing with the sensitive issue." Editorial The Sunday Times
    15/06/02   "This time, the stitch is by Lovell...when former detective Tony Lewandowski decided to become our most famous dobber last week, it was his old enemy Avon Lovell who stitched up the deal...he gave no hint of the months of work & negotiations it took for Mr Lewandowski to steel himself for the flak that would follow breaking the code of silence" Bret Christian, Subiaco Post
    12/06/02 Fingerprint expert Terry Nesbitt...says he feels vindicated by Tony Lewandowski's admission of fabricated evidence. Mr Nesbitt said he was initially sceptical of the Mickelbergs' case but his views changed when he found three fingeprints on the cheque. "They were all identical - all from the same angle & the same finger," he said.
    12/06/02   "Enduring Lovell...One man who copped almost as hard a time from the cops & the West Australian establishment as the Mickelbergs was Avon Lovell...had his phone tapped, received death threats, was briefly jailed & had his book banned by the WA government. Yesterday he was quietly, but happily, celebrating his vindication" D.D McNicoll, The Australian.
    11/06/02 "Ex-cop admits framing gold swindle brothers", The Australian Newspaper-Front Page. View Acrobat (PDF) page here.


    INTERVIEW: Author Peter Docker discusses Someone Else’s Country
     and his Mickelberg play 
    10th March 2009


    "I was immediately interested because I greatly admired these men who stood up at the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody and gave evidence about a young Aboriginal prisoner whose murder by the prison guards they had witnessed, in spite of massive pressure (death threats) brought to bear on them by the authorities. he outcome is an explosive play which goes to the heart of corruption in the Police Force and the Judiciary of WA. Many West Australians who for years have swallowed the smear campaign run on them by certain sections of the media will be quite shocked by what they see. This is a seminal West Australian story – two innocent men (Ray and Peter Mickleberg) were sent to jail for a crime that they did not commit – who simply refuse to lay down.  Two innocent men, one a returned soldier who gave his all for his country on the battle fields of Vietnam, who suddenly find themselves in 

    "one of the most brutal prisons in the Western world, where living conditions for the inmates are unchanged since the 1850s."..The Famous Fremantle Prison cts in the 1800's, which was originally built by the convicts, to lock themselves up in, and never remodelled, was only closed in about 1990 after being condemed for over 50 years by health authorities, where no cell had any toilets, and instead had an open bucket to go to the toilet in during the time of 4pm till 8am two to four prisoners that shared the cell were locked up there, haviing collected their evening meal on the way to their cell at 4pm. When the  prisoners were let our of their cell at 8am and allowed into the open yard, which they shared with 100 prisoners, 40% white Australian of English Stock and 60% back Australian of Aboriginal Stock, they had the job of pouring what they had collected in their toilet bucket over night into an open drain, and hoping to to be able to use one of the toilets actual toilets that flushed in the yard thy ey shared with 100 other prisoners. There was a tendency to try and not "Shit in the Bicket" over night as this would stink the cell out, so the aim was to hold that part of their bowel movements until they could get to the toilet in the yard the next morning. 


    Note: Stephen Carew-Reid recalls the first night in a cell in Fremantle Prison which her shared that night, with another three inmates who seemed to have been there for quite some time and liekly to be there for many years to come for serious ctimes such as murder, rape, bank roberies etc, one prisoner said ina strun loud voice, 
    "If you shit in that bucket I will kill you"

    According to Stephen Carew-Reid in hus books, he was simply too scared to shit in the bucket and never did, and simply learnt to hold this back until the next rning as everyone else did. He also recalls the same prisoner recalling that from the window of this cell he witnessed Prisoner Officer Stone, murder a prisoner in the Yard, which he of course went unpunished for. Everyone in the prison feared Prison Officer Stone, quite understandably.
     
    ( Fremantle Prison  is the famous Fremantle Prison where Stephen Carew-Reid was sent to for a three and a half year jail sentence,  for a crimes he did not commit. Stephen Carew-Reid was there at the same time as Ray and Peter Mickleberg and shares the same prison yard Two Division, where Stephen Carew-Reid witnessed a young part aboriginal prisoner, bite the top of Ray Mickleberg's finger off as a favour for Ron Hancock, the Police inspector that set the Micklebergs up as a warning if they kept trying to appeal their lives may be next. As a reward for biting Ray Mickleberg's finger off, the young prisoner whose name was Gary Smith, was released the next day from Fremantle Prison on probation, after having pleaded guilty for a string of breaking and enterings and house robberies. While Stephen Carew-Reid was in Fremantle Prison he worked in the Fremantle Prison Library with Ray and Peter Mickleberg and the famous Ron Morely, who robbed banks in Perth, Western Australia, known as "Grey Beard", as he used ot put on agret beard to do the robberies, ansd was always very courtious to the bank staff when he did the roberies, without using any weapon just to pay his workers in his business which was at risk of being shut down because of large Australian Federal Taxation bills he could not pay, as he has spent all his profits improving the business and emplying more people, and did not put enough cash aside for his taxation committments. Accoridning to what Stephen Carew-Reid says in his books The Triumphg of Truth (Who's Watching the Watchers?) Ron Morely was an absolute gentleman and would not hurt a fly, spoke with a posh English accent and was very intellegent. Ron Morely did not ever keep any of bank robbery money for himself and used it all to pay his workers. 

    The charges that Stephen Carew-Reid was worngly convicted of involved some cheques that bounced on his business bank account, only because his Gingers Roadhouse on the Brand Highway in Upper Swan, Western Australia, that was turning over $30,000 to $40,000 per week in fuel and takeway food, kwas robbed by freinds of Inspector Ron Carey, and was only found guilty due to a conspiracy between the Western Australian Australian Police, the Crown Law Prosecutors, his own lawyers, prosecution witnesses, the District Court Judge, Judge Wheeler, a set up jury, Oh Yes... in Perth the head Sheriff (Bailiff) of the District and Supreme Courts, who is the person solely in charge of selecting all  jury panels for all District and Supreme Court criminal trials in Western Australia, is corrupt, ( which Stephen Carew-Reid has proven beyond reasonable doubt in certain trials and has actually has a jury member, Michale Hopkins, one the Hopkins Brothers, from the well know Perth's Hopkins Furniture Action House, admit he was set up by the Sheriff  on a trial of Stephen Carew-Reid to make sure Stephen Carew-Reid was found guilty. The Sheriff is there to specially select jury members when "it is important"  in for District and Supreme Court criminal trials in Western Australia, by stacking the original jury panel of 40 people that are meant to selected at random out of the electrol role. That way, when the defence and prosecution barristers select the jury out of the 40 people in the jury panel, out of  numbers selected at random out of a hat by the court usher, it all looks open, uncorrupted and fair, however, the reality is, in certain important trials, when those in control on the legal system 

    ( judges, magistrates, senior and well connected prosecutors defence lawyers and barristers, powerful politicians, powerful and senior police, senior and powerful court staff, etc)

    is cases where these powerful people decide behind the scenes that a person is going to be found guilty regardless  for an number of various reasons, and/or a rich person has paid big money to these people to make sure a trial goes their way, and/or a person simply is too well connected and powerful to be allowed to be found guilty of the charges, the trial outcome and/or sentencing out is set in place before the trial even commences by various means including the following:


    (1) The Sheriff carefully selects and the stacks the original 40 member jury panel, so that there are enough people who know what they are meant to do in the jury room if selected as a jury member.

    (2) As part of the stacking and manipulation of the jury as criminal trials in Western Australia, they make sure that one of the specially selected jury members pushes their way to be the head of the jury, a job that the average normal jury member does not want in any event. The average jury person selected for a jury at random, does not what to be there, let alone be the foreman and/or forewoman of the jury. These people are only there because they are forced to be there by law when selected on the jury panel. This way the foreman and/or forewoman of the jury can mentally keep pushing the undecided jury members who may be there by random selection, if any are there by random selection, to vote the way his bosses have told him to push the jury to vote. In the end the jury just want to go home to their family and friends, job, business etc and really do not want to be there any more after a long lengthy trial, and can eventually easily be pushed to vote one way or another by forceful strong minded jury foreman and/or forewoman of the jury.


    (3) The listings co-ordinator in the District and Supreme Courts in Western Australia, is also corrupt and has given this very well paid and secure job, to select the right judges for particular trials "when it is Important".  This way a certain judge, who also knows what he is meant it do, does his part during the trial to make sure things go the way these powerful people running the legal system wants the trial to go... sometimes they want a not guilty verdict and sometimes they want a guilty verdict. The trial judge can easily manipulate the trial in so many various ways and thus heavily effect the outcome of the trial, by refusing the defence to present certain evidence that will help the defendant and/or allow the prosecution to produce certain evidence that is not fair, just or right in law for various reasons to produce, protect prosecution witnesses from being  cross examined to the fullest extent by not allowing certain questions to be asked, unfairly and wrongly not insisting that an interpretor is there explaining the whole trial to a defendant who doe snot have good command of the English Language,  by wrongly and unfairly instructing the jury at the end of the trial, by allowing the prosecution to get away with all sorts of legal wrongs during the trial which would be obvious to as judge that he should have corrected and/or not allowed to happen during the trial, by not stopping the trial and ordering a new trial and new jury when the judge sees that certain legal wrongs have been so bad that the defendant could not every have a fair trial in these circumstances.. then when it comes sentencing, if there is a guilty verdict that is reached that was planned in the first place to be reached, or a guilty verdict is reached which was not panned, the judge is there to make sure the sentence is either heavy or light, depending on what was arranged to happen behind the scenes. In some cases the judge is told not to give a person a sentence, but instead, rule that the is of the belief that the defendant is likely to  mentally unfit and sent down to a mental institution to be examined as to his or her mental state of health.  This is a perfect way the powerful people who run the legal system in Western Australia can make sure a person who has been so wrongly and badly legally treated in his trial by the judge, the police, the prosecution witnesses, and sometimes his own defence lawyers and barristers

     ( who is certain circumstances will take hundreds of thousands off the defendant and his family to run the best possible defence, and still behind the scenes work with the prosecution to make sure his client is found guilty an not presenting the best possible defence by not presenting all the possible defence evidence..not fully cross  examining the prosecution witnesses, not forcing the prosecution to produce embarrassing evidence they have that would ensure the defendant is found not guilty.. etc)

    can never have an appeal heard to expose all these wrongful things done against him at his or her trial, because a corrupt doctor will declare the person criminally insane.... and so the defendant will never be able to mount an appeal setting out all these appeal grounds, other than in the basis he  or she was insane..and end up in a mental institution forever..


    (4) Make sure the right corrupt prosecutor is selected to run the trial that is prepared to make false and misleading statements in his opening and closing addresses to the jury, that is prepared to withhold material evidence from the jury and the trial that the prosecution has in it's possession, that favours the defendant, that is prepared to coerce and/or manipulate the prosecution witnesses into telling their evidence in a fabricated and/or misleading way, and generally run the trial contrary to their oath as prosecutors, to search for  the truth before, during and after a trail, and instead simply do everything in their power to make sure the person is declared guilty and/or innocent depending on what has been decided for that person behind the scenes before the trail has even commenced.


    (5) Make sure that the defence team are also onside to make sure the trail goes the way these powerful people in charge of the legal system want the trail to go. Stephen Carew-Reid has clear evidence that is one of his trials and other trials in Western Australia that the defence legal team acted deliberately against himself at his trial and deliberately against others at theie trials, as a favour for the prosecution and the police.  All this is exposed in Stephen Carew-Reid's seven

     (the eighth volume was on the way until all the research material and drafts for for the eight volume and the original manuscripts for the first seven volumes were stolen by  Queensland senior detectives Barry Zerner and Gregory Stormont on the 17-11-05 from 6 Earl Court Tallai, Gold Coast Queensland) 

    volumes of his books Triumph if Truth ( Who Is Watching The Watchers?).

    (6) In some instances the listings co-ordinator of the court simply selects a certain judge for one of the remand hearings in the very early stages of a criminal proceedings, a long way before a trial date is set down, who says to the defendant,

     "you do not look very well today Mr Carew-Reid, I am going to make orders today that you be removed from this court and sent to a mental institution to be assessed on your mental health"

    and the defendant is removed from the court and taken to a mental institution where he is declared criminally insane and never released ad never attends his trail..which is adjourned sini di ( which is a legal term for an indefinite adjournment) until the defendant is declared mentally well by the corrupt  government doctor.... which of course never happens.


    (7) Stephen Carew-Reid has been told by a number of people in Western Australia including lawyers, that it is well known in inner legal circles that is the right money is paid to the right people, then a lawyer can arrange a court case, whether it be civil and/or criminal to go anyway they way it to go because the right judges will be selected that will do the right job "when it is important".

    One lawyer has stated to Stephen Carew-Reid that his aunty Judge Antoinette Kennedy, who is a judge in the District Court of Western Australia, can be bribed and/or told when it is important to rule what ever way is necessary in a hearing.. this information was also repeated to Stephen Carew-Reid by clients of this lawyer.

    Of course Stephen Carew-Reid exposes the power of the Freemasons in the legal system with over 60% of senior lawyers, barristers, court clerks such as listings co-ordinators who's job is to  select a judge and magistrate for a particular hearing, magistrates, judges.. and thus to concern one has when a male judge is hearing a case..as to whether that judge and/or prosecutor and even ones own defence lawyer and barrister are freemasons..

    However, what Stephen Carew-Reid goes into expose the new tactic of what he calls these "powerful corrupt people that run the Western Australian Legal System" ...is to make everyone think that the judge hearing the case is not connected in anyway to Freemasonary, and is not corrupt  in any way.. they organise a female magistrate and/or judge to hear the case... however what they have done in recent times as they slowly allow females into the role as magistrates and judges because of public pressure for equality between females and makes in the legal system... they mainly select female magistrates and judges that are willing to be corrupt and play the right game they want when "it is important for the honour and security and good pay for becoming a magistrate and/or judge..they deliberately chose females that do not have integrity... that they can control.....so when a person like  Stephen Carew-Reid in placed before a female judge and/or magistrate.. knowing that he will be suspicious of not obtaining a fair hearing from a Freemason magistrate or judge, and knowing that only males can be Freemasons, he will put into a false sense of security and belief that because the magistrate or judge is a female, then he will be assured of obtaining a fair hearing... which is definitely not the case ..as Stephen Carew-Reid has now discovered.

    It is no wonder that all of Stephen Carew-Reid's original manuscripts of his eight volumes of his books Triumph of Truth (Who is Watching the Watchers?) and copies are removed, stolen and/or destroyed by corrupt people in charge of the legal system, the police, the courts and the government in Australia.. The information that Stephen Carew-Reid has been prepared to  candidly expose without holding back in any way is enough to bring the whole legal, judicial, political, police, political etc system down in Western Australia and show to the world that Western Australia has one of the most endemic  The corrupt legal system in the world.

    Click here to find out more about Stephen Carew-Reid and his books
    The Triumph of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?) and 
    find out why these books are not available for sale.....


    The play Mickleberg, will be produced in Fremantle by Deckchair Theatre Company August, September 2010.




    INTERVIEW: Author Peter Docker discusses Someone Else’s Country and his Mickelberg play

    10th March 2009

    I was born into a community whose preferred method of living with Aboriginal people was apartheid.

    The country towns were, and still are, a hotbed of a nasty form of racism. Perhaps it is because out there everyone knows inherently the fairy tale version of history, where the first Australians were somehow divested of all of their wealth and land with no violence, is a total fabrication.

    In fact, for many whites it is like the war is still going. And because of my belief that Australians are inherently good people who genuinely believe in community values, this set up a great conflict inside of me. How could this happen? How could, for example, West Australians freeze the Nyoongar people out of our economic, education, and social systems for 150 years, and then blame Nyoongar People for the wretched state in which they find themselves?

    And really, I wanted to write about how much joy and fun and belonging that I have experienced inside the other country within our country, which is Aboriginal Australia.

    When Someone Else’s Country first came out I was quite nervous about how it would be received in Indigenous circles.

    I had unwittingly chronicled a kind of secret history that never sees the light of day outside of certain, closed circles. Overwhelmingly the response has been incredibly positive. The reaction from white Australia was quite a different thing. I was accused in the West Australian press of being a liar, and an exaggerator. I have lost most of my white friends, and all of my extended blood family, which was unexpected, and on a personal level, fairly tough to deal with.

    Unfortunately, I don’t think much has changed for Indigenous people. This is because the fundamental shift that needs to happen in this country has not happened and, as yet, is on no-one’s agenda. The dominant white culture wants the Aboriginal people to change to be more like us. This has been tried since the arrival of the first settlers, and even though it takes many forms, it is all about assimilation. There is another way.

    White Australia needs to become ‘blacker’. We need to educate ourselves. We need to understand Aboriginal Law better. We need to learn about the relationship between country and story. We need to learn Aboriginal Languages so we can pay proper respect. There is vast ecological knowledge in this country – perhaps even the answers to the world’s burgeoning environmental disaster – but this knowledge is not in the English language.

    I always wanted to be a writer, but somehow fell into performing because of the intoxicating rush and immediacy of the relationship with the audience. I think being a performer makes me more attuned to the drama and the urgency of any situation. Also, I play the scenes out in my head, and sometimes out loud (doing all the voices) as I am writing them. I have to really love a subject to write about it. I have to be obsessive.

    After this book Someone Else’s Country was published, I was approached by Ray and Peter Mickelberg, who wanted me to write a play about their experiences with the justice system.

    I was immediately interested because I greatly admired these men who stood up at the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody and gave evidence about a young Aboriginal prisoner whose murder by the prison guards they had witnessed, in spite of massive pressure (death threats) brought to bear on them by the authorities.

    The outcome is an explosive play which goes to the heart of corruption in the Police Force and the Judiciary of WA.

    Many West Australians who for years have swallowed the smear campaign run on them by certain sections of the media will be quite shocked by what they see. This is a seminal West Australian story – two innocent men sent to jail for a crime that they did not commit – who simply refuse to lay down. Two innocent men, one a returned soldier who gave his all for his country on the battle fields of Vietnam, who suddenly find themselves in one of the most brutal prisons in the Western world, where living conditions for the inmates are unchanged since the 1850s.

    The play will be produced in Fremantle by Deckchair Theatre Company August, September 2010.

    For more information please contact Claire Miller, “cmiller@fremantlepress.com.au“:mailto:cmiller@fremantlepress.com.au




    AUSTRALIAN BOOKS – Just World Campaign


     
    [2008] 

    THE MICKELBERG   STITCH

      ,  1985, by Avon LOVELL.

    A Real-Life Thriller
  •  An ingenious swindle of the Perth Royal Mint nets a fortune in gold bullion ..
  • The Police turn up the Mickelberg family
  • and brothers Ray, Peter and Brian are sentenced to 20, 16 and 12 years gaol.
       The Prosecution case was based on a mass of questionable evidence:
                – unsigned 'confessions'
                – fabrications, omissions
                – and a forged fingerprint!
    Now the Mickelbergs are hunting down their persecutors.
    Avon Lovell's documented expose of an Australian courtroom Watergate is a triumph of investigative writing.
    The facts are explosive
    The story unfolds like a drama
    Police methods in Australia will never be the same . .
       Avon Lovell is a publisher with experience in investigative journalism on metropolitan
  • newspapers in Hobart, Adelaide and Sydney.  He has owned his own suburban newspaper in Perth. 
  • As an editor and publisher he has produced many Australian books.
       At present Mr Lovell is writing a series of short stories, a television comedy,
  •  a community history and a sequel to
    The Mickelberg Stitch
       Extracts from pp 177-78: … Ray Mickelberg … worry … taxation … a false name in Building Society
  • or Bank accounts.  … Mr [Ron] Cannon … introducing evidence about the Yellow Rose
  • nugget failed dramatically. …
       {At a trial in June 1984, Raymond Mickelberg and Brian Pozzi pleaded guilty to charges of
  •  conspiracy to fraud [sic] in regard to the Yellow Rose of Texas [a fake gold nugget that family members
  •  had moulded and sold to Alan Bond].  Both received five year maximum sentences. 
  • Brian Mickelberg was gaoled for three years maximum, and Mrs Peggy Mickelberg …
  • was sentenced to 18 months gaol. …}










  • DETAILS: Creative Research, North Perth (W. Australia), 1985; 286pp, soft covers, 11 x 18 cm (4 3/8 x 7 1/8 in), contents, 
    no index, photographs, no endnotes. ISBN 0 908469 23 3
       [AFTERMATH: The "Stitch" was banned for alleged defamation by court action, the sequel was published, appeal after
     appeal occurred, the ban was lifted, and years later, FINALLY, "The Establishment" in the judico-politico-legal system of 
    the State of Western Australia admitted that the convictions were "unsafe."
       And the appeal courts, grudgingly, have been finding other "unsafe" verdicts, such as murders "pinned" on John Button, 
    Darryl Beamish, and Andrew Mallard.  One of the Mickelbergs, released from prison, was flying an aeroplane which
     "ran out of fuel," fatally for him.
       The Webmaster is proud to say he tried to sell the "Stitch" while it was banned and afterwards, and attended the 
    ceremony in a bookshop, Hay Street, Perth, at which it was officially "relaunched" after the ban ended.  
    One of the allegedly minor sideshow bit-part actors in the lawless destruction of Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg had 
    later entered the place where laws can be changed, and is retiring from there in 2008! ENDS.]


     Estelle Blackburn, 1992,
     which exposes  that John Button and Darryl Beamish (a deaf-mute) went to prison for murders they did not commit.


    Besides the women and men he murdered and injured, Eric Edgar Cooke's rampage also was partly to blame for 
    two innocent men, John Button and Darryl Beamish (a deaf-mute) going to prison for murders they did not commit.
    How the police got confessions from Cooke, and then got him to issue retractions, is one of the amazing parts of 
    this wonderful book by Estelle Blackburn, BA, journalist and later public relations officer.
       Some of the detectives and others involved ought to have been charged with something, and punished themselves, 
    because it was obvious that John Button was innocent.
       The John Button miscarriage of justice was just one such by the Western Australian police force and the courts
     in the 20th century.
       Eric Edgar Cooke, who had a hare lip and a speech impediment, was 17½ years old on October 15, 1948, in the
     first stealing incident recorded in this book.  He stole a torch and a travelling clock, total value £3/13/- from a city 
    flat occupied by John Birman, the assistant director of Adult Education. (p 26)
       The book goes on, detailing his accidents at work, his marriage and subsequent children, his night-time prowling 
    and stealing of small moneys etc and of cars and deliberately running people down (starting in 1958, p 46), 
    his regular cat burglar exploits, and then his murder of women.
       He stole first one rifle, and later another, using them to shoot men and women, either in their cars or at home 
    or in bed (Jillian Brewer, p 88).  He had spent some time in prison for some of his minor crimes.
       Yet he was not even really suspected of the major killing spree, which had Perth in fear in the early 1960s, 
    until a woman picking bush flowers stumbled across where he had stashed the second rifle.
       The book gives details of how the lives he had broken, including the families and the surviving victims, and 
    his own wife and children, continued afterwards.
       Some of the blame must fall on his father, who had hated him from birth and had belted him repeatedly.
       Cooke was the last man hanged legally in Western Australia; it was on Monday, October 26, 1964.
    http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/australia/austbooks.htm#broken_lives
       DETAILS: Stellar Publishing P/L, http://www.margaret-river-online.com.au/brokenlives , revised 1999 (orig. 1998), 
    ISBN 0-646-36173-2; 410 pp + vi pp, soft covers, 16 x 24 x 2·7 cm (6¼ x 9½ x ~ 1 inch), contents, appendices, 
    photographs and photostats, map, author interviews, acknowledgements.  UK £12·50, AUD $24.95, US $17.50. 
    (To this webpage Apr 10, 2009). [Revision 1999] 

    [2007]
    On September 8th, 1993, the police ran a "dob-in-a-paedophile" campaign called "Operation Paradox". 
    Phil Burrows became the innocent victim of an anonymous phone call, suggesting he had pornographic 
    materials at his home. A search of his flat found a series of photos taken in the course of his studies into
     children's playground rhymes. On the basis of one of these photos, he was charged with 3 counts of indecent dealing.
       His life was turned into a living nightmare. This remarkable story tells of the acts of malice,
     as well as mistakes, that can have tragic consequences. Above all, it shows how frail our rights and 
    liberties really are.
    The Author
       Phil Burrows is 48 years of age and has been teaching for 27 years of those years.
       A dedicated teacher, his career with the W.A. Education Department has included appointments from 
    classroom teacher to Principal. His academic life has been relentless, involving over 10 years external 
    studies and another 6 years part time, during which he completed a Master of Education degree.
       Phil has published extensively, both in his academic field of language and concerning Civil Liberties. 
    He has served as Secretary of the W.A. Council for Civil Liberties and feels that issues of liberty and 
    justice are of first importance. 
       Publishing details: State School Teachers' Union of Western Australia, and Foundation Press, Perth (Western Australia), 
    1995, 82pp, 14 x 22 cm (5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches), soft covers, illustrations, no footnotes, no index. ISBN 1 875 778 03 9, $AUD 10.00.
    [2007]

    The Fifth Estate

      
    , 2007, Terence J. McLERNON ©2006
    The Fifth Estate
     In this entertaining and humorous exposé of the rogues and rapscallions of the new criminal elite, 
    The Fifth Estate
    , Terence McLernon uses his skills and knowledge as a former police officer and
     private investigator to highlight sundry rorts and scams.  Often they involve the still-intact police
     culture by
     which corruption has become ingrained in our society.
    Meet Two-Gun Elroy, Tatiana the Fake Russian Psychic, the bold Duck and the 
    Fearsome Featherfeet, supported by a bizarre cast of miscreants from the netherworld and lower.
       Frenzied nights of nuptials are entwined with bribed officials, Chinese ho's, mad terrorist 
    bombers and the night-time jaunts of Charlie 88 – the battered Squad Car on crawl around
     the clubs, pubs and sinners of Fremantle Town. Just another day at the crazy farm.
    Extract from pp 220-21: "… Nevertheless the Fifth Estate wallopers are responsible for
     such convictions of the innocent as John Button, Darryl Beamish, Ray, Peter and 
    Brian Mickelberg, and Andrew Mallard, to name but a few.  
    What happened to these individuals is atrocious and they should be
     financially compensated immediately."
    The Fifth Estate
    Terence J. McLernon is the fifth generation of his family to enter the Western Australian Police 
    Force.  It is a record in Australia yet to be surpassed.  After a highly trained career in 
    the Royal Australian Air Force, Terry joined the Wallopers.  As a mature man he was deeply 
    unimpressed by the Cult of the Copper whereby the power to do good was perverted to 
    private purposes of commerce and control.  He views the sub-strata of corrupt officials and
     police as being The Fifth Estate, the new 'untouchables.'  This is Terry's first book. 
    However, he is working on a sequel, entitled Charlie 88.  (From the back cover.)
    BlackDogsBarkingBooks NOT DISPLAYING Dec 30, '08
    Publishing details: Black Dog Barking Books, http://www. blackdogs barkingbooks. com (NOT DISPLAYING Dec 30, '08) , 
    Perth (Post Office Box Z 5392, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia.) ©2006, published 2007, 224pp, 15 x 21 cm (5 7/8 x 8 1/4 inches),
     soft covers, photographs and photostats, contents, no footnotes, no index. ISBN 0 646 46871 5, © 2006 Terence John McLernon
       LINK for book: http://www. terence jmclernonbooks. com/content/ books/5th- estate/ thefifth estate.php
    http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/australia/austbooks.htm#the_fifth_estate


    PARTIAL CONTENTS and ANCHOR LIST (After reading an article, use Browser's "Back" button 
    to return to Anchor List)
    • Broken Lives, Estelle BLACKBURN. PERTH, W. Australia. Serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke, and the imprisoning of 
    John Button for a murder that Cooke had committed.  Cooke and others had confessed to the same crimes! 
    (orig 1998) 1999
    • The Burke Ambush; Corporatism and Society in Western Australia, Patrick O'BRIEN (ed.). W. AUSTRALIA. 1986
    • The Burkes of Western Australia. Brian PEACHEY. ? 1990s
    • Burke's Shambles; Parliamentary Contempt in the Wild West, Anthony McADAM and Patrick O'BRIEN.
     W. AUSTRALIA. Labor's Brian Burke and his team, the Midland Saleyards sale, WADC, EXIM, 
    the Land Rights Inquiry, Burswood Casino, the M.R.P.A. – W.A. Incorporated! 1987
    • Every Bit of a Circle is Bent; The Fifth Estate - Book III.  By Terence McLERNON.  More exposures of some police, 
    some politcians, and some clergy in W. Australia. 2009
    • The Executive State; WA Inc. & The Constitution, Patrick O'BRIEN and Martyn WEBB (editors). W. AUSTRALIA. 
    $1 billion wasted. 1991
    • The Fifth Estate, by Terence J. McLERNON. W. AUSTRALIA. False evidence led to the convictions of the innocent 
    including John Button, Darryl Beamish, Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg, and Andrew Mallard. © 2006; 2007
    • The Fifth Estate,The Sequel; If the Hat Fits, Wear It, by Terence J. McLERNON.  W. AUSTRALIA. Exposes police
     false evidence, and the RC Christian Brothers' sex abuse. 2007
    • The Godfather: The Life of Brian Burke; Quentin BERESFORD. 2008
    • Indecent Dealing; The Nightmare of an Innocent Teacher, by Phil BURROWS.  A Western Australian teacher's passion
     for children's playground rhymes ended with him being charged with indecent dealing.  His union and a staunch 
    friend stood by him. 1995
    • The Mickelberg Stitch, Avon LOVELL. PERTH, W. Australia, 1985
    • Rebuilding The Federation, Richard COURT, MLA, Premier of Western Australia. Many State powers have been 
    filched by Canberra. 1994
    • The Rise and Fall of Alan Bond. Paul BARRY (of ABC TV's Four Corners in the 1990s). PERTH, W. Australia, 
    2000 (revised).
    • Untamed and Unashamed, by Pauline HANSON.  Kiss and Tell, OR, How David Oldfield entered the Hanson camp. 
    (Pauline Hanson's One Nation which got 1 million votes one year, gradaully spiralled downwards.) 2007

    BlackDogsBarkingBooks NOT DISPLAYING Dec 30, '08 Publishing details: Black Dogs Barking Books
    http://www. blackdogsbarking books.com 
    NOT DISPLAYING Dec 30, '08), Perth
    (Post Office Box Z 5392, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia.) 
    ©2007, published 2007, 200pp, 15 x 21 cm
    [1985]

    The Fifth Estate The Sequel 
    If the Hat Fits, Wear It
    This book covers some aspects of the twistings and turnings of Western Australian politics. The Labor Government and the Australian Labor Party are split with differences, factional hatreds and allegiances, personal favours, and private interests.  The Government should be junked, but the economy is so buoyant that kindergarten 
    kiddies could manage it. 
    But it is streets ahead of the Liberal and National Parties.
       The power behind the Labor throne is Jim McGinty, Premier and ex-journalist 
    Alan Carpenter being a compromise.
       Chapters 4 and 5 are about how two prostitutes made a professional tour to Port Hedland,
     allegedly with an unofficial "permission" from some police, in spite of the police superintendent's 
    express prohibitions of gambling and prostitution in the area.  The women tried to get a sporting 
    club to hold a raffle, with one of them as the prize!
       Chapter 6, "The Fat Wallet Mob 'Flow Charts'" details the story of people involved in mining 
    and other shares.  Some of the people are supposedly ex-bankrupts and ex-prisoners.
       In chapter 7 WA Attorney-General Jim McGinty is said to have been sent a copy of the 
    previous book, by a contact of Mr Ray Mickelberg, one of the family that it is said had been 
    wrongly convicted over the Perth Mint Swindle.
       Mr McGinty allegedly returned the book in a plain envelope.  Requests for a response finally 
    were rewarded.
       The chapter exposes alleged police false evidence in the case of a failed attempt to blow up 
    the office where military conscription records were kept in Perth decades ago.
       The author praises Brian Burke and Julian Grill for lobbying to stop the gigantic firm Xstrata 
    from leaving vanadium in the ground in recent years.  Parliamentarian John Bowler acted to save it, 
    but was banished to the back bench in a hypocritical move, though he had saved the WA taxpayer 
    from losing the value to the people of the $32 million spent for this mine.
    THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' ORPHANAGES
       Read about a dodgy internet website, Croatia, Laurie Connell's failed investment bank Rothwell's, 
    a Malaysian Sting, and why Scaley hanged himself at a Christian Brothers' orphanage.
       Then there's the story of Tommy Trantrum being sent from Clontarf Boys' Town, freeing him f
    rom a paedophile Christian Brother, to a farm where he shot the farmer's wife and as a result 
    went to prison.
       Then follows page after page about the four Christian Brothers' orphanages in WA – Clontarf, 
    Castledare (both in Perth), Bindoon, and Tardun.
       Fifteen Brothers allegedly either had sex or quasi-sex, and/or gave cruel beltings to a boy 
    called Fred Smith.  Urinating on him and bare-bottom beltings are described, with the names 
    of the paedophile-sadistic offenders.
       The exposé of the Christian Brothers by Barry Coldrey, and the campaigning and publications 
    of the late Bruce Blyth are covered.
    McGINTY, McVEIGH, McMAHON
       Jim McGinty had spent time at a Roman Catholic seminary.  His sister Susan became a nun. 
    Father Anthony McMahon was sent to Kwinana parish.
       "Now, Jim is a cousin of mine but it could not be alleged that we are close.  
    No, not close at all." (p 130)
       Leo McVeigh at the age of five was being babysat by the priest and the nun, and while with 
    the priest only was allegedly sexually abused.  (The priest and the nun fell in love and married.)  
    He told Church authorities in 1998.  He tried to get the police's sexual abuse unit to investigate, 
    but it didn't.  The author thinks that the relationship with highflyers is why no apology was made, 
    nor justice served.
       "Holy Double Cross" is the story of the widow Mrs Catherine Musk who in 1947 left £47,000 
    in trust (worth millions now) so that suitable Bindoon boys would be helped to be set up on their
     own farms. (p 157)  None of the money went to the boys. The Church went to court to ask it to 
    allow the balance, $167,000 in 2006, to be used for scholarships for deserving students to attend 
    at Bindoon a commercial agricultural college – run by the Brothers.  Paying themselves again.  
    See Gary Adshead's report, The West Australian, January 24, 2006. (p 159)
       Senator Andrew Murray (retired June 30, 2008) tried to help justice.
       On page 174 the author writes "Mr Kucera had made a habit of falsifying witness statements.  
    Way back in 1972 … Mr Kucera … had a confession from Ripley.  The similarity between the 
    fabrications in the Mickelberg case … 
    Ripley unjustly got 5 years jail and Kucera a feather in his cap."




    Skilfully sledging the crooked scammers who continue to plunder the community chest, Terence McLernon extends his 
    knowledge as a former police officer and private investigator to unravel the corrupting structure of white collar crime.
    His unforgiving exposure of the iniquities of High Church sexual abuses continues unabated. 
       Indeed, the visit of the Pontiff to Australia for a World Youth Day provides a vehicle for his wry observation that 
    if he had been Police Commissioner, "? and some short Italian with a name starting with Rat, whose predecessors
     infamously used stand
     over tactics to make a huge fortune from tithing, landed his jumbo jet on my beat, then, surrounded by armed bodyguards, 
    alighted wearing a dress and little red booties -- claiming to be JC’s representative on Earth -- I would immediately have him
     arrested, drug-tested and his plane searched for missing orphans."
       Extract from Chapter 11: The prosecutor was a Mr Lloyd Rayney from the office of the DPP. Now where have we heard
     that name before? Mr Rayney is now probably best known, rightly or wrongly, as the only person of interest in the murder 
    of his wife, Corryn. Mr Rayney was so described by the Officer in Charge of the Police inquiry into the murder, one 
    Detective Sergeant Jack Lee. Strangely enough, as matters often are in Perth investigative circles, the said officer then 
    promptly took up a posting to a country Police Station to further his chances of promotion in the future. Good for him, 
    of course, but not so good for Mr Rayney who is still left with Jack Lee’s tag but as yet uncharged.



    One instantly thinks of that infamous Assistant Commissioner of Police, Caporn, who had control of the inquiries into 
    the Claremont serial killings only to tag and eventually name a public servant as the main suspect for over a decade only 
    to be wrong again. This act caused untold harm to the reputation of the public servant and wreaked havoc on his
     and his family’s life.
       Then again, Mr Caporn did go on to redeem himself by getting an unfortunate indigent, Mr Andrew Mallard,
     sent down for the murder of a shopkeeper for 12 years hard before the real murderer was outed by someone else. I
    t was whilst resting on his wonderful success in the Mallard conviction that Caporn led a decade long inquiry into 
    the murder of numerous young women in the suburb of Claremont, once again unsolved as investigations concentrated 
    on one suspect seemingly to the exclusion of others, as in Mallard, Button, Mickelberg, etcetera and so on. 



    [(E-mail of July 23, 09) 2009] 


    INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE NEWS FEED
    INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE NEWS FEED


    STRANGE AUSTRALIAN JUSTICE
    http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5228330,00.jpg&imgrefurl=http://stju.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html&usg=__e1z6GBhKBkuHGgCvhG1JFSgwl2c=&h=240&w=350&sz=15&hl=en&start=18&sig2=o3b5vlnfFlg5UMG3G2vsSg&tbnid=qo3GTGAaPogzUM:&tbnh=82&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq=peter%2Bmickleberg%26gbv=2%26hl%3Den%26sa=G&ei=xmvvSqCLMJ2TjAfFlcisDQ

    Shameful Mickleberg case in Australia: Justice still being sought

    The case of the forged fingerprint

    Two brothers jailed over the infamous 1982 Perth Mint swindle are suing a former government minister over their wrongful convictions. Ray, Peter and the late Brian Mickelberg were convicted in 1983 of defrauding the Perth Mint of $653,000 in gold bullion in exchange for worthless cheques.

    Ray, who served eight years of a 20-year jail sentence, and Peter, who spent six years behind bars for the scam, fought for years before a legal appeal was successful and their convictions were overturned in 2004. The success of their eighth appeal was largely due to a confession by corrupt detective Tony Lewandowski, who admitted that detectives, including lead detective Don Hancock, had fabricated evidence.

    After their conviction was overturned, the Mickelbergs launched a civil suit against the West Australian government and six police officers involved in their case for an estimated $11 million in compensation. News Ltd reported the Mickelberg brothers were now also suing former police assistant commissioner and Labor minister Bob Kucera over their wrongful conviction. The latest suit comes after the brothers reportedly bought for $5,000 a box of sensitive police documents that were found at Lewandowski's ex-girlfriend's home in Thailand.

    Mr Kucera, who was not one of the detectives involved in the case, has been accused of being part of the police conspiracy to support the Mickelbergs' wrongful conviction. Two of the detectives closely involved in the case have since died, Mr Hancock was killed in a bikie car bomb attack in September 2001, and Lewandowski committed suicide in May 2004. Brian Mickelberg had his conviction overturned after nine months jail. He died in a light plane crash in 1986

    Report here


    Background on the case:

    Raymond and Peter Mickleberg made four unsuccessful attempts to have their convictions overturned - three appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeal, at which Mr Lewandowski and Mr Hancock testified, and an appeal to the High Court. 

    Mr McGinty said Mr Lewandowski had admitted that he and Mr Hancock had fabricated confessions from the brothers, and had lied at the trial and the appeals. He had also admitted that Peter Mickelberg was stripped naked and beaten by interviewing officers during the investigation. 

    Mr Lewandowski had said he had not come forward earlier because he had not wanted to cross Mr Hancock, who died in a car bombing in what police believe was a payback killing by Gypsy Joker bikie gang members after the murder of a gang member in 2000. Mr McGinty said Mr Lewandowski's belated admission - if it were truthful - would strike at the heart of public confidence in the justice system. "This is one of the most high-profile police investigations we have seen in Western Australia, and if it was found that convictions were obtained by police fabricating evidence, the ramifications are enormous." Mr McGinty has referred Mr Lewandowski's affidavit to the royal commission into alleged police corruption, which is due to recommence hearings on July 1. 

    The robbery on June 22, 1982, was the most audacious ever staged in Perth - an ingenious swindle which saw 49 gold bars spirited out of the impregnable Mint to a mystery hiding place. Although the evidence against the Mickelbergs was compelling - in particular Ray Mickelberg's fingerprint on one of three fake cheques used to pay for the gold - the brothers insisted from the start that the police had framed them. They said the detectives, led by Don Hancock, had lied at their trial in the District Court, had fabricated confessions by all three, and had planted the damning fingerprint. 

    It would have been easy for the police to get hold of a mould of Ray's finger, they said. One of his hobbies was casting hands, in brass, plastic, rubber and perspex. There were about 20 of the hands in his Marmion Beach home when the police first arrived, and several were taken away for inspection. 

    In 1989, 55 kilograms of gold pellets, said to have been from the swindle, were found outside a Perth television station, accompanied by a note protesting the Mickelberg brothers' innocence and claiming that a prominent Perth businessman was behind the swindle.

    Report here

    Meet Australia's judge Go-Lightly


    A former teacher who had a relationship with a 14-year-old schoolgirl and then threatened her to stay silent has escaped jail after civil libertarian judge Ian Dearden [above] accepted the actions were at the "less serious end" of sexual offences. Attorney-General Linda Lavarch immediately set in train a possible appeal after Steven Peter Quick, 29, walked from Southport District Court, despite pleading guilty to indecently dealing with a child and taking an indecent image. 

    Judge Dearden said "blind Freddy" could have seen that the relationship, which included Quick filming the girl as he caressed and sucked her breasts, was "a complete no-go zone" and a jail term would normally be imposed. But Judge Dearden, a former Queensland Council of Civil Liberties president, accepted a defence submission that there were "exceptional circumstances" that warranted Quick being given a wholly suspended 18-month prison sentence and community correctional order. These included that the offences were at the "less serious end" of sexual offending, that Quick was "crippled psychologically" by his guilt and had been publicly shamed.

    Quick was a maths and science teacher in central Queensland in 2004 when he formed a "close friendship" with the girl. In the September 2004 school holidays, Quick drove the girl to a location near Bundaberg, where he filmed the girl as he sucked and caressed her breasts. When the Crime and Misconduct Commission launched an investigation, Quick rang the girl and told her to lie for him or he would "come back to hurt her". 

    Calling for at least three months of actual jail time, Crown prosecutor Bob Falconer said Quick had "flagrantly ignored" the trust placed in him. Defence solicitor Bill Potts said while the relationship was "very inappropriate", the schoolgirl had initiated much of the contact and she and Quick had planned to run away to "a happier place". 

    But Judge Dearden said he accepted a psychologist's report that Quick was "crippled psychologically" with remorse, had no pedophilia tendencies, was unlikely to re-offend and did not pose a danger to the community. Judge Dearden cited a Court of Appeal decision that set a precedent for suspended sentences for indecent dealing offences in "exceptional circumstances". He told Quick the suspended sentence "should not be seen in any way as a lessening of the punishment". A spokesman for Mrs Lavarch said she had asked the Director of Public Prosecutions for a report on a possible appeal against the decision.

    Report 
    here



    More on judge Dearden

    Yesterday was not the first time Judge Ian Dearden has given a controversial soft sentence. In February this year, Brisbane man Brett Ashley Connor appeared before Judge Dearden charged with with possessing 90 child porn images. The judge sentenced Connor to nine months' jail wholly suspended because of mitigating factors including Connor's co-operation with authorities and the lack of apparent distribution of the images.

    In March this year, brothers Shammi and Shamal Chand escaped jail in Dearden's court after pleading guilty to savagely bashing an invalid pensioner with a baseball bat. Handing both brothers wholly suspended jail sentences, Judge Dearden said he took into account their own misery following the death of their father, the difficulties Shammi Chand faced supporting his extended family and Shamal Chand's battle with drugs and mental illness.

    In August last year, Judge Dearden also said he would "take a punt" on serial fraudster Julia Antonia Villiers who faced court charged with defrauding a Brisbane beauty clinic. Despite previously serving time for stealing as a servant and breaching a subpoenaed sentence, Judge Dearden handed Villiers a 12-month intensive correctional order.

    Judge Dearden's appointment to the bench in February last year was criticised by Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg, who questioned how the former Queensland Council of Civil Liberties president could remain impartial.

    Report 
    here
    http://netk.net.au/australia/Mickelberg.asp

    Ray and Peter Mickleberg who both spent year in gaol for crimes they did not commit, who were stre up by corrupt polcie, a corrupt judge and corrupt prosecutors all in aid of protecting the real criminal who comitted these crimes with other Inspector Ron Hancock, who was in charge of the actual Perth Mint Swindle Investigation that the Micklebergs where charged for..Inspector Ron Hancock took the wrong people on in the end by shooting a member of a bikie gang in Kalgoorlie after as he accused himn of insulting his daughter at a pub he owned in Kalgoolie near his gold mine..which he used as a front to sell the gold he stole from the Perth Mint with a false $1 million Perth Building Society Cheque ...the bikie gang in response planted a bomb under Ron Hancocks car outside his home and he and his freind died in the explosion...
    We suppose that Ron Hancock must have lived and believed the old saying..
    "live by the sword and die by the sword.."
    Note: It was clear the Micklebergs had nothing to do with the death of Ron Hancock..


    The Mickleberg Stitch

    Mickelberg v The Queen [1989] HCA 35; (1989) 167 CLR 259

    This version of the judgment has been prepared by: Dr Robert N Moles and Bibi Sangha
    Underlining where it occurs is for editorial emphasis]

    External link to full text of Mickelberg v The Queen
    Australian legal cases homepage
    A state of Injustice - table of contents
    Losing Their Grip - The Case of Henry Keogh - table of contents

    Mickelberg 2004 West Australian Supreme Court - appeals allowed

    Mason CJ

    This case involves the convictions of Raymond and Peter Mickelberg [RM and PM; together “the Ms”]. I am in agreement with Toohey and Gaudron JJ. My comments relate to the submission that:
    this Court has power to receive fresh evidence in an appeal from a Court of Appeal [CA];
    to the effect of the concession made in this Court by counsel for the respondent that pins were placed in the WABS cheque when it was photographed in Canberra by Dr Hilton Kobus and not before;
    to Peter Mickelberg's contention, raised in this Court for the first time, that his convictions are unsafe and unsatisfactory;
    to the test to be applied by an intermediate appellate court when deciding to set aside a conviction on the ground of fresh evidence.

    The Ms sought to place before this Court additional evidence which was not before the CA. Over the years this Court has consistently maintained that it has no power to receive fresh evidence in the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction. They argued that the relevant decisions are wrong and should not be followed. Before turning to the argument, I should identify the nature of the additional evidence on which they sought to rely.

    The Ms sought to establish:
    That evidence given by police witnesses as to the date of the photographing of the fingerprint on the WABS cheque was wrong.
    That evidence given by police witnesses that the print had disappeared when the cheque was returned by Dr Kobus from Canberra was wrong.
    That the negatives tendered in evidence purporting to be the original negatives of photographs of the fingerprint taken by Dr Kobus in Canberra, are not the original negatives but are copies which must have been made by the police after the originals had been sent by Dr Kobus from Canberra. According to the Ms the originals are not in evidence.
    That, following his conviction, PM gave instructions to appeal against his conviction for conspiracy.
    That the chassis number said by the police to be that of a burned-out car in Wanneroo was not the chassis number of a 1965 Ford Falcon sold by Mr and Mrs Allen in May 1982. According to the Ms the significance of the new evidence is that it would throw a cloud of doubt over the inference to be drawn from the presence of RM's print on the WABS cheque. The evidence is intended to provide an explanation for PM's failure to appeal within time against his conviction for conspiracy. A subsequent application for an extension of time was refused. The evidence is intended to displace part of the evidence linking PM with the conspiracy, that is, his connection with the car allegedly used in the execution of the conspiracy.

    The Crown did not accept the additional evidence and sought the opportunity to test it by cross-examination and to adduce evidence in reply should the Ms argument prevail. S73 of the Constitution confers upon the High Court jurisdiction "to hear and determine appeals from all judgments, decrees, orders, and sentences" of the persons and bodies referred to. The Ms contended that this power should be widely construed, that it contains no fetter preventing the Court from considering fresh evidence and that prima facie, apart from policy considerations, the Court is empowered to receive fresh evidence for the general purpose of doing justice.

    The powers of the Court "are of the widest character which true appellate jurisdiction may possess":  Victorian Stevedoring and General Contracting Co Pty Ltd and Meakes v Dignan 1931, and that s.73 contains no express fetter preventing the Court from considering fresh evidence. But unless the reception of fresh evidence is truly a part of the Court's appellate jurisdiction, then the absence of such a fetter is irrelevant.

    The authorities in this Court stand clearly for the proposition that the reception of fresh evidence is not a part of the appellate jurisdiction of the Court. The Ms challenged the reasoning on which these authorities are based on the ground that the reasoning depended on old English authorities which have been overtaken by more recent decisions. They made the point that, at a time when an appeal lay from this Court to the Privy Council, the Court was influenced by the circumstance that the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords did not receive fresh evidence. As it is now clearly established that both the CAppeal and the House of Lords receive fresh evidence, there has been a material development which justifies reconsideration of the existing authorities.

    In Ronald v Harper 1910 this Court unanimously rejected the submission that it had jurisdiction to receive further evidence in support of an application for a new trial; it said the Court had no such jurisdiction, and referred to Flower v Lloyd 1877 UK, where the CA decided that it had no power to receive fresh evidence and that it would be a dangerous practice to allow it. Birch v Birch 1902 UK expressed the same opinion. However, the references were not central to the reasoning in the cases and made the point of policy that it would be undesirable for the Court to exercise such a power. The other members of the Court made no reference to the position of the CA and confined themselves to the jurisdiction of the High Court under the Constitution. Barton J was "strongly disposed" to think that there was no such jurisdiction. O'Connor J observed:    

    "It is abundantly clear from sec.73 of the Constitution that the High Court can review a judgment of a State Court only by way of appeal. Acting on that view the Commonwealth legislature, in equipping this Court for the discharge of its duty, has recognized its authority to act in respect of the judgments of State Courts exercising State jurisdiction in no other way than by appeal. To determine as a Court of first instance the facts upon which these new grounds of appeal rest would be obviously to exceed the jurisdiction vested in this Court by the Constitution."

    Griffith CJ said that it was clear that the primary judgment "would not be set aside unless there were, at least, a reasonable probability that the new evidence sought to be given would make a difference in the result". However, this was neither a statement of principle nor the formulation of a test for the receiving of fresh evidence, but merely an indication that the plaintiff had not been harmed by the Court's lack of jurisdiction.

    Since Ronald v Harper, this Court has consistently maintained that it lacks power to receive fresh evidence, whether due to Constitutional limitation or to the absence of express statutory authority: see Victorian Stevedoring; Davies and Cody v The King 1937; Grosglik v Grant (No. 2) 1947; Crouch v Hudson 1970.

    Underlying this uninterrupted stream of authority are 2 propositions.
    1 An appellate court, in hearing an appeal, is called upon to redress error on the part of the court below. In deciding whether there was error, the appellate court looks to the materials which were before the court below. It is otherwise if, according to the statute governing the jurisdiction of the appellate court, the appeal is by way of rehearing. Then the court of appeal is not restricted to the materials on which the court below gave its decision and may receive additional evidence, including evidence as to matters which have taken place subsequent to that decision: Victorian Stevedoring contrasted the appellate functions of the Privy Council and the CA UK. The PC's prerogative jurisdiction was to decide whether the judgment complained of was right when given on the materials before the court below:  Ponnamma v Arumogam1905; Donegani v Donegani 1835; but cf Judicial Committee Act 1833.

    The appeal to the CA UK, on the other hand, was by way of rehearing: Victorian Stevedoring, and enabled it to receive further evidence when hearing an appeal. Thus, the Court was entitled and ought to hear the case as at the time of rehearing: Attorney-General v BirminghamTame, and Rea District Drainage Board 1912. But the jurisdiction of the CA differed from that of a court hearing an appeal in the strict and proper sense of the term. The Court of Appeal's discretion to receive further evidence has been much discussed in England:Curwen v James 1963; Murphy v Stone-Wallwork (Charlton) Ltd 1969; Mulholland v Mitchell 1971; McCann v Sheppard 1973. But that discussion throws no light on the answer to the question presently under consideration. It seems that the House of Lords has power to receive further evidence in civil appeals. Just what is the source of the power is not altogether clear. Murphy v Stone-Wallwork: "Your Lordships' House has no similar rules of procedure governing your Lordships, but I have no doubt that your Lordships have ample power to admit further evidence ..."

    The Directions as to Procedure applicable to Civil Appeals to the House of Lords provides for the making of an application for leave to introduce fresh evidence. The Rule appears to assume the existence of an authority to receive such evidence but the authority is not identified.Barder v Caluori 1988: "In appeals from the High Court to the CA, and from the CA to your Lordships' House, there is a discretion to admit evidence relating to supervening events where refusal to admit it would plainly cause serious injustice." The reference was to a supervening event which invalidates an assumption or estimate made at the time of the hearing of a matter. The calculation of damages may be based upon an assumption which is invalidated or falsified by subsequent events. That is a special situation because the court below has made an assumption or estimate as to a specific matter which has later been proved to have been erroneous.

    The principle that justice requires cases to be decided as far as practicable upon the basis of facts, rather than assumptions or estimates in relation to those facts and subsequently found to be incorrect, may require such cases to be treated differently. The House of Lords' power to receive further evidence, is not, in my view, a reliable guide to the jurisdiction of this Court under s73 of the Constitution. The power of the English courts to set aside orders or to order new trials on the basis of further evidence was significantly affected by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (UK) which vested in the CA the jurisdiction to order a rehearing; Re Barrell Enterprises 1972. The developments in the law in this respect in England are therefore not of direct relevance to the interpretation of s.73 of the Constitution which governs the appellate jurisdiction of this Court.

    The second basic proposition underlying the stream of authority already mentioned is that s.73, in conferring appellate jurisdiction on this Court, contains nothing to suggest that the Court is "to go beyond the jurisdiction or capacity of the Court appealed from": Victorian Stevedoring,. Indeed, by differentiating between original and appellate jurisdiction and by making different provisions for their exercise, the Constitution reinforces the notion that, when it refers to the appellate jurisdiction, it is speaking of appeals in their true or proper sense.

    Isaacs J (dissenting) in Werribee Council v Kerr 1928 stated that no appeal from a State court exercising federal jurisdiction could be a rehearing because it would involve this Court exercising original jurisdiction as State judicial power. Whether this could be done under ss75 and 76 and 51(xxxix) of the Constitution is not a matter that needs to be discussed. Victorian Stevedoring referred to The Commonwealth v Brisbane Milling Co Ltd 1916 which inclined to the view that it was not possible to confer the additional power on the Court by way of a grant of original jurisdiction. There are two statements which may appear to be inconsistent with the course of authority in this Court. The first is Scott Fell v Lloyd 1911: "If necessary in the interests of justice the Court could send the case back to the Supreme Court for the purpose of obtaining further evidence." There may well be cases where this course may properly be followed: Pantorno v The Queen 1989. But it must be read subject to the cases which follow it and especially Ronald v Harper.There is no foundation in M's submission that the decisions of this Court are based upon misconceptions about the powers of the English Court of Appeal or that the jurisdiction of that Court is a reliable guide to the appellate jurisdiction of this Court under s73.

    It remains for me to consider the argument that the grant of appellate  jurisdiction necessarily gives the appellate court power to do complete justice between the parties and that such a power entails the power to receive further evidence.

    There is force in the argument that, in the light of contemporary notions of justice, a grant of appellate jurisdiction to a court should be understood as empowering the court, in its discretion, to receive further evidence with a view to determining whether the decision of the court below was erroneous and, if so, what order should be made in its place. On the other hand, the authorities make it clear that in 1900 a mere grant of appellate jurisdiction would not be understood as carrying with it a power to receive further evidence. Moreover, the division between the original and appellate jurisdiction of the Court makes it all the more difficult to sustain this aspect of the argument. As noted inVictorian Stevedoring, to do complete justice between the parties litigant by making an order which the court below had not jurisdiction or power to make "smacks rather of original jurisdiction". However, it may be that the existence of a discretion to receive evidence of supervening facts on matters which were the subject of assumption or  estimation in the courts below: Barder v Caluori; is properly part of appellate jurisdiction. It may be that appeals in Constitutional cases stand in a different position; the Court possesses an original jurisdiction in Constitutional matters. For the purposes of disposing of the present case, it is not necessary to decide these questions. Accordingly, I reserve my opinion on them.

    My conclusion is that the Court has no power to receive the further evidence which the applicants seek to adduce . That conclusion should not be understood as denying the capacity of Parliament to confer on the Court power to receive fresh evidence in appeals, at least in those appeals which involve the exercise of federal jurisdiction.

    Closely related to the further evidence which Ms sought to introduce was the use which they attempted to make of a concession made by the Crown that pins had not been placed in the WABS cheque before it was sent to Canberra on 16 July and that pins were placed in the cheque when it was photographed in Canberra by Dr Kobus. Both elements of the concession are relevant to the question: when was the photograph of the cheque which was admitted into evidence at the trial taken? The Crown submitted that the concession itself amounted to fresh evidence.

    True it is that the presence of the pin marks in the cheque was not observed at the trial and that it could have been noticed then. To the extent that the evidence relates to the actual presence of pin marks in the cheque, the evidence is not fresh. But the facts which are the subject of the concession are facts which were not proved or admitted at the trial or in the Court of Criminal Appeal. No doubt material which explains or records what happened in the courts below, including the trial court may be introduced in an appeal in this Court. But the concession is not material which falls into this category. Although the concession seeks to explain something that was put in evidence at the trial, it asserts new facts relevant to the issues which arose for determination at the trial. The concession amounts to further evidence. The fact that it is undisputed evidence does not suffice to give this Court jurisdiction to consider its effect.

    I agree with the conclusion of Toohey and Gaudron JJ that the CA failed to determine the whole case referred to it and that the question whether PM's convictions are unsafe and unsatisfactory is fairly arguable. I agree also that special leave to appeal should be granted to PM to enable the Court of Criminal Appeal to consider, by reference to the whole of the evidence, excluding of course the further evidence sought to be adduced in this Court, whether his conviction for conspiracy is inconsistent with the acquittal of BM and whether his convictions are unsafe and unsatisfactory, notwithstanding that the convictions were not challenged in the CA on these grounds. Although the failure to argue the points in that Court would in other circumstances be a strong reason for refusing special leave to appeal, the fact that the Executive Government referred the whole case to the CA for determination under s21 of the Criminal Code (WA) is a decisive countervailing factor.The reference indicates the existence of public concern about the propriety of the convictions. That concern will not be satisfied unless there is a judicial decision resolving the contention that the convictions are unsafe and unsatisfactory, when that contention is fairly arguable. Largely related to that question is the argument that PM's conviction for conspiracy cannot stand alongside BM's acquittal.

    Whether or not the reluctance of this Court to grant special leave to appeal on the basis of argument presented for the first time in a case before this Court is founded upon the nature of its appellate jurisdiction or, as I am inclined to think, the exercise of discretion is a question which was not argued before us. But it would be surprising if there was a want of jurisdiction when the Court has made many statements dealing with the way in which a discretion may be exercised to allow a point not argued in the courts below to be raised within this Court for the first time. It is clear that only in exceptional  circumstances is special leave to appeal granted when the point relied upon was not taken at trial or in a Court of Criminal AppealMillard v The King 1906; Giannarelli v The Queen 1983. Equally, a point cannot be raised for the first time on appeal when it could possibly have been met by calling evidence below: Coulton v Holcombe 1986; Water Board v Moustakas1988; Pantorno v The Queen. However, that is not the case in relation to the points which PM now seeks to raise. They are points of law based necessarily upon the facts as proved in evidence in the courts below, and as such may be entertained in this Court in the interests of justice: O'Brien v Komesaroff 1982; Pantorno v The Queen.

    It is unnecessary to decide the question in order to grant special leave to Peter Mickelberg. The points relied upon in this Court for the first time fell within the scope of the reference to the CA and should have been pronounced upon by that Court as part of its consideration of the whole case. This Court therefore possesses jurisdiction to consider the matter on appeal for the same reasons as I have already given in favour of the grant of special leave.

    The final matter concerns the appropriate test to be applied by an appellate court in deciding whether to set aside a conviction on the ground of fresh evidence. It is established that the proper question is whether the court considers that there is a significant possibility that the jury, acting reasonably, would have acquitted the appellant had the fresh evidence been before it at the trial. This test was endorsed in Gallagher v The Queen 1986: "no form of words should be regarded as an incantation that will resolve the difficulties of every case"; the court would need to conclude that "a jury might entertain a reasonable doubt about the guilt of the appellant"; the use of the expression "significant possibility" did not involve a different standard. I am in agreement with those statements. We were not asked to reconsider the correctness of the decision in Gallagher. I would grant the application by PM for special leave to appeal and allow the appeal to the extent necessary to allow consideration whether his conviction for conspiracy is consistent with the acquittal of BM and whether his convictions, or any of them, are unsafe or unsatisfactory. I would refuse the application by RM for leave to appeal.

    Brennan J

    Toohey and Gaudron JJ have canvassed the grounds of appeal which were argued in this case. I agree with the conclusions which they have arrived at. This Court has uniformly refused to receive fresh evidence in the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases. The principle was stated in Davies and Cody v The King 1937: "The only power of the court as a court of appeal is to consider and determine whether the judgment of the court appealed from was right upon the materials before that court ... In this case the court is invited to consider fresh evidence. The court has no power to consider that evidence."

    The cases in this Court have spoken uniformly on this subject. I am unable to agree with Toohey and Gaudron JJ that, although this Court generally has no power to consider fresh evidence, the concession made in this Court by counsel for the Crown as to the photograph of the print on the cheque can be regarded in deciding whether the decision by the CA was correct. The jurisdiction of this Court is to pronounce the judgment which the CA should have pronounced: Craig v The King 1933; Pantorno v The Queen 1989 and therefore this Court is required to determine "whether the judgment of the court appealed from was right upon the materials before that court". That function cannot properly be performed by reference to materials that were not before the court appealed from. This Court is not a court of criminal appeal and it is not fitted to receive, test and evaluate evidence which has not been considered in the court appealed from. In an appeal which challenges the evaluation by the CA of the sufficiency of evidence to support a conviction or the cogency of fresh evidence not produced at the trial, this Court cannot have regard to facts which were not before the CA. The notion that the correctness of the decision of the court appealed from can be determined by reference to materials not before that court is inconsistent with the appellate nature of the jurisdiction exercised by this Court.

    Their Honours leave open the question whether there is any practical difference between the formulations of the test for determining whether fresh evidence is such as to warrant the quashing of a conviction. The formulation which, in my respectful opinion, was settled by this Court inRatten v The Queen 1974; and in Lawless v The Queen 1979, is whether the jury, if the fresh evidence had been laid before it together with the evidence given at the trial, would have been likely to have entertained a reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused. That was the formulation to which I adhered in Gallagher. The test has sometimes been expressed not in terms of "likely" but in terms of "might" Stafford v DPP 1974 UK; Gallagher; or in terms of "significant possibility"; Gallagher. Although I agree with Toohey and Gaudron JJ. that it is not necessary to elaborate in this case upon the differing nuances of these formulae or to decide between them, my preference for the "likely" formula remains.

    That said, I come to the same conclusions as their Honours - indeed, I come to the conclusion in the case of RM more readily. In the case of PM, it is apparent that the evidence against him has not been subjected to the critical examination necessary to determine whether his convictions are supportable. I agree that the reference of PM's case to the CA required that examination to be made and that the matter should be remitted to that Court accordingly. That Court has authority to consider fresh evidence. In so saying, I do not imply any departure from the distinction to which I referred in Chamberlain v The Queen (No.2) 1984; between a case where the CA is satisfied that, on the evidence before the jury, it would be unsafe, unjust or dangerous to allow a verdict of guilty to stand and a case (such as Ratten) where the CA is satisfied that, had fresh evidence been available and produced at the trial, a different verdict would have been likely.

    I would refuse RM leave to appeal. I would grant special leave to appeal to PM and allow his appeal, setting aside the order made by the CA in his case and remitting his case to the CA for determination in accordance with the judgments of this Court.

     





    RON HANCOCK ?

    The last of the Hard Men

    I understand that is the way the former Chief of the CIB, Donald Hancock loved to refer to himself, using the monicker, Hard Man. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. This bloke was best referred to as a businessman licensed to carry arms. His main claim to fame was the fact he had the Mickelberg brothers convicted of the Mint Swindle. History has now seen them exonerated and paid compensation. Instead of taking the way of the hard men, Hancock and his cohorts took the short easy way. There was not enough evidence for a conviction, so take the law into your own hands and manufacture some!
    I understand that is the way the former Chief of the CIB, Donald Hancock loved to refer to himself, using the monicker, Hard Man. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. This bloke was best referred to as a businessman licensed to carry arms. His main claim to fame was the fact he had the Mickelberg brothers convicted of the Mint Swindle. History has now seen them exonerated and paid compensation. Instead of taking the way of the hard men, Hancock and his cohorts took the short easy way. There was not enough evidence for a conviction, so take the law into your own hands and manufacture some!

    Verbals were the order of the day and plenty of Hancock’s followers were ready and willing to oblige. Just fill in the empty gaps with snippets of half evidence that the court accepts on the bent copper’s word that it is a confession. Throw in a couple of random beltings, reports of perpetrators breaking out in tears of remorse and “Wham Bam, thank you Ma’am”, a successful collar goes down, Guilty.

    Hancock went to his grave as the only murder suspect over the shooting of a man in the back from ambush at night in the dark from a distance, all allegedly over a few words to a barmaid. The barmaid was Hancock’s daughter working in the family pub. There was a farcical inquiry led by his old drinking buddies and as they went round and round the garden like pet ducks all the evidence disappeared and Hancock walked away, free.

    There were two competing sets of rules for this high ranking and highly rank cop, one for him and his feckless lot and another for the rest of the community. Cop it sweet.

    Infamously Hancock was once recorded by Ray and Peter Mickelberg on a covert tape that is illuminating of his techniques, bullying and scornful disregard for lawful conduct. It was played to the High Court of Australia.

    His words, to coin a phrase, speak for themselves …

    Hancock: I don’t know what you expect.

    Ray: To live by certain rules.

    Hancock: Well, are there rules?

    Ray: You tell me there are.

    Hancock: No. There might be guidelines but no rules. I could have gone harder.

    Ray: Do you think it would have been wise?

    Hancock: Pride comes into it. Don’t ever challenge me to do something because I’ll fucking well do it all right. You can rest assured about that.

    Ray: You’re mean, Don.

    Hancock: I’m not a mean person, but I’ll tell you what, I’ve done things in my life that you never did, and harder things, worse things, and if I’ve got to do them again, well, I’ll do them.

    Ray: In the line of duty?

    Hancock: That’s it, yes. What I believe is my line of duty – to get the job done.

    It was a pretty bizarre statement that Hancock considered himself to be a harder and tougher man than Ray Mickelberg who had served as a frontline SAS commando in action in Vietnam.

    The term Hard Men should be reserved for men named in the following true story of bravery. Hancock surrounded himself with men like Lewandowski and Colin Circles Pace, hardly inspirationally brave men themselves, either. Pace was allowed to resign from the force labelled as crooked as a dog’s hind leg and corrupt to the core. ‘Weak Men’ is more apt a title befitting these Bent Cops. I do not pretend to talk for the Good Lord but it would appear he frowns on the corrupt members of the Police force. Lets face it, Hancock died a horrible death by bombing, Lewandowski hung himself, and the Pace ending is yet to unfold.

    Maybe their victims are the hard men, some spent 12 years or more in jail and summoned the strength to stay alive in horrible conditions of degradation and pain. Others lost families, fortunes and futures due to these alleged Hard Men taking short cuts rather than doing their jobs properly. They are given enormous powers in the cause of good but that is not enough and they exaggerate themselves as some kind of saviours; vigilantes in the cause of themselves!

    These very men rarely feel the true sting of justice. The general community waits patiently but hopelessly for the administration of an all embracing and equal application of Justice.

    The likes of McGinty and Cock and the judiciary fail to punish the well known perpetrators of official evil. The judges only see what is put before them.

    To finish this series of three books I wish to detail a story showing not all cops are bad, only a very few, hence the following story of bravery, loyalty and honesty. Even the gunman could be said to be brave and honest ‘to his own choice of lifestyle’. Problem was, he kept coming back on most weekends for a couple more potshots at the local coppers. There could only be one ending.

    It is a true story of Hard Men.

    There was this tough local guy who had done some heavy time in Victoria’s infamous Pentridge Prison. Coming back to the West after his extensive jail training he was imbued with an abiding hatred of ‘coppers’. He blamed them for his bad luck, although he was not much of a thief. He was much better as a stand over man using his guns to intimidate victims. Donald Harley Stewart started his violent life of crime as a car thief, moving to Melbourne in his teens, using a stolen car. He was stopped in South Australia and a rifle was found in the car. His two year stint in a reformatory was cut short when he escaped and continued to Victoria, always using stolen cars. Eventually the Victorian police caught up with him and instead of sending him back to South Australia to complete his time there, they had a bundle of their own charges and he went down for six months. Almost immediately after release he went back inside again on car theft charges. Throughout this period his family supported him and encouraged him to go straight which, for a time he did.

    But within two years he was back to his car thieving. He had ‘acquired’ a car which he hid in the bush. Police were staking it out, waiting for the thief to return. Alert as a prowling animal, he sensed the presence of the police, but this time he was armed with a pistol. Not knowing this, the police called to him to stop when he was only a short distance from the car. Stewart took to his heels with the police in pursuit. He turned and fired about six shots at the detectives, one of whom answered with a similar barrage. Stewart was unharmed but Detective Lloyd Taylor was hit in the leg.

    Just 20 years of age, Stewart was now being pursued by armed squads of police who were now fully appraised of his venomous intent to harm them.

    A short time later he was surprised in a house which he was in the process of burglarizing. The occupant took off after Stewart but gave up the chase when a bullet whizzed past him. A high speed car chase around the inner Perth suburbs ended when he crashed off the side of the road. Running to a house, the woman inside was quick enough to lock her door and keep Stewart out. Police surrounded him and called for him to surrender. Even then Stewart went for his gun until he was knocked down with a bullet in the back.

    Astonishingly, he was scarcely hurt because of the faulty charge in the police bullet.

    With the multiplicity of charges against him, the sentence of ten years did not seem excessive to the police and public. The sentencing Judge told the gunman, “It seems that you will let nothing stand in the way of your criminal intentions and you will use a firearm whenever it suits your purposes.”

    At this point, Stewart’s father abandoned him and told a Perth newspaper that he no longer had a son. He attributed his wife’s early death to her son’s criminal conduct and disowned Stewart.

    With remissions for good conduct, Stewart was freed after six years. He began legitimate work and was probably the victim of genuine bad luck. There was an allegation of theft at his work, seemingly not to involve him, detectives thought. However, he was sacked shortly after. It was the fulcrum point of his life after which he embraced entirely a life of violent crime and passionate hatred of all police. He was set for revenge. He connected with a career criminal from Sydney who was soon arrested and turned on Stewart to reduce his time in jail. The police were now equally as focused on Stewart as he was on them. A showdown was inevitable.

    After serving a four month sentence for which he had been shopped by his Sydney ‘mate’, Perth detectives were distinctly uneasy because Stewart had continuously voiced his hatred to prisoners who passed the information to the screws. He specifically targeted three police in his vicious rantings: Detective Sergeants Parker, Leitch and McLernon.

    Stewart collected weapons as others collect old chairs or stamps. He lived by the gun and made preparations to die by the gun. Hiding out in the Perth hills he found an isolated farm and proceeded to dig a caravan into the ground hidden by trees and shrub. Into his hidey hole he stored an arsenal of explosives, weapons and ammunition. Perhaps he was preparing for the Red Chinese invasion. And as is the want of country boys, he took to going to town of a weekend but with one major difference. He went armed and angry, looking for bear. In his twisted view of life, the police were his target, fair game, although at that time the general copper went around his beat unarmed.

    On one occasion Stewart telephoned Detective Sergeant Owen Leitch, later to become Commissioner, to warn him that he was on the prowl and armed for a fight. “Just wait,” he prophesied. A local newspaper published a somewhat edited version of the conversation where Stewart asks Detective Leitch, “I heard you were looking for me.”

    “Nah, Don,” replied Leitch. “We were just wondering where you were and what you were doing.”

    But the police indeed had serious cause for concern. They suspected that Stewart had stolen two cases of gelignite from a quarry near Perth and their apprehension grew as several cars were blown up. They were Ford Zephyr vehicles, the same as detectives drove. Stewart was sending his message of intended violence. There was a wave of car thefts and burglaries which the police attributed to Stewart. Of more concern was the theft of a radio from a taxi that was capable of tuning into the police broadcast band. Stewart could monitor the efforts to track him down.

    Then in March 1959 a beat copper in the inner north of Perth near the Museum observed a car which he soon confirmed as a stolen vehicle. The keys had been left in the ignition so the smart young constable took the keys and hurried off to Central where he reported his find to the desk sergeant. Another young constable, A.H. Howell, was sent back to the scene to keep an eye out. Stewart returned and was immediately suspicious that the keys were gone. He had his hotwiring gear and was in the process of stealing the car he had already stolen when Constable Howell arrived. Stewart took off on foot with Howell in pursuit. Stewart then stopped and turned, yelling out, “Stop, or I’ll let you have it!”

    Howell kept going and Stewart fired two shots at the game unarmed young cop who was unharmed, luckily. The gunman disappeared into the dark streets of Northbridge. However, he left behind a daunting treasure trove of his serious intention to create harm and havoc in Perth. In his abandoned vehicle there was a rifle, the stolen police style radio and a stick of gelignite.

    Five days later Detective Sergeants John McLernon and Harry Cann saw Stewart in another stolen vehicle in an inner city street. Stewart was now in full aggression mode and had made telephoned threats against the children of Owen Leitch, John McLernon and other detectives. The detectives followed the gunman to a house in Murray Street, Perth, where he jumped from his car.

    McLernon was my father and he had a pretty tough background himself. He had enlisted at the age of 20 and served four years as a sapper in the Second World War in the Australian 2/4th Field Squadron. He and his mates saw much deadly action in the New Guinea and Borneo campaigns. Many times he operated behind enemy lines. On occasion the Americans would co-opt him and for a period he was seconded to the brutal island hopping campaign in service with the US 7th fleet chasing Japanese out of the Pacific. He was decorated for valour. This was the man, one of the true Hard Men, that Stewart ill-advisedly started firing upon.

    Cann and McLernon challenged Stewart, giving him a chance to throw down his arms. He opted for the hard way. He drew a pistol. As he drew down on McLernon, Cann fired and hit the gunman’s holster. McLernon then opened fire with a shotgun and wounded the tough. As the two officers closed with Stewart, he reached down and pulled a second pistol from an ankle holster and took a shot at McLernon. Undeterred, McLernon snapped down on Stewart with his 12 gauge shotgun sending the gunman to his destiny and epitaph.

    An iconic photograph was published in the Perth Daily News of John McLernon with his shotgun cracked open and across his shoulders as he laconically made his way from the battleground. His hat was tilted back on his head and a cigarette dangled from a face showing exhaustion and tension. A hard man with a hard job and with equally hard men to back him in the job.

    As police backtracked Stewart’s movements they located his secret base in the rough bushland of Perth’s hills at Serpentine on the South Eastern outskirts. A luxury Jaguar car was hidden in the trees under a tarpaulin and a caravan at the site was covered with camouflage material and branches. Suitcases of stolen goods and money was uncovered as well as an underground armoury which had been booby-trapped. Cake tins had been loaded up with explosives. There were trip wires and traps all around and a large cache of explosives.

    Yet here were the coppers of the day, hats on as always, hanging around with curiosity and disdain for their personal safety as they looked over the shoulders of the bomb squad, still smoking the inevitable cigarette. They had no fear.

    John McLernon fought against totally dedicated and skilled Japanese soldiers intent on killing him head on with anything to hand, bayonet, bomb or bullet. He was cited for valour.

    Stewart knew what he was up against and went out to a certain doom, armed and up front.

    Hancock, on the other hand, was sly and weak, allegedly shooting an unarmed man in the back at night at a bush campfire, using a sniper’s rifle. He and his ilk are the scourge of honour, yet he was given the hero’s funeral by his fawning colleagues under the false flag of being the Last of the Hard Men.

    No, it was the John McLernon’s, the Harry Cann’s and the Frank Scott’s who were the tough, dauntless hard men who kept the peace and the law in the manner of Men of Honour. We seem to have forgotten them and the many men and women in the Police Force today who do their job with honesty and ethics, for they still exist.


    “THE LAST OF THE HARD MEN!”
    The Fifth Estate I
     

    The Fifth Estate-The Sequel-If the Hat Fits, Wear It, 


    The Fifth Estate Book III -Every Bit of the circle is Bent by TerranceJ McLernon

    “THE LAST OF THE HARD MEN!”

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    Chapter 2   

     Mad As A Cut Snake


    FRANK SCOTT IS UNDENIABLY a brave man. Anyone who stands up and speaks out against corruption in our community knowing that he will become a target both literally and physically qualifies as a hero in my view. Such a man is Frank Scott, who emerged in the mid nineties as a whistleblower who had had a gutful of bent coppers during his stint in the CIB. As with earlier honest jacks who had raised the flag for honesty, he was berated, impugned, marginalized, threatened and forced from the job. As with Frank “Spike” Daniels who had blown the whistle a decade earlier, they were forced into early retirement by the oft used subterfuge of fake psychiatric reports which, naturally, led to the trumpeted conclusion by their bent colleagues to ingenuous reporters: “Bloody mad as a cut snake!”

    But neither of the two brave Franks were mad. They were bold and they were honest and they paid the price of undercutting the Fifth Estate and its necessary support staff in the ranks of the WA Police Force. Years of harassment of Frank Scott have made him a stronger man although there were periods of dark and desperate despair. But Frank Scott fought on, eventually documenting his earlier days at the coal face which is related later here in this book. At this moment time has advanced to the infamous Mickelberg reversals when bent cop and belated whistleblower, Tony Lewanadowski, finally admitted on oath that he and other cops had lied and fabricated evidence to convict the Mickelberg brothers over the Great Mint Swindle. On 12 June 2002, in reaction to the affidavit of Lewandowski which had been dropped into the public mire by Attorney General Jim McGinty a few days earlier, Frank spoke to Luke Morfesse of the West Australian newspaper. It was quite astonishing really, having an ex-cop verify the basic essentials of policing in Western Australia. The investigative skills, according to Frank Scott, included bashing, fabrication and intensive research in the saloon bar of the Great Western Hotel. Frank told Morfesse that as a detective sergeant in the much vaunted CIB, he was routinely involved in bashing suspects. Keep in mind, in this Fair State a bashing is what is described in other “civilized” communities as “torture”.

    Frank Scott told the newspaper that during his ten-year-stint he was taught the art and craft of bashing and fabrication by his ‘superiors’.

    “I was taught that way and so I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Everybody did it,” he said. “I didn’t see it as being corrupt because there was no financial benefit, you were simply doing your job, which was to catch crooks. “Half the time, because of the restrictions on admissibility of evidence, a jury didn’t know what police knew. But if the jury was able to get the same information as police had then they would have come to the same conclusion.” The one-time police whistleblower is comfortable with his claims, because what he calls an investigative tool never involved verballing or giving a hiding to anyone who he believed was innocent. “It didn’t happen on a regular basis and it would never have happened, say, in the fraud squad with a white collar crook,” he said. “It really only happened with hardened crims because it was the only language they understood. That was how the game was played.” Back when the CIB was based at police headquarters in Adelaide Terrace, the game also involved spiriting away suspects to suburban CIB offices such as Belmont.

    “It was not uncommon to take someone to a suburban CIB to do the interview where you could give them a hiding without everyone around the place hearing the interview,” Mr Scott said. He claims that in the 1980s it was not uncommon for the verballed confessions of suspects obtained by some of his former CIB colleagues to be used as evidence in trials, as was the case with the Mickelbergs. “Some of those blokes could solve any crime in Perth almost without leaving the saloon bar of the Great Western Hotel,” he said. “They obviously knew the person did it but they were just too lazy to do the ground work to provide proper evidence to get a conviction. Some of those blokes could solve any crime in Perth almost without their beer getting warm.” Seems like a job made in heaven.

    In the following year when the Royal Commission into police corruption was wandering around with the fairies, Frank had written to the Chief Investigator, Mario Da Re, offering his specialised knowledge to assist the inquiry. “Some time ago now, I told you that I had prepared an affidavit which was going to be tabled in Parliament. This affidavit relates to a series of allegations made by Michael Murphy. One of his allegations was that the DPP improperly failed to prosecute Murphy’s business associates in stealing $30 Million worth of gold from his gold tenement. “He also alleged that Roger Bryer and a person called Waller were somehow involved with the mint swindle and his views on this matter were tabled in Parliament by John Fischer in an affidavit. My affidavit supports the fact that Roger Bryer was allegedly involved in laundering gold bullion. It was not tabled in Parliament and may be of some use to you as intelligence. I have attached the contents for your information.” His affidavit was a bit of a mind blower, coming in on top of the Lewandowski revelations.

    I am a former Police Officer who served in the Western Australian Police Service for a period of twenty two years including ten years in the Criminal Investigation Branch and five years in the Liquor and Gaming Brach. I was involuntarily discharged from the Western Australian Police Service on 20 April 1993, after I had provided the Officer in Charge of the Police Internal Affairs Unit, Superintendent Ayton, with information regarding the conduct of several high ranking officers which I considered to be corrupt. One of the Officers I refer to in the above paragraph was the Officer in Charge of the Criminal Investigation Branch, Detective Chief Superintendent Donald Hancock. A comprehensive submission of my allegations of corruption by some senior police officers has been forwarded to the Royal Commission investigating Police corruption. During the early part of my Police service in the Criminal Investigation Branch, I was acquainted with a person known to me as Roger Bryer of the El Trovadore. At that time it was Police Departmental Policy to prohibit junior police officers from frequenting the Il Trovadore Club and other illegal gaming houses in the Northbridge area.

    In 1979, my acquaintance with Mr Bryer was rekindled during the Miss Universe Pageant where I was a member of the police security team and Mr Bryer was a sponsor of one of the contestants. I had further and regular contact with Mr Bryer when I was transferred to the C.I.B. Dealers Squad and Mr Bryer was the proprietor of a gold bullion and second hand jewellery store called the Great West Gold Exchange situated then on the corner of Hay and William Street, Perth. I became a regular visitor to the premises during my term as a detective in the Dealers Squad and became friendly with Mr Bryer. I was transferred from the Dealers Squad to the Drug Squad in 1980.

    On 2 December 1984, I was transferred to the Central Police Station in uniform branch and during routine patrols, I noticed that the Great West Gold exchange had moved its business premises to William Street, near the intersection of Brisbane Street, Northbridge. I again renewed my acquaintance with Mr Bryer in early 1995 and visited him occasionally during my patrols. During one such visit, I informed Mr Bryer that I was soon to commence my annual leave. Mr Bryer asked me if I could supervise his premises while he went on a business trip to Queensland where he was negotiating a business deal with a publicly listed company called Ariadne Limited. I took the opportunity to do so. On one day during the week whilst I was supervising the premises, a staff member drew my attention to a male person attending the business premises with a significant quantity of gold to sell. The staff member informed me that this same person had frequented the premises on about six previous occasions and had sold similar amounts of gold.

    On each occasion this gold was in excess of 99% pure and she suspected it to be gold bullion melted down. The male person informed the staff member that he would return within a fortnight with two kilograms of gold of the same quality. I was told this person gave the name of Tony Carbone who I subsequently learned was an associate of John Asciak, Geoffrey Barlow and Brian Chambers, all of them being known drug traffickers. After Carbone left the premises, I examined the gold he had sold to the Great West Gold Exchange, and the register recording the past sales of gold so that I could note the previous times Carbone had sold gold bullion to the Great West Gold Exchange. I wrote down the times, dates, quantity of gold, the amount paid in exchange for the gold and also the assay results and amount paid by the Perth Mint to the Great West Gold Exchange. At the time when I took these notes, I asked the staff member to keep my inquiry confidential from Mr Bryer as I intended to have a covert investigation carried out to ascertain the origin of the gold. I strongly suspected that this gold might have been stolen from the Perth Mint some years previously.

    I then contacted Detective Inspector William Round who was a personal friend of mine and was also the second in charge of the Task Force investigating the Perth Mint swindle. I advised Detective Inspector Round what had occurred and requested that he place Carbone under Police surveillance so that evidence could be gleaned regarding the suspected gold and the antecedent details obtained of Carbone’s movements. On the following day, I was contacted by Sergeant Peter Grant who called me from Kalgoorlie and advised me that he had just been transferred to the Gold Stealing Staff and that Detective Chief Superintendent Don Hancock had authorised him to return to Perth to conduct an investigation into the information I had supplied to Detective Inspector Round. I was extremely surprised that Hancock knew about this investigation as I had expected Round to only advise the surveillance team.

    A day of so later Grant attended at my private residence and I reiterated to him the importance of confidentiality as I was investigating a client of the Great Western Gold Exchange without the proprietor’s knowledge and I needed to protect my informant. I informed Sergeant Grant that I had made arrangements with the staff member to contact me and advise me when Carbone was to return to the Great Western Gold Exchange, to sell the two kilos of gold. Some two weeks later the staff member called me at home to advise that Carbone had been in touch and stated that he would be in the following morning with the gold. I immediately contacted Sergeant Grant and asked him to alert the Police Surveillance Squad in readiness for their job.

    The following morning I received a telephone call from the staff member who was very agitated. When I inquired what the problem was, she told me that Mr Bryer had said he had noticed two male persons loitering and acting very suspiciously near the premises and suspected that they were preparing to rob the Great Western Gold Exchange. She then advised him that the two ‘suspects’ might in fact be police officers conducting an investigation on my behalf. Shortly later when Carbone arrived at the premises these two persons entered the shop and identified themselves as detectives and apprehended Carbone. I understand that the two detectives back at HQ then requested to view the Register and compared the dates that Carbone had previously attended at the premises with the times, dates and details that I had already provided Sergeant Grant. I also understand that Carbone was taken away for questioning and his vehicle and premises were searched. I cannot recall if any charges were preferred against Carbone but in later discussions with Sergeant Grant, I was advised that no gold had been recovered. I am unaware if the two detectives took possession of, or if they photocopied the register but these details should be contained in the relevant police file recording this incident.

    I have always considered that this investigation was purposely carried out in a deliberately incompetent manner with a view to compromise the investigation so that the truth and origin of this gold would never be established. In May 2004, Frank continued his account of bizarre police conduct in another affidavit including the extraordinary response to his allegations of corruption when he was appointed to investigate his own investigation and to report the outcome to one of the senior officers he had accused! During my police career, I was appointed as a probationary detective on 2 December 1974, and was promoted through the ranks of the Criminal Investigation Branch, where I worked for 10 years, reaching the rank of detective sergeant. Whilst in the CIB I worked in various squads including Midland C.I.B., motor squad, combined operations, dealers’ squad, drug squad, general crime squad and fraud squad. I was transferred to the uniform branch on 2nd December 1984 after being charged with a disciplinary offence. I remained in the uniform branch until May 1987 when I was transferred to the liquor and gaming branch. In December 1991, I went on sick leave after reporting alleged corrupt or improper conduct by Detective Chief Superintendent Don Hancock and Chief Superintendent Les McMillan to the head of the Police Internal Affairs Branch, Superintendent Ayton, who then instructed me to investigate my own allegations and report my findings to Chief Superintendent McMillan. I was discharged from the police service on medical grounds in April 1993 at the rank of First Class Sergeant.

    Whilst a serving member of the CIB, I was promoted to the rank of detective sergeant on 1 April 1982 and was transferred in that capacity to the general crime squad. One of my first tasks in that squad was to investigate the theft of about $50,000 in unsigned travellers cheques from the ANZ bank situated at the intersections of Hay and Barrack Streets, Perth. My inquiries lead to the arrest of David Christopher Mills who was charged and convicted with the theft of the traveller’s cheques and received an eighteen month prison sentence. After he had been charged, I gleaned further evidence which strongly indicated that he had committed a similar offence in Sydney involving a large amount of unsigned travellers cheques. Soon after I was seconded to a task force to investigate the murder of a Mandurah woman whose skeletal remains were found in bushlands near Pinjarra. The Perth Mint swindle occurred at about the same time but I did not work on any investigation into that offence. In June 1983, I was transferred to the CIB Bank Fraud Section where detective sergeant Bill Round was the officer in charge. Bill and I became close friends and have remained that way until recently. In about June or July of 1983, David Christopher Mills was due to be released from prison and I strongly suspected that he had the travellers’ cheques stolen from Sydney hidden in a bank safety deposit box under an assumed name. I approached senior sergeant John Horton, the officer in charge of the Scientific Bureau and asked him if he could install a phone tap for me to assist my endeavours in locating the stolen travellers cheques. Strictly speaking, the phone tap was illegal, but in those days it was commonly used as an investigative tool and I considered I had reasonable grounds for using such a method in assisting my investigation. Horton told me that he could not do any more phone taps as he had received strict instructions from John Porter, the then Commissioner of Police, not to install any further telephone taps, because they had nearly been caught out installing a telephone intercept on the Mickelberg’s phone.

    I continued my investigations and a provisional warrant was issued for the arrest of Mills after he was released from prison. He challenged the extradition process and lawyer, Kate O’Brien represented him in his appeal. He was unsuccessful and was eventually extradited to NSW. Sometime while I was preparing my evidence for the committal hearing in Sydney, I had a conversation with Bill Round where I told Bill what Horton had said to me about the Mickelberg’s phone being tapped. Bill expanded on what Horton had told me. He said that the technicians in the Scientific Branch possessed a red VW kombi van similar to the vans used by the “PMG”, the phone company at the time. During the installation of the telephone intercept at the closest junction box, one of the brothers had walked past and wanted to know what the technicians were doing. I don’t know what information was obtained about the Perth Mint swindle from the phone taps, but during that conversation, Bill said to me that he, and the other officers involved in the Mint investigation, knew that the Mickelbergs were guilty and that they just had to give them a little bit extra to get them over the line. Bill also told me that senior members of the police CIB hierarchy regularly installed listening devices in squad rooms so that they could glean information of corruption and misconduct which could then be used to blackmail the officers concerned

    In December 1984, I was transferred from the CIB fraud squad and did not have much contact with Bill until about July 1987 when the Police Minister had received information regarding the alleged corrupt activities of Colin Pace who was the senior sergeant in charge of the fraud squad when Bill and I worked together in the cheque section. An investigation was carried out into the possible corrupt association between Sergeant Colin Pace and race horse trainer Bob Meyers and one of the allegations related to a dishonoured cheque presented by Bob Meyers which had been forwarded by the complainant to fraud squad for investigation. I was the officer in charge of the CIB Bank Fraud Section at that time and both Bill and I provided information to senior police investigators which could have established that there was a corrupt association between Pace and Meyers. The investigation exonerated Pace of any malfeasance and in October that year Bill and I went to Hong Kong together on a holiday. There we discussed the corrupt manner in which that investigation had been carried out.

    Bill advised me that he and Alan Bickford started the West Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence and one of their major targets was Bruce Moms who was a member of the Mr Asia Drug Syndicate. Bill told me that they conducted illegal telephone taps and he made extracts of those intercepts which were kept at the office of BCI. Further, he said that during the illegal telephone taps, they received information which revealed that there was a corrupt association between Bruce Morris and other organised criminals with several high ranking police officers including Colin Pace. Upon returning to work, I made inquiries at BCI and located the file which Bill referred to. I photocopied some extracts which would corroborate what he told me in Hong Kong. I carried out further investigations and was able to obtain overwhelming evidence which would establish a corrupt association between Colin Pace and Bob Meyers. I reported my findings to Peter Ward, a ministerial adviser to the Police Minister as I had no trust in senior police officers. On 7 September 1995 I made my allegations of corruption by senior police officers public and the details of some of my allegations including the illegal telephone taps were published in the West Australian newspaper which resulted in the Commissioner of Police establishing a joint task force of State and Federal Police to investigate my complaints. It took some two years before the task force reported the findings of their investigation to the Minister for Police.

    On or about 26 June 1996, I spoke to the then labor opposition leader, Mr. Jim McGinty and advised him that John Porter, an executive member of the Official Corruption Commission and former Commissioner of Police knew of, and condoned the installation of telephone intercepts on Mickelberg’s phone. Porter resigned from the Official Corruption Commission shortly after the leader of the opposition raised some issues which showed that the former Commissioner of Police would have a conflict of interest because of calls for a judicial inquiry into the Perth Mint swindle. Prior to being interviewed by the task force, code named “Tartan”, Bill Round allegedly told me that he would lie to the investigators about his involvement in illegal telephone taps as any admission by him would result in him being charged and the corrupt police officers who were the subject matter of the illegal telephone taps would get away with their crimes. After a discussion with Bill regarding the consequence of any admission, I was present when he drafted a letter to the Commissioner of Police seeking indemnity from prosecutions. Some time later he told me that he had been informed by the investigators attached to “Operation Tartan” that his request had been considered by John McKecknie, the then Director of Public Prosecutions and that McKecknie had refused his application for an indemnity from prosecution.

    When the Labor Party won the next elections, I approached the Attorney General, Jim McGinty and provided him with a copious amount of documents which would support my allegations of police corruption and he publicly announced that he had forwarded these documents to the Royal Commission for examination. On 4 February 2003 I met with two Royal Commission investigators who told me that my specific allegations would not be examined by the Royal Commission but there was a possibility that the treatment I received at the hands of senior police officers after I had attempted to expose senior police corruption would be investigated.

    Somewhat ironically, Frank concluded his extraordinary affidavit with this observation: I was extremely surprised that the Attorney general did not include my allegations in the terms of reference for the Police Royal Commission as both he and the Premier called for my allegations to be investigated when the Labor Party was in opposition. Frank made a further effort to expose and have investigated his very serious allegations when he wrote to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) which was now rebadged as the newly painted and refitted Corruption and Crime Commission, CCC. This time he expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the conduct of the Attorney General Jim McGinty. In response to the Corruption and Crime Commissions’ recent call for submissions dealing with the unauthorized release of confidential information by Government Agencies, I wish to lay a formal complaint alleging improper or corrupt conduct by the Attorney General, Mr. McGinty.

    As you are aware, the Labor Party pledged to hold a Royal Commission into allegations of corruption within the West Australian Police Service in the lead up to the last State elections and then when it was successful in forming Government, it delayed the establishment of the Royal Commission for some twelve months. During this period of time, I had regular contact with the staff of the newly appointed Attorney General, Mr. McGinty and provided him with copious amounts of documents which supported my claims of corruption by senior police officers. I expected that the Attorney General would examine these documents when formulating some of the terms of reference to be investigated by the Royal Commission. Of particular concern to me, was the association of several high ranking police officers with members of the Mr. Asia Drug Syndicate and some of the documents which I supplied Mr. McGinty clearly showed that the West Australian police service regularly installed illegal telephone intercepts to glean information.

    During some of these illegal telephone intercepts, information was obtained that the Mr. Asia Drug Syndicate was laundering large sums of money through the Perth racing industry and was assisted in this criminal activity by some police officers attached to the CIB consorting squad who received corrupt payments. When in opposition, both Mr. McGinty and Dr. Gallop were very critical that the Government had failed to establish a Judicial Investigation into allegations of police corruption after the Tomlinson Report was tabled in Parliament, and on or about 26 June 1996, I telephoned Mr. McGinty and advised him that the Commissioner of Police had condoned the installation of an illegal telephone intercept on the Mickelberg’s telephone.Despite the fact that he knew in June 1996 that the Police Service had acted corruptly in the manner in which evidence was obtained to convict the Mickelberg brothers of the Perth Mint swindle, he failed to refer this matter to be investigated by the Royal Commission. Furthermore, when Tony Lewandowski, a member of the police investigation team that charged the Mickeberg brothers confessed that he and Don Hancock had assaulted and fabricated evidence against one of the brothers to sustain a conviction, the Attorney General immediately showed the affidavit prepared by Lewandowski to his ministerial colleague and former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bob Kucera who is one of the officers who is suspected of committing perjury during the many appeals by the Mickelberg brothers’ against their conviction. My specific complaint against the Attorney general is that by showing that affidavit to Kucera, when he was fully aware that some police had acted corruptly and that Kucera was one of the officers suspected of committing perjury, he had compromised any further investigation and maybe guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice. I understand that he and Mr. Kucera are close friends and are now related through marriage and this may be the reason why this investigation was thwarted.

    I am also concerned that the Attorney General may have colluded with Kucera in a similar fashion when dealing with the documentary evidence which I bought before him and therefore the manner in which the Terms of Reference for the Police Royal Commission were selected could also be perceived as being corrupt. I have attached two sworn affidavits which I have prepared in relation to this matter and I have also included correspondence between myself, Mr McGinty, Mr Kucera and the shadow Police spokesman for your examination. I feel this matter should be investigated by the Corruption and Crime Commission and I look forward to being advised the results of such investigation. Fortunately Frank didn’t hold his breath awaiting an outcome as he became more and more marginalized by the Fifth Estate. By now he was pretty much in the state of agitation that he was accused of by his corrupt ‘colleagues’ in the CIB being Mad as a Cut Snake!


    Australia: Woman hit by taxi says charges to be dropped

    Jenny Franco says her worst fears have been realised after she was told that charges against the taxi driver accused of running her down will be dropped. Stuart Russell Graham, 55, was behind the wheel of a cab that allegedly struck the 23-year-old at Miranda, in Sydney's south, on February 20 last year. Ms Franco, who was dragged 150 metres along the road, lost her left eye and spent three months in hospital. Graham was charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and with failing to stop and assist.

    In November, the Downing Centre Local Court heard that Graham's lawyer, Brett Thomas, had asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop the charges against him. The court was told police investigations were continuing and the DPP was awaiting a psychiatric report while considering Mr Thomas's request. Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the DPP said she could not comment on whether the case against Graham would be dropped, as the matter was before the courts. Mr Thomas could not be reached for comment.

    However, Ms Franco told Channel Seven the DPP had told her the charges against Graham would be dropped. She is reportedly due to meet the DPP on Monday, with the charges to be formally dropped during a court hearing on Tuesday. "It was actually my worst fear," she said. "It scares me to know that this accused taxi driver gets to walk scot-free, possibly return to his work and . possibly hurt someone else."

    Ms Franco's mother, Ludy, said her daughter was too traumatised to go back to where the accident happened. She said her daughter had been living in an apartment in the city, away from the family's Miranda home and the scene of the accident.

    Report here. (Via Australian Politics)



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    Click Here for More Information on Andrew Mallard

    Man free after decade in jail By Amanda Banks and Alana Buckley-Carr

    AFTER spending more than a decade behind bars for the murder of a Perth jeweller, Andrew Mallard last night walked from prison a free man.

    The 42-year-old was released from maximum security Casuarina Prison after prosecutors withdrew a murder charge against him yesterday afternoon.

    A calm, smiling and relieved Mr Mallard emerged from prison flanked by family and supporters, eager to head home in a limousine ordered for the occasion.

    "I just want a good night's sleep, free from officers jeering in the port and keys jangling and all that sort of thing," he said.

    "I have been preparing for this for some time - nearly 12 years actually."

    Outraged at an assertion in the West Australian Supreme Court that he remained the prime suspect in the 1994 murder of Pamela Lawrence, Mr Mallard's sister Jackie accused police of conducting an inept investigation, claiming evidence was presented three years ago that should have set her brother free.

     

    "The police should now do their job properly, as they should have in the first place, and find out who really did this," she said.

    Two appeals failed before Mr Mallard's conviction was quashed by the High Court in November. He was due to face trial later this year, but at a hastily convened sitting of the Supreme Court yesterday, Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Cock QC withdrew the prosecution.

    Lawrence, a 45-year-old mother of two, was found dying in a pool of blood in her jewellery shop in the western suburb of Mosman Park on May 23, 1994.

    The High Court ruled Mr Mallard's conviction after a 10-day Supreme Court trial in 1995 was a miscarriage of justice because the prosecution failed to disclose, or had suppressed, important evidence.

    Mr Cock said the reason for withdrawing the prosecution related to the admissibility of alleged confessions made by Mr Mallard during several interrogations - including an eight-hour unrecorded interview - in 1994. Mr Cock said because of retrospective 1996 laws at least some of the police interviews should have been recorded on video.

    The court was told Mr Mallard - an itinerant suffering bipolar disease - alleged he had been induced to do one of the interviews, was assaulted, verbally intimidated and fed detailed information about the case; allegations denied by police.

    Mr Cock said Mr Mallard's alleged confessions were complex and there were other obvious difficulties with the case, including no forensic evidence linking him to the murder. "It does not leave us with a case upon which there is a reasonable prospect of obtaining a conviction," he said.

    He said Mr Mallard remained the prime suspect, promising the prosecution would be pursued if further evidence came to hand.

    Deputy Police Commissioner Chris Dawson stood by the investigators. "There is no information which suggests that these officers acted corruptly or maliciously," he said. There were no plans to reopen the investigation.

    `I thought the system was out to get at me' By COLLEEN EGAN


     

    ANDREW Mallard has spoken up about the 12 years he spent behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit.

    Mr Mallard, who was released from prison this week after a charge of wilfully murdering Mosman Park jeweller Pamela Lawrence was dropped, wept with relief and sadness as he spoke of his time in jail.

    Now 43, he says he was under a lot of stress at the time of the 1994 murder, with mental-health problems and rampant marijuana use that made him act suspiciously and left him vulnerable to police manipulation.

    Born in England, Mr Mallard was an extraordinarily tall teenager, with low self-esteem. He joined the army as a young man to impress his father, a long-time soldier with British forces, but hated the regimented life and was discharged with a sleeping disorder.

     

    He slipped into a deep depression, exacerbated by heavy marijuana use. In a feeble attempt to escape Perth, he went to Kalgoorlie where he was caught stealing a motorcycle.

    He spent two weeks in prison; the only time he served before the Lawrence murder.

    After short stints in the eastern states and Britain, he had a nervous breakdown and went to live with his parents. He stopped smoking marijuana and spent a year under the care of a clinical psychologist.

    But he moved back to Perth and before long started smoking pot again.

    "I kept on going to job interviews and getting rejected," he said. "All my money was going on marijuana. It all went downhill. My flatmates asked me to move and I had nowhere to go."

    In the month before the murder, Mr Mallard racked up a criminal record for petty theft and dishonesty.

    He attached himself to a girl who lived in Mosman Park, around the corner from Lawrence's jewellery shop, and scored marijuana for her in exchange for a place to sleep.

    In a condition that was later diagnosed as manic-phase bipolarity, Mr Mallard claimed his name was "Andre" and he was working undercover for Interpol.

    "I was always trying to impress people by exaggerating or giving a false name," he said. "I wasn't in a fantasy world. I knew what was real. But I didn't want to deal with the reality that I was on the street, I had no money and I felt like a failure. I was trying to impress people and get them to like me."

    Mr Mallard said the crime that brought him to the attention of police, for which he was in the lock-up the morning of the murder, was part of this cycle.

    He pretended to be a drug squad detective and kicked in the door of the woman's former boyfriend's flat.

    It resulted in him being assessed at Graylands Psychiatric Hospital, where detectives visited him about a week after the murder. As one of 136 suspects, he gave several alibis, but they all turned out to be things he'd done on different days.

    Before long he was out of Graylands and straight into a police interview room, where a video-record button was never pressed. But detectives later claimed he confessed.

    "I was just freaking out," he said. "I tried everything I could to convince them I was innocent and to answer every question. The detective said, `I know you're a cold-blooded killer'.

    "He brought a photograph of Mrs Lawrence's bloody head and shoved it in my face. I felt awful, horrible. I can't comprehend how someone could do that to someone else."

    The detective has denied showing the photograph.

    Mr Mallard was released into the night and, unbeknown to him, befriended by an undercover cop. He didn't even think to get a lawyer.

    "I was trying to survive with no food or money," he said. "I was thinking, `I'm a man. I can handle this'."

    Brought in a second time, Mr Mallard did a short video interview "to clear my name" and thought the ordeal was over until a detective re-entered the room. "He said, `We think you did it. You're sick and you're blocking it out of your mind. You need help', " Mr Mallard said.

    He was given a Legal Aid lawyer who had never worked on a murder trial. He asked for a QC, but the judge refused. He was convicted and sentenced to life in jail.

    Mr Mallard coped with prison by drifting into a fantasy world where he believed he was the victim of a vast conspiracy. He gained a reputation for being mad, which he believes stopped him being picked on.

    "I was frightened of being raped, of being killed," he said. "I just kept my head down and was polite. I didn't talk to anyone.

    "By the time my appeals failed I believed I was a scapegoat for a huge organised crime conspiracy and that Casuarina Prison was a huge facility for brainwashing innocent people. I believed they were trying to brainwash me into believing I was a killer.

    "I thought my cell was fitted with a camera and microphones, and that while I was asleep they would whisper in my ear to convince me I was guilty. I would point to the ceiling and say, `You won't get me, you bastards'. It made me look like a real nutter."

    Mr Mallard was known for standing all day behind a solitary tree in the middle of the exercise yard and spending endless hours on intricate Celtic art. Records show he was disciplined for cutting the Ministry of Justice logo out of his towels "because he was innocent".

    He said he was beaten up once and threatened with death at knifepoint.

    "I believed that was part of the conspiracy as well, so I just told them to go ahead and do their worst," he said. "In hindsight that probably helped with my reputation, too."

    Mr Mallard's deep paranoia led him to cancel visits with his family because he believed they were being threatened and manipulated by corrupt police. In early 1998, his beloved father died of cancer, but he thought the news was part of the conspiracy.

    He did not go to the funeral and for the next two years continued writing to his father in the belief he was not dead.

    NEXT WEEK: How Andrew Mallard and a support team fought to reopen his case.

    . Colleen Egan has been investigating the Mallard case since 1998. During those years she has been a supporter of Mr Mallard's family and his legal team. 

     

     

    Innocent victims hit back By JOHN FLINT - 26feb06


     

    THE year Andrew Mallard was born, John Button was escorted in handcuffs to the hellhole that was Fremantle Jail to begin his stretch for killing his girlfriend.

    He was innocent of the crime, but it took 40 tortured years to remove the stain.

    On Friday, he was back at the old jail – he now has a lifetime free pass to the tourism attraction – to pose for today's front-page picture.

    But there is more connecting the men in the picture than their notoriety as victims of miscarriages of justice who, between them, did 32 years' hard time.

    Mr Button, 62, played an active part in Mr Mallard's campaign for innocence, even travelling to the UK, Mr Mallard's birthplace, to lobby British MPs.

    He was in court on Monday to hear Department of Public Prosecutions head Robert Cock announce there would be no retrial for Mr Mallard, meaning he was a free man after nearly 12 years behind bars.

    One of the first phone calls to congratulate Mr Mallard, 43, came from Peter Mickelberg, who with brother Ray knows a thing or two about fighting the system.

    Led by Mr Button, all four men are keen to assist in the creation of WA's first Innocence Project.

    Innocence projects exist in every state of the US and in other countries, and some Australian states, but not here. They are community groups made up of lawyers, journalists and other outraged citizens who provide assistance to prison inmates who have strong claims of wrongful conviction.

    Mr Button has been burning the midnight oil to get the project off the ground. He has been working closely with award-winning journalist Estelle Blackburn, whose book Broken Lives played a major part in exposing the miscarriage of justice in his case and that of Darryl Beamish.

    He said journalist Brett Christian, who revealed flaws in the Rory Christie case, and Robin Napper, of the University of WA's Centre for Forensic Science, had shown interest in getting on board.

    Mr Button said: "I have got grandchildren and I want to make this world a better place for them. I spend my days now working on this (project) and going into schools on a regular basis talking to kids about the justice system.

    "I have stressed the point that they are the up-and-coming generation. They are the ones who are going to fix it. We can't hold our breath waiting for the people in power now to do it."

    Mr Button said the demand from schools was unbelievable.

    "I have got bookings for the next few years, from Esperance to Karratha," he said.

    Released man vows to solve murder case. Amanda Banks - February 22, 2006

    AN ocean dip ranks among Andrew Mallard's top priorities after 12 years behind bars for the murder of a Perth jeweller.

    But in 40C heat in the coastal town of Mandurah yesterday, Mr Mallard was too busy to indulge in the simple pleasure and had to settle for dangling his feet in the river estuary south of Perth.

    Unexpectedly released from maximum-security Casuarina jail on Monday after prosecutors withdrew a murder charge, Mr Mallard - who was awaiting a retrial after his conviction was quashed by the High Court in November - vowed he would not rest until the case was solved.

    "The family of the victim need proper closure - they need to know that I am innocent and get this perpetrator behind bars," the 43-year-old said. "(But) I have learnt to be patient."

    Mr Mallard told The Australian he was angry Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Cock QC had maintained he was still the prime suspect for the brutal bashing death of Pamela Lawrence in 1994. "I expected something like this and I expected them to try and still keep it pinned on me," he said.

    But Mr Mallard's defence lawyer, Malcolm McCusker QC, was less diplomatic, labelling Mr Cock's statement "quite extraordinary" and beyond the proper function of the DPP. "It really was contemptuous disregard for the fundamental principle of justice, that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty after a fair trial," Mr McCusker said. "They have by this statement blackened this man's name."

    Mr Cock yesterday said he was duty bound to disclose to the court and the accused the intention of the DPP to prosecute Mr Mallard in the future if additional evidence was available.

    "I entirely agree that this is a most unsatisfactory set of events," Mr Cock said. "It is fully unacceptable that Mr Mallard has had to remain in custody for so long in circumstances under which he is now released."

    State Attorney-General Jim McGinty yesterday conceded the case had revealed an "untidy and unfortunate" series of events, saying it was up to the state's corruption watchdog to continue its investigations into the handling of the police inquiries and prosecution.

    "Nobody can feel satisfied with the way in which the Mallard case has unfolded," Mr McGinty said. "It was an horrendous murder. Nobody has been brought to justice for it and now we have got allegations of improper or corrupt behaviour by police and DPP prosecutors.

    "I think there is no doubt that this particular case casts a shadow over the way in which the police conducted the investigation and perhaps the way in which the DPP prosecuted this case." Mr McGinty urged police to vigorously investigate any further information that became available.

    Police Deputy Commissioner Chris Dawson was quick to defend his officers yesterday, saying it was important the case did not become a measure of police competence in homicide investigations. Contradicting his statement on Monday evening that police had no intention of re-opening the case, Mr Dawson said unsolved murder cases were never closed. 



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    Opposition backs Mallard's compo bid

    Posted Sun May 3, 2009 9:00am AEST
    Updated Sun May 3, 2009 9:48am AEST

    Shadow Attorney General John Quigley says he hopes the Western Australian Government can learn from the mistakes of its predecessor when determining how much compensation to pay Andrew Mallard.

    The Government is expected to announce soon how much compensation it will pay Mr Mallard for his wrongful imprisonment over the 1994 murder of Pamela Lawrence.

    Mr Quigley says Mr Mallard has been advised by senior counsel not to settle for compensation of less than $7.5 million.

    Mr Quigley says if the Government does not make a reasonable offer, Mr Mallard could also seek compensation from the Police Union like Ray and Peter Mickelberg.

    In January last year, the Labor State Government awarded Ray and Peter Mickelberg a joint ex gratia payment of $1 million for their wrongful convictions for the 1982 Perth Mint Swindle.

    Now, after a long-running legal dispute, the Police Union has also agreed to compensate them.

    Mr Quigley, who is a supporter of Mr Mallard and a former police union lawyer, says if the Government does not give Mr Mallard a decent payout, there could be a similar outcome.

    He hopes the Government has learnt from the mistakes of its predecessor.

    "If they once again short change Mr Mallard, he will use what money he does get to pursue the police," he said.

    "If they don't fully compensate Andrew Mallard and only give him sufficient funds to settle against the State, he'll be then left suing the police and it's all the young, honest, hard working officers of today who'll be left carrying the burden."





    John Quigley calls for Mallard-like compensation

    Todd Cardy, court reporter June 20, 2009 03:00pm


    RALLYING CAUSE: Up to 1000 marched through Perth to rally for compensation for the family of an Aboriginal elder who died in a searing prison van. Picture: Alf Sorbello



    THE WA Opposition has called for the family of an Aboriginal elder, who died in a searing prison van, to be given a payout of millions of dollars
    About 1000 people attended a rally in central Perth today, in support of Mr Ward's family.

    Labor legal affairs spokesman John Quigley has thrown his support behind Mr Ward's family and demanded the State Government offer compensation at least equal to the $3.25 million given to Andrew Mallard.

    Mr Ward, whose first name cannot be released for cultural reasons, died on January 27 last year when the temperature topped 50 degrees Celsius in the pod of the privately-managed prison van.

    Mr Quigley, a long time advocate of Mr Mallard's who was wrongly jailed for murder for 12 years, said the money should be offered without restrictions.

    ``The late Mr Ward's death is the worst death of any of the deaths that came before the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission,'' Mr Quigley told The Sunday Times.

    ``The money to Andrew Mallard should be a starting point (for compensation), maybe a bit more given that he roasted to death.''

    But Mr Quigley's support drew the ire of another wrongly jailed man, Peter Mickelberg, who followed the MP through the crowd and accused him of ``using this as a cheap political stunt''.

    The Deaths in Custody Watch Committee organised the rally in Forrest Chase today which drew hundreds of supporters calling for ``justice for Mr Ward''.

    A large banner with the words ``It is truly too sad grandfather is dead'' overlooked the crowd who later marched the Murray St and Hay St malls.

    Mardu elder Teddy Biljabu, a relative and representative of Mr Ward's family, said his people had been devastated by the loss of an elder who was described as a cultural man, dancer and artist.

    ``People are still dying for drunken driving, for drunken disorderly, for small crimes, small things, and people are dying - that has to stop,'' he said.

    Former federal Aboriginal affairs minister and co-chair of Reconciliation Australia, Fred Chaney, said he wanted ``justice for today's generation and tomorrow's generation''.

    ``The terrible death of Mr Ward reflects the basic fact that we do not treat and see our Aboriginal brothers and sisters as the truly human people that they are,'' Mr Chaney said.

    ``No one could explain the behaviour that has occurred except on that basis.''

    Associate Professor Ted Wilkes, of Curtin University, said he was not surprised no one had been charged over Mr Ward's death.

    ``We continue to get our guts kicked, we continue to come to these rallies to call for justice - I don't have any optimism about what is going to happen but I am hopeful,'' Mr Wilkes said.



    Australia: Mickelbergs finally get a compensation payment

    Peter and Ray Mickelberg say their $1 million compensation payout for being framed for the Perth Mint swindle is not enough to cover their losses. The Carpenter Government yesterday awarded $1 million in compensation - the largest payment in the state's history - to the two brothers, who were wrongly jailed for almost a decade after they were framed by police for the notorious 1982 Perth Mint swindle. Attorney-General Jim McGinty said police actions were "a perversion of the system of justice of the worst kind" and no amount of money would make up for what happened. 

    But the payout was criticised by Peter Mickelberg, 50, and his brother Ray, 62, as insufficient to cover the debts they accumulated during a decades-long fight to clear their names. Ray Mickelberg told The Australian they owed at least $1.2million. He said the ex gratia payments of $500,000 each were effectively gone without even acknowledging millions of dollars in lost assets, ruined careers and pain and suffering that resulted from the fit-up. He was furious also that no compensation was offered to the children of a third brother, Brian, who has since died, but was also wrongly convicted and jailed for nine months. Peter Mickelberg spent more than eight years in jail and Ray more than six. 

    Their convictions were quashed in 2004, 15 years after they were released, after detective Tony Lewandowski, who has since killed himself, admitted police fabricated evidence. Another corrupt officer exposed by Lewandowski, Don Hancock, was killed in a car bomb attack carried out by a bikie gang member in 2001.  Despite the brothers' anger yesterday, Mr McGinty said the payments brought to an end the State's involvement, following $658,672 they received to cover the costs of two appeals.  The Mickelberg brothers were convicted of defrauding the mint of $653,000 in gold bullion by issuing worthless cheques. After his arrest, Peter was stripped, beaten and forced to sign a false statement by the two corrupt officers. The pair failed in a series of appeals over decades because police continued to provide false evidence. 
     The extraordinary case even involved more than 58kg of bullion being dumped at the Seven Network's Perth studios in 1989, shortly after Peter's release, in an apparent attempt to implicate him. It was later shown to be South African gold that was not related to the case.  Ray Mickelberg said he and Peter were forced to agree to the $1 million payout after Mr McGinty told them to take it or leave it. "In the end, we had no choice," he said. The pair criticised the decision to have taxpayers foot the bill. They said the money should have been seized from the superannuation funds of the corrupt officers.  Angry WA Police Union president Mike Dean has labelled as "incompetent and irresponsible" the record $1 million payout to Peter and Ray Mickelberg announced yesterday. The state police union was also on the warpath after Mr McGinty confirmed the brothers were free to continue civil claims against police allegedly involved in their case. The Government initially tried to force the brothers to drop civil action against the seven former officers in return for the ex-gratia payments but failed. The civil action was initiated 18 months ago, and includes claims against the estates of the two dead officers, Lewandowski and Hancock. The terms of the $1 million ex-gratia compensation payout for wrongful conviction and jailing over the infamous 1982 Perth Mint Swindle does not prevent the brothers from taking further civil action against former police officers. They include former assistant commissioner and current Labor MP Bob Kucera.


    The Life of Brian Burke The Godfather, 
    ex Premier of Western Australia, who was put on power by the Catholic Mafia heaed at the time by 
    Sam Fanchina the real Godftaher for many years in Perth, Western Australia.. for more details see
    books by Stephen Carew-Reid, The Triumph of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?)
    Click here for more information in these books









    Mallard offered $3.25m for 12 yrs' jail

    Posted Tue May 5, 2009 2:09pm AEST
    Updated Tue May 5, 2009 6:41pm AEST

    The Western Australian Government has offered a man wrongfully convicted of murdering a Perth woman a multi-million dollar ex-gratia payment.

    Andrew Mallard spent more than a decade behind bars for the 1994 murder of Mosman Park jeweller Pamela Lawrence. His conviction was later overturned.

    The state's Attorney-General, Christian Porter, today announced Mr Mallard has been offered $3.25 million as what he describes as a 'gift' from the Government.

    The offer is the largest in the state's history and comes after months of negotiations.

    Mr Porter says it is up to Mr Mallard to accept the money, but if he does, that figure will be deducted from any other settlement he may reach in the courts.

    "What path Mr Mallard chooses from here is entirely his own choice, and what we have done from here does not limit his choices in any way or form," he said.

    He says the sum offered is a life-changing amount of money and Mr Mallard might never have to work again.

    The Premier, Colin Barnett, has described it as a historic offer, and is urging Mr Mallard's friends and supporters, including the Shadow Attorney-General John Quigley, to accept the deal.

    Mr Quigley says the amount offered is grossly insufficient and Mr Mallard will continue with legal action against those involved in his wrongful conviction.

    "I don't think there's anyone in the community that would accept $3.25 million as fair compensation for being snatched off the street today, jailed for 12 and a half years and have their whole life destroyed," Mr Quigley said.

    Mr Mallard says he's disappointed by the offer.

    "This is a very, very delicate situation and and I will be conferring with my lawyers," he said.

    Last year, Ray and Peter Mickelberg were awarded more than $1 million for their wrongful conviction over the 1982 Perth Mint swindle.

    Strange Australian Justice for the well connected
    Indulgence for well-connected young drunk-driver in Australia
    Being good at sport earns forgiveness for appalling behaviour
    An international lawn bowler who ran a red light at 90km/h over the speed limit while drunk and hit another vehicle has walked free from court, after glowing references from a former National Crime Authority chief and a one-time director of the Immigration Department. Nathan Kane Swincer, 21, was spared a 27-month sentence yesterday, despite seriously injuring another driver while driving at more than 150km/h, with a blood alcohol level of 0.14. M


     

    Thursday, August 24, 2006 THREE YEARS FOR MURDER

    It seems that nobody cares in Australia

    The family of a popular young man who died in an unprovoked attack said yesterday they were "sickened" by a Court of Appeal decision not to increase the killer's sentence. "What you hear is 'how good is the bloody criminal' – don't it make it sick?" the victim's devastated father Roy Markham said outside the court. "The system is rotten, rotten to the core." Court of Appeal president Margaret McMurdo had dismissed an appeal by Attorney-General Linda Lavarch, who wanted to increase the jail sentence for university student Moses Rupert Katia, 19, to 10 years.

    Earlier this year, Katia was jailed for eight years with a recommendation for parole after three years when he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the Gold Coast concreter, 23. The court was told Katia had drunk 15 rums and cola and was walking with a friend through the city shortly after 5am. They came across Markham, who had passed out, sitting on a bench outside the Embassy Hotel in Elizabeth St. They were seen taking his mobile phone and shoes. Katia returned a short time later, punched Markham and stole his watch before fleeing. Markham died in hospital the next day.

    Choking back tears, the mother of Paul Bernard Markham, Pam Markham, said: "I'm tired of being told what a nice person Moses is – nobody in this whole time has said what a nice bloke my son was. He was a delight and I haven't got him any more."

    Judge McMurdo said Markham's death in February last year was a stark warning to all in the community about binge drinking. In dismissing the appeal by Mrs Lavarch, who had sought a 10-year jail term for Katia, Justice McMurdo attacked the binge drinking culture which she said could make pleasant and amiable people behave aggressively and out of character. She said Markham was an affable man of good character but had been grossly intoxicated and an easy target for predators. "His intoxication was almost certainly why a relatively minor punch to the head caused devastating vertebral artery rupture and a resultant serious brain injury which led to his death," she said. Justice McMurdo said alcohol abuse was also how Katia – a talented university student of good character when sober – came to rob, steal, assault and kill Markham.

     






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    Body found at Bond's Cottesloe mansion

    Body found at Bond mansion

    The body of a 57-year-old woman has been found at Alan Bond's Cottesloe home.
    A police spokesman said officers were called to the two-storey house in Hawkestone Street at 11.35am.
    The dead woman is believed to be Di Bliss, the wife of the former tycoon.
    Neighbours report Mr Bond and Ms Bliss were living at the limestone mansion, owned by Fairoak Pty Ltd.
    Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious.
    A police spokeswoman would not confirm the identity of the dead woman and said her name would not be released until all next of kin had been notified.
    She said police officers at the scene would conduct an inquiry for the coroner.
    It is understood the woman's body was found in a swimming pool at the rear of the property.
    A police spokeswoman said a person at the residence, believed to be Mr Bond, had called St John Ambulance.
    Mr Bond married Ms Bliss in 1995 after divorcing his first wife Eileen Bond in 1992.
    The couple returned to Perth in 2010 after living in London after the former high-flyer's release from jail in 2000.
    Mr Bond's eldest daughter Susanne died in her Peppermint Grove home in 2000 after overdosing on morphine.
    Alan Bond's Cottesloe house. Picture: Lee Griffith

    Di Bliss and Alan Bond on their wedding day in 1995.

    Police confirm Alan Bond's wife dead

    Updated January 29, 2012 
    WA police have confirmed they are investigating the death of the wife of high-profile businessman Alan Bond.
    The body of 57-year-old Diana Gweneth Bond, more widely known as Diana Bliss, was found at her Cottesloe home in Perth late on Saturday morning.
    It is understood Mr Bond found her body and called police.
    Police have refused to release further details but say the circumstances surrounding her death are not suspicious.
    Mr Bond married Ms Bliss, a theatre producer, in 1995 after divorcing his first wife Eileen Bond in 1992.
    The 73-year-old, who is known for one of the biggest corporate collapses in Australian history, was declared bankrupt in 1992. In 1997 he served four years in prison for fraud.
    After a 19-year absence from the nation's rich list, Mr Bond resurfaced in 2008 with a personal fortune estimated to be worth $265 million.
    3AW entertainment reporter Peter Ford paid tribute to her on Twitter.
    "Diana Bliss was a gifted woman and lover of the arts but sadly also a deeply troubled woman who did try to get help," he tweeted.
    "Close friends had been seriously worried for some time.
    "Even the best medical and psychological help here and overseas couldn't save her.
    "Money doesn't buy happiness is the old cliche, and true, but also mental health issues know no boundaries of class, fame or beauty."
    Ms Bliss stood by her husband during his jail sentence, making regular trips to prison to visit him.
    Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

    Body at Bond mansion believed to be his wife, Diana Bliss

    Alan Bond and Diana Bliss
    Alan Bond and Diana Bliss on their wedding day in 1996. Picture: Michael Perini HWT Image Library
    • by:Nicole Cox 
    • From:PerthNow 
    • January 28, 2012
    • Alan Bonds house
      GOOGLE EARTH: The Cottesloe house. 
      THE body of a woman, believed to be the wife of former high-flying businessman Alan Bond, has been found at a home in the Perth beachside suburb of Cottesloe.
      It is understood the body of Diana Bliss, 57, was discovered at the luxury two-storey Hawkstone St property after a man telephoned St John Ambulance about 11.30am.
      It is unclear if it was Mr Bond who raised the alarm. Police have ruled out suspicious circumstances.
      Two police cars are currently at the scene along with two detectives.
      Mr Bond, 73, flagged a permanent return to WA from London when he attended the Fremantle Maritime Museum in 2008 to mark the 25th anniversary on Australia II's Americas Cup win, and since then the couple have been dividing their time between Perth and London.
      Mr Bond moved to the United Kingdom following his release from Karnet Prison Farm in March 2000.
      Bliss stood by the fallen magnate when he served time for fraud and they married in Sydney in 1995.
      Asked if he was home for good in January 2010, Mr Bond said from a window at the same property: "I'm not doing any interviews, thank you very much."
      Police are refusing to confirm whether or not the deceased woman was Ms Bliss because all her family has yet to be notified.
      The title for 4 Hawkstone St reveals the property is a 726 sq m block, and that it was last bought in 1992 for $425,000 by the Bond family trust, Fairoak Pty Ltd.
      No one from the Bond home was available to comment.
      Sue Parks, a publicist for the Bond family, said: "The family don't want to make any statement at this moment".
      Alan Bond could not immediately be reached for comment.
      It is understood Ms Bliss had been unwell for sometime, even before the couple returned to Australia in late December.
      If you want help with any personal problems, please contact one of these helplines:
      Lifeline (24 hours): 13 11 14
      Kids Helpline (under 18 years): 1800 55 1800
      Just Ask (rural mental health): 1300 13 11 14
      Mensline Australia (24 hours): 1300 78 99 78
      SANE Helpline: 1800 18 SANE (7263)
      Bond discovered body of his 'beautiful wife' in their home pool
      ERIK JENSEN
      January 30, 2012http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/bond-discovered-body-of-his-beautiful-wife-in-their-home-pool-20120129-1qnzd.html 

      Alan Bond with his wife Diana Bliss.
      Alan Bond with his wife Diana Bliss. Photo: Sharon Smith


      THE body of Alan Bond's wife, Diana Bliss, was found by her husband in the swimming pool of their beachside mansion in the Perth suburb of Cottesloe, a source has confirmed.
      While there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the 57-year-old at the weekend, a police spokeswoman said the Coronial Investigation Unit would prepare a report on the death.
      A distressed-looking Mr Bond, who was married to his second wife for 17 years, spoke briefly yesterday after attending a church service. He was still struggling with the news. ''It's so new … I lost my beautiful wife.''


      Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/bond-discovered-body-of-his-beautiful-wife-in-their-home-pool-20120129-1qnzd.html#ixzz1kvvbTRWE
       

      http://www.news.com.au/national/tragedy-at-bond-mansion/story-e6frfkvr-1226256164199 
      Body at Bond mansion believed to be his wife, Diana Bliss

      Allan Bond's Super Pit‘The most amazing thing that happened in my lifetime is Alan Bond buying up all the leases that became the Super Pit.

      Bond saw open cut was needed, started it and it grew and grew. It was the inevitable finish of the single operations.

      I remember when it was scattered all over with small companies running their own mines and they were all battling.’
      (Charles (Digger) Daws, former president Boulder Shire Council, interviewed, aged 87, in the Kalgoorlie Miner, December 1994)

      ‘He (Bond) had almost pieced together the jigsaw of leases which were in separate hands for nearly a century. It was now possible to operate a gigantic and ever-descending super pit, in which massive equipment could tear out the old underground workings and the unmined gold in between.’
      (From The Rush That Never Ended by Geoffrey Blainey)

      This was the origin of the Super Pit, Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s famous landmark that will eventually stretch 3.8 kilometres long, 1.5km wide and go down to a depth of more than 600m. What had once been the Golden Mile, was named the Fimiston Open Pit, which in turn has become commonly known as the Super Pit.

      Where small operations had once controlled the famous Golden Mile, WA businessman Alan Bond started buying up the individual leases to create one big company and one big pit, from which gold could be extracted at far less cost.

      Bond's company failed to complete the takeover but, in 1989, the entire area was combined. Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd (KCGM) was formed to manage the assets and operations of joint venture partners, Normandy Australia and Homestake Gold of Australia Limited.

      For the first time, all leases and infrastructure of the Golden Mile, Mt Charlotte (and Mt Percy to the north) had been brought together. Significant changes – the most since gold was first discovered in Kalgoorlie by Paddy Hannan in 1893 – occurred. It was now possible to mine far more economically for gold and continue the harvest of the Golden Mile, which has produced nearly 50 million ounces of gold since the days of Hannan.

      More recently, the joint venture partners have changed and KCGM manages the operation for Newmont Australia Limited and Barrick Gold of Australia Ltd. Their ownership includes the Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit), Mt Charlotte Underground Mine, Fimiston Mill and Gidji Roaster.

      KCGM produces up to 800,000 ounces of gold every year and its operation far outweighs any other mining centre in Australia. The Super Pit is the biggest gold open pit mine in the country.

      The company’s operations ensure Australia holds its place, behind South Africa and the USA, as the third biggest gold producer in the world.

      Where it is?
      KCGM’s operation is at the south-east corner of the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, which is about 600kms east of Perth, capital city of Western Australia.

      What it once was?
      The Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit) has swallowed up pits named: Judd, South, Paringa, Croesus/Eclipse, Central, Brownhill, Drysdale, Morrison, North and Horseshoe.

      Other shafts located within the current Super Pit included Main, Croesus, Chaffers, Lake View and Perseverance.

      Who owns it?
      KCGM Pty Ltd manages the assets for joint venture partners, Newmont Australia Limited and Barrick Gold of Australia Ltd.

      What’s produced?
      Up to 800,000 ounces of gold a year are produced from the Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit) and Mt Charlotte.

      Work hours?
      The Super Pit is mined 24 hours a day, every day of the year. 

      Bigger than Texas 1992

      http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/bigger-texas/clip2/ 
      Click on the above link to see video clip

      Curator’s clip description

      Archival footage shows Perth’s celebrations when Perth businessman Alan Bond’s yacht wins the Americas Cup. In a speech at the launch of his book about Bond, journalist Paul Barry comments on the rise and fall of a national icon.

      Curator’s notes

      Western Australia’s need for a hero and the environment of corporate excess in the 1980s created Alan Bond. He became a national hero when his yacht won the Americas Cup. He bought the Nine Network and borrowed excessive money. His downfall was as spectacular as his rise. He was found guilty of fraud and fell from favour.


      John Curtin Foundation gathering Left to right, rear: Denis Cullity, John Horgan,Alan BondLaurie Connell, Ric Stowe, James McCusker, Rod Evans; Front: Kevin Parry, prime minister Bob Hawke, state premier Brian BurkeJohn Roberts and former Perth lord mayor Ernest Lee-Steere

      WA Inc

      WA Inc was a political scandal in Western Australia. In the 1980s, the state government, which was led for much of the period by premier Brian Burke, engaged in business dealings with several prominent businessmen, including Alan BondLaurie Connell and Warren Anderson. These dealings resulted in a loss of public money, estimated at a minimum of $600 million and the insolvency of several large corporations.
      Bond and Connell were major contributors to the party in government, the Australian Labor Party and its remarkable fundraising structure, the John Curtin Foundation.[1] A royal commission (the Royal Commission into Commercial Activities of Government and Other Matters) was established in 1990 by Labor premier Carmen Lawrence to examine the dealings.
      Connell alleged [in evidence to the Commission] that Hawke dropped a proposed gold tax after Connell and various Perth high-flyers donated $250,000 each to Labor during an infamous lunch in Brian Burke's office in 1987 -- a claim the former PM vigorously denied. Burke's loyalty to those who had donated their efforts (and money) to Labor was no less fervent. Taking the John Curtin Foundation axiom to the next level, Burke created the West Australian Development Corporation and installed fellow Catholic John Horgan (pictured second from left, top) on $800,000 a year, an extraordinary figure for a public servant not only then but now.
      —Journalist Tony Barrass, [1]
      In 1991, political scientist Paddy O'Brien identified the members of the government most associated with WA Inc deals as premier Burke and his successor Peter Dowding, deputy premier David Parker, industrial development minister Julian Grill and attorney-generalJoe Berinson.[2]:p132

      Corporate failures

      As an outcome of questionable business practices, precipitated by the 1987 stock market crash, several major businesses based in Perth found themselves in difficulties and ultimately went into bankruptcy. These included:
      • Rothwells. Described as a merchant bank owned by Connell, but more accurately known in business circles as a 'lender of last resort', Rothwells had built up a stable of businesses it had acquired during the 1980s through aggressive takeovers. In October 1987, investors made a run on the bank and it had to close its doors. Burke, on behalf of the government, provided a $150 million government guarantee. Connell had previously been the adviser to the 1983 government purchase of Northern Mining from Bond Corporation for between $7 and $12 million over value but, as Burke knew at the time and concealed from parliament, Connell was also acting for Bond Corporation.
      • Bell Group, Robert Holmes à Court's flagship company, encountered a cash crisis and Bond Corporation and the government, through the state Government Employees Superannuation Board (GESB), acquired major stakes in the business, allowing Holmes à Court to walk away with $350 million.
      A proposed petrochemical plant was to be built as a joint venture between Laurie Connell and Dallas Dempster, both being businessmen with close government connections. $100,000 was outlaid as a deposit on a block of land at Kwinana but otherwise the proposal did not proceed beyond designs and stood as a basis for extravagant fund-raising, loans, collateral transactions, development of proposed plant, management fees to Bond Corporation and, eventually, was sold for $400 million —$175 million being provided by a government agency, WA Government Holdings

      Losses incurred by the government

      The government had lent large sums of money, offered financial guarantees and acquired assets at inflated prices. Because of the connections between many of the deals and cross-ownership of businesses involved, it is difficult to say precisely where the government's fault started and ended. A minimum loss to the state of $600M has been reported.[1] 
      In 1991, barrister Bevan Lawrence published what he regarded as a conservative itemisation of the government's actual losses. The figures are summarised as follows:
      Rothwells and Petrochemicals Plant $408 million
      Purchase of Bell Group shares from Robert Holmes à Court $155 million
      Unlisted bonds purchased from Holmes à Court, later assessed as having no value $140 million
      Westralia Square (Perth Technical College site redevelopment)[3][4] $74 million
      Central Park property redevelopment $100 million
      Grand total[5]:p389 $877 million


      The royal commission

      On 19 November 1990, Carmen Lawrence, the then Labor premier, announced her government's intention to hold a royal commission to "inquire into certain matters". This decision followed more than a year of strong public advocacy by the activist group, People for Fair and Open Government[6] headed by the premier's brother, barrister Bevan Lawrence, Professor Emeritus Martyn Webb and prominent political scientist Paddy O'Brien. O'Brien edited The Burke Ambush, subtitled Corporatism and Society in Western Australia, which was the first substantial exposé of Burke's pro-corporate government—a collection of articles by himself and other Western Australian writers, including Hal Colebatch, Robert Bennett, Joseph Poprzeczny, John Hyde, Paul Nichols, Michael McKinley, Anthony Dale and Tom Herzfeld.[7]
      The commission of three was headed by Geoffrey Kennedy and joined by Sir Ronald Wilson and Peter Brinsden, with a brief "To inquire into and report" whether there had been "corruption, illegal conduct, improper conduct, or bribery" on the part of any person or corporation in the "affairs, investment decisions and business dealings of the Government of Western Australia or its agencies".


      Main findings

      After approximately 21 months of enquiries and hearings, the commission's final report began:
      1.1.1 The Commission has found conduct and practices on the part of certain persons involved in government in the period from 1983 to 1989 which were such as to place our governmental system at risk. Unfortunately, some of that conduct and some of those practices were peculiar to Western Australia; but there is no reason to believe that many of the fundamental questions raised by our inquiry were unique to this period or to this State. On the contrary, as detailed studies in other States and overseas clearly demonstrate, they have been raised elsewhere as a consequence of events similar to those which we have experienced.
      1.1.2 Some ministers elevated personal or party advantage over their constitutional obligation to act in the public interest. The decision to lend Government support to the rescue of Rothwells in October 1987 was principally that of Mr Burke as Premier. Mr Burke's motives in supporting the rescue were not related solely to proper governmental concerns. They derived in part from his well-established relationship with Mr Connell, the chairman and major shareholder of Rothwells, and from his desire to preserve the standing of the Australian Labor Party in the eyes of those sections of the business community from which it had secured much financial support.
      1.1.3 Subsequently, Mr Dowding, as Premier, presided over a disastrous series of decisions designed to support Rothwells when it was or should have been clear to him and to those ministers closely involved that Rothwells was no longer a viable financial institution. This culminated in the decision to involve the Government, through WAGH, in the Kwinana petrochemical project as a means of removing the Government's contingent liability for certain of the debts of Rothwells. Electoral advantage was preferred to the public interest.
      1.1.4 Personal associations and the manner in which electoral contributions were obtained could only create the public perception that favour could be bought, that favour would be done.[8]:p.22
      In an earlier finding, the commission had summarised:
      [The Government was not entitled] to risk the public resources of the State without its actions being subjected to critical scrutiny and review. Effective accountability was a casualty of its entrepreneurial zeal. Influence in the conduct of this State's public affairs was captured by a small group of self-interested businessmen.[9]:p.10


      Summary of main issues[10]

      Report Volume I
      The natural gas sales agreements entered into by the State Energy Commission of Western Australia for the purchase of natural gas from the North West Shelf Joint Venturers
      The contracts relating to the Dampier to Perth natural gas pipeline project
      Financial assistance by Government to Bunbury Foods Limited
      Government Employees Superannuation Board (formerly the Superannuation Board) involvement in the Halls Head development
      Report Volume II
      Government Employees Superannuation Board (formerly the Superannuation Board) involvement in the Fremantle Anchorage development
      The acquisition of Northern Mining Corporation NL in 1983
      The Burswood Island Casino
      The sale of the Midland Abattoir site in 1986
      Report Volume III
      Purchase of the Fremantle Gas and Coke Company by the State Energy Commission of Western Australia in 1986
      Swan Building Society
      Teachers' Credit Society
      Report Volume IV
      The rescue of Rothwells Limited; the immediate aftermath of the rescue and continuing liquidity problems
      SGIC's acquisition of shares in BHP Limited
      Rothwells from mid November 1987 to early April 1988
      SGIC's acquisition of shares in the Bell Group Limited and subsequent NCSC investigations
      The Kwinana petrochemical project to the signing of the memorandum of understanding
      Report Volume V
      The Kwinana petrochemical project to the settlement on 17 October 1988
      Events from the PICL settlements to the liquidation of Rothwells
      Conclusions on Rothwells-related matters
      Central City property transactions entered into from 1984 onwards by the Western Australian Development Corporation, the Government Employees Superannuation Board (formerly the Superannuation Board) and the State Government Insurance Commission]
      Report Volume VI
      Allegations of bribery with respect to planning decisions in the City of Stirling for Observation City
      Other allegations arising from the trial of Robert Mark Smith and Robert Paul Martin held in the District Court of Western Australia before His Honour Judge Keall and a jury in October 1990, including those with respect to surveillance activities
      The adequacy of the police investigation of the matters referred to in chapters 23 and 24
      Political donations
      Conclusion


      Costs and outcomes

      The royal commission cost $30 million, including $12.5 million in witness costs. Of the latter, $3.6 million funded Burke's own legal fees ($1.71 million) and those of David Parker ($1.92 million).
      Burke and his predecessor, the Liberal premier Ray O'Connor ultimately served prison sentences as a result of convictions which arose from findings of the commission. The premier immediately after Burke, Peter Dowding, and public servant Len Brush were both found to have acted improperly.

    Alan Bond (businessman)

    Alan Bond, entrepreneur and businessman


    Alan Bond was born in Hammersmith, London, on April 22 1938 and emigrated to Perth, Western Australia in 1950. In 1959 Alan formed the Bond Corporation, opening the way for a new style of international entrepreneur; acquiring companies and using his drive and innovation to build them into world class corporations.

    Alan's natural flair for business soon became evident and the Bond portfolio grew steadily from property to mining into broadcasting and on into telecommunications. He was voted Australian of the year in 1978 and became a national hero in 1983 when he brought home the Americas Cup which had been held by the US since 1851.

    Since then, Alan's drive and energy have resulted in a long list of some of the most prestigious business ventures around and he continues to lead the way in opening up new opportunities in mining and investment. 

    Setting the record straight:

    book
    Bond 
    by Alan Bond 
    $Buy Now 

    The
     Americas Cup

    One of the world's greatest sporting prizes brought home by Alan Bond...


    Alan Bond was voted Australian of the year in 1983 when his team won the Americas Cup...

    Alan Bond today


    Business interests


    Alan's extensive business interests include; Global Diamond Resources •Strategic Investments • World Gold Corporation • Madagascar Oil • Lucky Country Liquorice • Bond Energy • Bond Media • Chile Telco 

    Lippo Centre in Hong Kong, 1987. Bought by Alan Bond.
    Alan Bond (born 22 April 1938) is an Australian businessman noted for his criminal convictions and high-profile business dealings, including what was at the time the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history. Bond was born in the Hammersmith district ofLondonEngland, and emigrated to Australia with his parents and sister Geraldine in 1950. Beginning his career as a signwriter, he formed what was to be Bond Corporation in 1959. He became a public hero in his adopted country after bankrolling challenges for an international Yacht racing trophy, the America's Cup, which resulted in his selection in 1978 as Australian of the Year (awarded jointly with Galarrwuy Yunupingu). In 1983, hisAustralia II syndicate won the trophy, which had been held by the New York Yacht Clubsince 1851.
    In 1992, Bond was declared bankrupt with personal debts totalling A$1.8 billion. He was subsequently convicted of fraud and served four years in prison. Following release, he became active in mining investment, and was included in Business Review Weekly's "Rich 200 List" in 2008. But this apparent success soon proved to be hollow and built on speculative investments by associates, one of whom, in December 2010, described Bond as "a master manipulator who should be stopped before he does any more damage to anyone."
    The Perth-based Bond made his fortune initially in property development and at one time was one of Australia's most prominent businesspeople. In 1970 he bought three America's Cup bid yachts from Sir Frank Packer. He later extended his business interests into other fields including brewing (he controlled Castlemaine Tooheys and G. Heileman Brewing Company in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA), gold miningtelevision, and airships. Australia's first private university, Bond University, bears his name.
    He purchased QTQ-9Brisbane and settled an outstanding defamation dispute the station had with the Queensland premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen by paying out A$400,000. He said in a television interview several years later that he paid because "Sir Joh left no doubt that if we were going to continue to do business successfully in Queensland then he expected the matter to be resolved".
    In 1987, Bond purchased Vincent Van Gogh's renowned painting, Irises, for $54 million—the highest-ever price for a single painting. However the purchase was funded by a substantial loan from the auctioneer, Sotheby's, which Bond failed to repay. The transaction was criticised by art dealers as possibly a manipulated sale designed to artificially inflate values generally (which it seems to have done).[3] The painting was subsequently re-sold in 1990 to theJ. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.[4]
    Also in 1987, he built and developed the Bond Center in Hong Kong. It was later bought by the Lippo group of Indonesia and is now known as the Lippo Centre, Hong Kong.

    Purchasing the Nine Network

    In 1987 he paid $1 billion for the Australia-wide Channel Nine television network from Kerry Packer's PBL. In a 2003 interview with Andrew Denton, Bond described the negotiations as follows:
    "...when we first sat down, we said, 'We're either going to sell our stations to you for $400 million, or you're going to sell your stations to us.' And he said, 'Well, I don't really want to sell my stations.' And I said, 'Oh, is that right?' So, anyway, after much discussion, Kerry thumped the table and said, 'Listen, if you can pay me $1 billion, I'll sell them to you, otherwise bugger off...' then I rang the National Australia Bank. I said, 'Look, I'm in discussions here to buy these television stations. Kerry will sell to me, and what I want to do is put our stations together and then, with Sky Channel, I'm going to float it off as a separate entity and raise the capital to pay for it... [Packer] said $1 billion [was his asking price], but I think I'll get it for $800 million...' [The bank manager] duly rang back and said yes. I said, 'Thank God. I'll go and have some further negotiations with Kerry,' which I did. And true to his word, he never budged one penny off it. So I settled the deal with $800 million and a $200 million note. So he put his own $200 million in. So I had $1 billion. And we put our other two stations up as collateral, which were worth probably $400 million."[5]
    Bond later ended up selling the network back to PBL in 1990 for $700 million in the midst of his business empire collapsing. Packer was quoted as saying "You only get one Alan Bond in your lifetime, and I've had mine".[5]


    Bankruptcy

    In 1992 Bond was declared bankrupt with personal debts totalling A$1.8 billion. In 1995 Bond's family bought him out of bankruptcy, with creditors accepting a payment of A$12 million, a little over half a cent per dollar. In 1997 Bond was sentenced to 7 years in prison after pleading guilty to using his controlling interest in Bell Resources to deceptively siphon off A$1.2 billion into the coffers of Bond Corporation. The funds were used to shore up the cash resources of the ailing Bond Corporation, which spectacularly collapsed, leaving Bell Resources in a precarious situation. Bond was released in 2000, having served four years in prison at Karnet Prison Farm.[6]


    Return to investment activities

    In 2003, Bond was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame. Since 2003, Bond has worked closely with his son Craig and long-time business partner Robert Quinn through Strategic Investments Ltd.[7][8] Since 2004, interests related to the Bond family have held a block of shares in Madagascar Oil, a business he co-founded with Sam Malin and Robert Nelson, of which the acting chief executive officer is Robert Quinn's son-in-law, J. Laurie Hunter. Interests related to the Bond family also control Global Diamond Resources plc (formerly Lesotho Diamond Corporation) which is developing the Kao diamond pipe in the Kingdom of Lesotho. In 2007, the Federal Court rejected an attempt by Bond to sue freelance journalist Paul Barry over an article Barry wrote about his dealings in Africa with the Lesotho Diamond Company.[9] Bond had claimed that the article had several false statements. In 2008 Bond appealed but this, too, was rejected by the same court which found Mr Bond's claims had no reasonable prospects of success.[10]
    In 2008, Bond made a return to the Business Review Weekly's "Rich 200 List", in 157th spot, with an estimated wealth of $265 million—thanks primarily to his stakes in Madagascar Oil and Global Diamond Resources.[11]


    Family

    Bond was born on 22 April 1938, the son of Frank and Kathleen Bond, both Protestants,[12] in the Hammersmith district of London, England. At the age of 12, he emigrated to Australia with his parents and his 18-month older sister Geraldine in 1950.[13]
    In 1955 he married Eileen Hughes, a member of a prominent Catholic business family in Fremantle. She and Bond were both 17 and she was pregnant at the time. Bond converted to catholicism after the marriage.[12] The Bonds had four children: John, Craig, Susanne and Jody. Bond and Eileen divorced in 1992.[14] Susanne died in 2000 from a suspected accidental overdose of prescription medication. She was an equestrian showjumper who was a member of the Australian showjumping team for seven years.[15]
    In 1995 Bond married Diana Bliss, a public relations consultant and theatre producer.[16] On 28 January 2012, Bliss was found dead in the couple's swimming pool.[17]

    Robert Holmes à Court

    Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court (27 July 1937, JohannesburgSouth Africa – 2 September 1990, PerthWestern Australia) was an entrepreneur who became Australia's first businessman worth over a billion dollars before dying suddenly of a heart attack in 1990.
    Holmes à Court was one of the world's most feared corporate raiders through the 1980s, having built his empire single-handedly from virtually nothing to a diversified resources and media group with an estimated worth prior to the 1987 stockmarket crash of about $2 billion. Shareholders in the company that became his flagship, 'Bell Resources', enjoyed enormous investment growth.
    He died of a sudden heart attack in 1990 at the age of 53. As he had died intestate, Holmes à Court's estate was divided equally among his widow Janet (née Ranford), and their four children.

    Early life and studies

    Holmes à Court was born in Johannesburg but spent much of his early life in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He was educated atMichaelhouse, in what was then NatalSouth Africa. Holmes à Court began his tertiary studies in 1957, at Massey University in New Zealand. He graduated with a degree in agricultural science (forestry). He then moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1961, to study lawat the University of Western Australia. In 1966, he married science teacher Janet Ranford. Holmes à Court formed a law practice in Perth in 1967, in partnership with Nicholas Hasluck 

    Business career

    Holmes à Court entered the corporate stage by accident in 1970, when his law firm was asked to act as receiver of a small publicly listed company, Western Australian Worsted & Woollen Mills (later Albany Woollen Mills, also known as AWM or WA Wool). The company was the single largest employer in the regional city of Albany. In what he later described as his most challenging "takeover", probably because it was his first, he found a way to invest $500,000 in the ailing business, on the proviso that the state Minister for Industry, Sir Charles Court, would persuade the Government of Western Australia to forgive the $500,000 in loans they had made.
    While at Michaelhouse School, Holmes à Court was reputed to be a contemporary of and apparently friendly with members of the Oppenheimer family, but in fact this is incorrect; none of the Oppenheimers attended Michaelhouse but went to school in the UK. Since Oppenheimer controlled the giant de Beers diamond and gold mining business they would have had ample funds to finance Holmes à Court should they have wished. In fact, after Holmes à Court's death it was suggested in various of his obituaries that the Oppenheimers did in fact provide sources of finance at various times, and this seems very possible. Alternatively, Holmes à Court's mother appears to have inherited a comfortable amount of money on her husband's and Holmes à Court's father's death, and so she may have provided some funding, although there is no evidence that she did.
    After acquiring the company, Holmes à Court made it more competitive by reducing production costs, mainly by installing the latest wool milling and weaving machinery. This was acquired on favourable terms from a leading Belgian equipment manufacturer, which was keen to enter the Australian market at that time.
    Holmes à Court now controlled a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and from there he began to gain control of a string of small businesses, including Westate Electrical Industries.
    Robert was also a prominent member of the Racing Community and owner of one of Western Australia's premier studs, Heytesbury Stud.
    Together with Racing Manager, Valerie Gannon, he enjoyed great success with Thoroughbreds such as Black Knight, Haulpak, Pago Pago and Family of Man.


    The Bell Group

    In 1973, Holmes à Court's AWM acquired Bell Brothers, a well known West Australian transport and contracting group, for $9.6 million, through a reverse takeover. Bell brothers would ultimately become his flagship company as Bell Resources.
    Bell acquired media interests including the Albany Advertiser, the Katanning weekly, the Great Southern Herald, the Collie Mail and radio station 6VA. It also made unsuccessful bids for companies such as Griffin CoalGreenbushes Tin and Emu Wines. These bids, while unsuccessful, earned significant profits mainly by aggressive defences from owners resulting in inflated share prices held by the bidder.
    In 1977, Holmes à Court's brother Simon disappeared in mysterious circumstances in Africa[1]. His abandoned car was found more than 1000 km from his home and where he was last seen in Botswana. Author Geoff Elliott wrote a book about the disappearance.[2]
    During 1979, Bell made an unsuccessful bid for Ansett Transport Industries but was defeated by Rupert Murdoch and roadfreight groupTNT. However, a profit of $11 million was made by Bell for future bids.
    Bell Group made an unsuccessful bid for The Times in 1980, and at the same time launched a new Perth newspaper, the Western Mail, challenging the The Herald and Weekly Times (H&WT) which owned the West Australian. By the end of 1980, Bell Resources had accumulated cash reserves of $100 million.
    In 1981, it made a bid for Elders Goldsborough Mort for $120 million bid and failed, but earned a profit of $16.5 million on the deal.
    During 1982, Bell took stakes in Rolls Royce and Portland Cement and made an unsuccessful bid for the H&WT group. Later that year it acquired Perth television station TVW-7.
    Bell subsequently acquired a television station in Adelaide and a handful of small regional radio stations.
    Unsuccessful bids were made for Carlton & United Breweries and Elders IXL but as usual, Holmes à Court's strategic corporate planning let him walk away with a profit.
    In 1983, Bell bought Perth mining equipment company Wigmores, and was renamed Bell Resources.
    Through the ACC group, Bell gained control of Bass Strait oil and gas explorer, Weeks Petroleum which owned a 2.5% royalty share in the Esso-BHP consortium.
    In 1985, Bell acquired 13% of U.S. mining company Asarco for $140 million and made an unsuccessful bid for Perth utility Fremantle Gas & Coke. In 1982 it acquired Lord Grade's UK-based Associated Communications Corporation (ACC),[3] and then sold off ACC's stake in Central Independent Television and ATV Music publishing interests, including Northern Songs, a company set up by The Beatles to control copyright of their music. ATV Music Publishing was bought by Michael Jackson, and as part of the deal, Holmes à Court persuaded Jackson to make a brief visit to Perth, in order to appear on Channel 7's annual Telethon[4][5]
    Also in 1985, Bell Resources made its biggest and most daring bid to date for control of resources and steelmaking giant BHP, which was Australia's largest company. Before the deal was finalised the following year, Elders IXL took a 20% stake in BHP, for $2 billion. In turn, BHP purchased $1 billion of Elders preference shares. The deal later resulted in action against Elders executives, including chairman John Elliott by the corporate regulator.
    Bell acted as a "white knight" in defeating a £1.9 billion hostile bid from Lloyds Bank for its competitor Standard Chartered Bank.
    In 1987, Bell purchased a stake in Pioneer Concrete and made a second unsuccessful bid for the H&WT group. The bid went to takeover competitor Rupert Murdoch for $1.8 billion. Bell took ownership of The West Australian, Perth's main daily newspaper. Bell also spent US$800 million, to acquire 9.6% of Texaco stock.
    By the time of the October 1987 international stockmarket crash, Bell Group — like many investment companies — had accumulated assets that were valuable but not generating revenue sufficient to cover debts. Holmes à Court's family company, Heytesbury Holdings, at the time owned 43% of Bell Group, which in turn owned 40% of the cash rich Bell Resources. However, Bell Resources was not able to buy its parent, due to share raids being made on Bell Resources by Kerry PackerAdelaide Steamship Company (under John Spalvins) and IEL (Ron Brierley). Merrill Lynch withdrew its $1 billion line of credit facility, meaning that the parent couldn't acquire its subsidiary and thereby access the money.


    Holmes à Court initially disposed of some Perth properties before accepting a joint takeover by Bond Corporation and the State Government Insurance Commission (SGIC), in which both parties took a 19.9% stake in Bell Group. Holmes a Court retained 6% of Bell Group and received $340 million from the sale. Bond Corp was subsequently forced to bid for other shares in Bell with the result that it ended up with a majority shareholding of 68% of Bell Group. Bond Corp then proceeded to strip $500 million from Bell Resources in an effort to prop up its own debts. The asset stripping included transferring cash from Bell Resources for its own purposes (thus breaching the company code and ultimately sending its chairman Alan Bond to jail), transfer of ownership of newspaper holdings into Bond Media and disposal of certain assets including TVW-7.
    During 1988, Holmes à Court concentrated on the rebuilding and expansion of his Heytesbury subsidiaries acquiring Stoll Moss Theatres in London, Sherwin Pastoral Co (owner of vast cattle stations in Northern Australia), and the Vasse Felix winery in Margaret River.
    In 1989, Heytesbury bought the Victoria River Downs and major Sherwin Pastoral Co cattle and pastoral stations. Holmes à Court also traded in Jaguar stock, as well as Christies and New Zealand media group Wilson & Horton.
    During 1990, Bond Corporation announced a record $980m loss and Elders IXL followed with an announcement of a $1.3 billion loss. Bond Corporation entered a scheme of arrangement in 1991, with receivers taking charge of Bell Group and Bell Resources.


    Events after his death

    Heytesbury Holdings continues as one of the largest private companies in Australia. Janet Holmes à Court ran Heytesbury from the time of her husband's death until 2005, when she retired. She was, at one time, Australia's richest woman. The couple's eldest son,Peter Holmes à Court, is now a major investor and entrepreneur in his own right, after divesting himself of his share of Heytesbury, reported as A$35 million.[6] Peter Holmes à Court along with Russell Crowe is the 75.8% owner of National Rugby League club South Sydney Rabbitohs. Another son, Paul Holmes à Court has since taken over as chief executive. Robert Holmes à Court's other children are Simon (married, with four children) and Catherine.
    Robert and Janet Holmes à Court had 12 grandchildren by 2005, according to an interview with her.[7] The eldest son Peter (b. 1968) is currently heir presumptive to his distant cousin, the 7th Baron Heytesbury (b. 1967).




















     

    Katherine Jackson
    © Charles Dharapak/AP
    Katherine Jackson

    More on Wonderwall: Photos of Jackson's final days
    http://wonderwall.msn.com/music/The-Last-Photos-of-Michael-Jackson-3342.gallery

    Judge backs Michael Jackson lawyer and friend

    http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=419208>1=28102
    LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's longtime attorney and a family friend should take over the pop singer's estate, a judge said Monday.

    Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff issued his ruling after a court hearing Monday morning. Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to administer his estate.

    Jackson died June 25, deeply in debt. But a court filing estimates that his estate will be worth more than $500 million.

    The singer's mother, Katherine Jackson, had applied to oversee her son's estate, but that was before the will surfaced. Her attorney, Burt Levitch, expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's financial leadership.

    Levitch told Beckloff that Branca had previously been removed from financial positions of authority by Jackson. Branca's attorney says he was rehired by Jackson on June 17, days before Jackson's death.

    Katherine Jackson did not appear at Monday's hearing. Branca did attend.

    Related: Jackson and mother Katherine had unbreakable bond

    Branca and McClain will have to post a $1 million bond on the estate, Beckloff ruled.


    Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

     

     


    http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9775030/Relative:-Police-suspect-GF-was-McNair-shooter


    Sahel Kazemi.
     (The Tennessean / Associated Press)



    Steve McNair played 13 NFL seasons.(Chris McGrath / Getty Images)

    Relative: Police suspect GF was McNair shooter


    Updated: July 6, 2009, 5:30 PM EDT


    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - As police continued to investigate the Steve McNair homicide case, a relative of the woman found shot to death next to McNair claims police have told him they are almost sure 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi was the shooter, and that Kazemi purchased a gun in the past week.

    Farzin Abdi, Kazemi's nephew, didn't know what day of the week the gun was purchased or what type of gun it was.

    Nashville police didn't immediately have a reaction to the Abdi's comments.

    "There was no way she was depressed and wanting to do this," Abdi said. "She was so happy. ... She just had it made, you know, (with) this guy taking care of everything."

    Abdi said Kazemi believed McNair was divorcing his wife and she was preparing to sell her furniture to move in with him.

    Shot twice in the head and two more times in the chest, McNair was the victim of a homicide, police declared Sunday. But authorities wouldn't say it was a murder-suicide — even with Kazemi dead at his feet from a single bullet.

    McNair had been dating Saleh Kazemi for several months, and Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said Sunday that a semiautomatic pistol was found under her body. She was shot in the head.

    McNair, who was married with four sons, had a permit to carry a handgun in Tennessee, and he was arrested once before with a 9mm weapon although charges in the case were dropped. Police said they had not yet determined who owned the gun found at the scene.

    Investigators weren't looking for a suspect but were questioning friends of the couple as well as Kazemi's ex-boyfriend. They were also waiting for results of drug and other laboratory tests before deciding whether McNair was killed in a lovers' quarrel.

    "That's a very important part of the investigation as we work to ultimately classify Miss Kazemi's death," Aaron said.

    A public memorial and viewings are scheduled later this week for McNair.

    The public will have a couple of opportunities to attend viewings in Nashville on Thursday and a memorial will be held later that evening at Mount Zion Baptist Church.

    A funeral will be held Saturday in Mississippi but arrangements are not yet final.

    Fans are asked to make donations to the Steve McNair Foundation.

    The details surfacing after McNair's death stand in stark contrast to the public persona he enjoyed during his career.

    McNair repeatedly played through serious injuries and pain to win, though he came up a yard short of forcing overtime on the Tennessee Titans' famous drive to lose the 2000 Super Bowl.

    Generous, he frequently took part in charity work for both the Titans and later the Baltimore Ravens after a 2006 trade. McNair even helped load donated food, water and clothes onto tractor-trailers that he had arranged for Hurricane Katrina victims, and paid for three football camps for children himself this year.

    McNair and Kazemi were found dead at a Nashville condominium — which overlooks the Titans stadium — that he rented with his friend Wayne Neeley. Police believe both died early Saturday. Neeley found the bodies hours later, and called a friend, Robert Gaddy, who played at Alcorn State with McNair. Gaddy dialed 911.

    "People have certain things that they do in life," Gaddy said. "We don't need to look on the situation at this time (but) on the fact we just lost a great member of society."

    The quarterback's agent, Bus Cook, said he had never heard Kazemi's name until news of the shooting broke Saturday. What McNair's wife knew wasn't clear Sunday. Cook said Mechelle McNair was "in and out of it." He said she had no comment after the police called his death a homicide.

    "It doesn't make any sense. I don't know what to say," Cook said.

    Mechelle was "very upset, very distraught" Sunday, Cook said. She was preparing to finish funeral arrangements Monday.

    McNair split his time between Nashville and his farm in Mount Olive, Miss. He recently opened a restaurant near Tennessee State University that was aimed at serving healthy, affordable food to college students.

    McNair was also seen so often at Kazemi's apartment that a neighbor thought he lived there.

    McNair met Kazemi when his family ate often at the Dave & Buster's restaurant she worked at as a server, and the two began dating in a relationship that included a vacation with parasailing. Photos posted on TMZ.com showed McNair gazing and smiling at the young Kazemi.

    "She pretty obviously got mixed up way over her head with folks," said Reagan Howard, a neighbor of Kazemi's.

    A man who answered the door at a house in the Jacksonville, Fla., suburb of Orange Park said it was the home of Kazemi's family, but said her relatives did not want to comment.

    "We don't have anything to say, please leave us alone," he said.

    The victim's sister, Soheyla Kazemi, told the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville that the young woman had expected McNair to get a divorce. "She said they were planning to get married."

    Kazemi often was dropped off by limousine in the early morning hours and recently went from driving a Kia to a 2007 Cadillac Escalade registered to both herself and McNair. Her niece told The Tennessean that Kazemi thought McNair was divorcing his wife of 12 years soon.

    Nashville courts had no record of a McNair divorce case, but a home he owned in Nashville is on the market for $3 million.

    The real estate agent declined to comment. Her online listing for property described it as a "gigantic house" of more than 14,000 square feet and photos showed a pool, home theater, baby grand piano and ornate furnishings throughout.

    McNair and Kazemi were together Thursday night when she was pulled over driving that Escalade. She was arrested on a DUI charges, and he was allowed to leave in a taxi even though he was charged with drunken driving in 2007 when his brother-in-law was stopped for DUI while driving McNair's pickup truck.

    McNair led the Titans to the 2000 Super Bowl, which they lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams despite his 87-yard drive in the final minute and 48 seconds. He was co-MVP of the NFL with Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in 2003.

    Manning said in a statement Sunday that he had some great battles with the quarterback.

    "Sharing the NFL MVP honor with him in 2003 was special because of what a great football player he was," Manning said. "I had the opportunity to play in a couple of Pro Bowls with him, and the time spent with him in Hawaii I'll never forget. I'll truly miss him."

    The Titans drafted Vince Young in 2006 to replace McNair, who had mentored him since he was a teenager. They never played together but did play against each other that year.

    "He was like a father to me. I hear his advice in my head with everything I do. Life will be very different without him," Young said in a statement Sunday.

    McNair grew up in Mount Olive, Miss., and became a football star at Alcorn State, the Division I-AA school in his home state as he dominated the Southwestern Athletic Conference. He became a Heisman Trophy contender as reporters flocked to little Lorman to watch the man known as "Air McNair.

    He still holds the Division I-AA (now known as Football Championship Subdivision) records for career yards passing (14,496) and total offense (16,823). McNair was drafted in 1995 by the Houston Oilers, who eventually became the Titans.

    Picked four times for the Pro Bowl, McNair finished with 31,304 yards passing and 174 touchdowns. He led both the Titans and Ravens to playoff berths, including two AFC championship game appearances with Tennessee. Injuries finally led to his retirement after the 2007 season

    Besides his wife, McNair is survived his sons Junior, Steven, Tyler and Trenton.




    Fox News Contributor Rips Into Palin: "The Woman Is Inarticulate, Undereducated" (VIDEO)

    The Huffington Post   |  Rachel Weiner 
    First Posted: 07- 6-09 01:24 PM   |   Updated: 07- 6-09 01:42 PM

    Even Fox News has started to turn on Sarah Palin. In the midst of a segment about the Alaska Governor's battle against "liberal" attacks, Liz Trotta went off-message.

    Frankly, "the woman is inarticulate, undereducated," Trotta said, arguing that for once liberal criticism was "well-deserved."

    "I think all the liberal stylists ... really have a case. She just begs for adjectives like flaky and wacky." When pressed, she added, "We're talking about somebody who, right from the get-go, has been a flashy person who gets into a lot of trouble and really has no credentials for any 

    More in Politics...

     

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    Sarah Palin's Second Chanc

    Karen Dalton-Beninato Karen Dalton-Beninato: Pleading the Fifth: The Palin Constitution Revolution
    I don't know what to call it but the Convolution Party aired its brand new platform on the steps of a Land of Lincoln courthouse, some in their Glenn Beck Live Free or Die shirts.

     

    Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:

     




    Lance Armstrong and his Astana team were fined for arriving late for the pre-strage registration this morning in Marseille, France. Rules state that riders must show up 20 minutes prior to the start or face a fine of 100 Swiss Francs ($92). Sneering contempt from the Tour de France competitions director is an added bonus.


    Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:01 am EDT

    Lance and Astana earn a $92 fine for showing up late

    By Chris Chase

    "Today, and as usual, the Astana team arrived late at the pre-stage registration, in contempt of the crowd, who has once again not seen Lance Armstrong," [Tour competitions director Jean-Francois] Pescheux told Reuters before the start of the third stage from Marseille to La Grande Motte.

    "They don't care about the fine. We are going to ask the UCI to be tougher."

    Of course they don't care about the fine. Ninety-two dollars? Lance drops more on that at breakfast. Has that amount changed since the first Tour in 1903? The last time I heard of a $92 fine I was watching The People's Court ... in 1987.  

    And what's with the attitude, M. Pescheux? Let's not be perpetuating stereotypes about the French. It's bad enough that Lance is reinforcing notions that Americans show up late to everything. 

    One of the excuses floated for that late arrival for Astana was that there was bad traffic in Marseille. The irony of showing up late to a bike race because your car was stuck in traffic is something even Pescheux should find amusing.

    Update: Armstrong apologized for his tardiness on his Twitter account this afternoon, 

    blaming it on a visit from actor Ben Stiller.


    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31759835/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?gt1=43001
    Police may have killed suspect in S.C. slayings

    Similar vehicle links series of five deaths to man shot overnight in N.C.


    Image: Possible suspect
    AP
    This is an updated drawing of the suspected serial killer in Cherokee County, S.C., made available on Friday.













    Video
      Manhunt for S.C. serial killer
    July 6: Residents of a South Carolina town were terrorized after five people were shot to death in about a week. NBC’s Ron Mott reports from Gaffney, S.C..

    Today show


    Video: Crime & courts  
    Former DC mayor arrested on stalking charges
    July 6: Former Washington D.C. Mayor, and current D.C. Councilman Marion Barry has been arrested for allegedly stalking a female acquaintance. WRC's Darcy Spencer reports.


    On the run

    The U.S. Marshals want your help finding their "15 Most Wanted" fugitives, a notorious list of suspects fleeing everything from murder and robbery to child sex charges. To date, about 200 of the fugitives profiled on the list have been found. Tips leading to an arrest are rewarded up to $25,000. Click here to see the fugitives. 


    NBC, msnbc.com and news services
    updated 2:41 p.m. ET July 6, 2009

    Authorities were investigating whether a man who was shot and killed Monday morning by police in North Carolina may be linked to the slayings of five people in South Carolina in a week.

    South Carolina law enforcement officers were in Gaston County, N.C., near Charlotte, after county police shot and killed the man, who they said opened fire on them Monday morning, NBC News’ Ron Mott reported.

    Investigators told NBC station WCNC of Charlotte that a gray or champagne Ford Explorer was found outside the house in Gaston County, about 30 miles north of Cherokee County, S.C., where five people were found shot to death in three incidents over eight days bridging last week.

    Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton said Monday that a gray Ford Explorer was believed to link all five of the South Carolina killings.

    “The physical evidence, the evidence that we have, the eyewitnesses that we have, puts the same person, we think the same vehicle, at all three locations,” Blanton said in an interview on NBC’s TODAY.

    Questioning three people
    Gaston County police were questioning three people who were reported to have entered a house about 2:40 a.m. when they discovered that one of them had an outstanding warrant. The man, whose identity was not released, fired a single shot when officers tried to serve the warrant, injuring one of the officers in the leg. Police fired four shots, killing the man at the scene, they said.

    The killings began a week ago Saturday in Cherokee County, S.C., when the wife of Kline Cash, a 63-year-old peach farmer, found her husband shot to death in their rural home. Then, on Wednesday, relatives discovered the bodies of Gena Linder Parker, 50, and her mother, Hazel Linder, 83, bound and shot to death in a separate attack at Linder’s home.

    Thursday, Stephen Tyler and his daughter Abby, 15, were shot as they were closing the Tyler Home Center near downtown Gaffney. He died Thursday, while Abby Tyler fought for her life for two days before dying Saturday at a hospital.

    Blanton said deputies were searching for a man about 6 feet 2 inches tall with salt-and-pepper hair.

    Hundreds of people thronged funeral services Sunday for the mother and daughter. Law enforcement officers provided security for the family and mourners. The crime spree terrorizing Cherokee County forced many people to curtail Fourth of July festivities.

    Celebration turns to mourning
    The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg, S.C., reported that the Tylers’ minister at Cherokee Avenue Baptist Church, Clyde Thomas, urged congregants to keep the faith in the face of tragedy. The newspaper said he had a pistol in his office Saturday.
    “As Christians, we don’t live by explanations. We live by promises. We live by faith, not sight,” Thomas said.
    Thomas said he had originally planned to deliver a sermon titled “Happy Birthday, America” for the Fourth of July service. But instead of upbeat patriotic music, Sunday’s program was changed to add hymns reflecting a time of mourning.

    The killings alarmed many residents, and some talked of arming themselves.
    “The irony is that the freedoms we have, we’re locked behind closed doors with firearms,” Thomas said. “We should be celebrating freedom, but we find ourselves very much restrained by fear.”
    Blanton, the sheriff, said all the victims were shot. The shootings all occurred within about 10 miles of each other in Cherokee County, a community of 54,000 people set amid peach orchards and farms.

    Investigators have released a sketch of the suspect, saying he was in his 40s and roughly 200 pounds.

    More on South Carolina

     

    http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-experts-10_boilerplate_phrases_that_kill_resumes-97

    The Savvy Networker

    10 Boilerplate Phrases That Kill Resumes


    The Savvy Networker

       by: Liz Ryan

    The 2009 job market is very different from job markets of the past. If you haven't job-hunted in a while, the changes in the landscape can throw you for a loop.

    One of the biggest changes is the shift in what constitutes a strong resume. Years ago, we could dig into the Resume Boilerplate grab-bag and pull out a phrase to fill out a sentence or bullet point on our resume. Everybody used the same boilerplate phrases, so we knew we couldn't go wrong choosing one of them -- or many -- to throw into your resume.

    Things have changed. Stodgy boilerplate phrases in your resume today mark you as uncreative and "vocabulary challenged." You can make your resume more compelling and human-sounding by rooting out and replacing the boring corporate-speak phrases that litter it, and replacing them with human language -- things that people like you or me would actually say.

    Here are the worst 10 boilerplate phrases -- the ones to seek out and destroy in your resume as soon as possible:

    • Results-oriented professional
    • Cross-functional teams
    • More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience
    • Superior (or excellent) communication skills
    • Strong work ethic
    • Met or exceeded expectations
    • Proven track record of success
    • Works well with all levels of staff
    • Team player
    • Bottom-line orientation

    You can do better. What about adding a human voice to your resume? Here's an example:

    "I'm a Marketing Researcher who's driven by curiosity about why people buy what they do. At XYZ Industries, I used consumer surveys and online-forum analysis to uncover the reasons why consumers chose our competitors over us; our sales grew twenty percent over the next six months as a result. I'm equally at home on sales calls or analyzing data in seclusion, and up to speed on traditional and new-millennium research tools and approaches. I'm fanatical about understanding our marketplace better every day, week and month -- and have helped my employers' brands grow dramatically as a result."

    You don't have to write resumes that sound like robots wrote them. A human-voiced resume is the new black -- try it!

    Liz Ryan is a 25-year HR veteran, former Fortune 500 VP and an internationally recognized expert on careers and the new millennium workplace. Contact Liz at liz@asklizryan.com or join the Ask Liz Ryan online community at www.asklizryan/group.
    The opinions expressed in this column are solely the author's.


    Also on Yahoo! HotJobs:

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    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,530284,00.html



    American Life League


    Seventh Grader Sues School Over Right to Wear Pro-Life T-Shirt

    A California mom says her public school administrators violated her daughter's First Amendment rights when they ordered the seventh-grader to take off her pro-life T-shirt.

    Anna Amador has gone to court on behalf of her daughter, who she says was ordered by her principal to
    change her shirt on "National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day." The shirt the girl was wearing displays two graphic pictures of a fetus growing in the womb.
    The incident occurred in April 2008 at McSwain Elementary School, a K-8 school in Merced, Calif. Amador alleges in her legal complaint that school Principal Terrie Rohrer, Assistant Principal C.W. Smith and office
    clerk Martha Hernandez mistreated her daughter and denied the girl her First Amendment rights when they ordered her to leave the cafeteria and change her shirt.
    "Before Plaintiff could eat [breakfast] she was ordered by a school staff member to throw her food out and report immediately to Defendant Smith's office, located in the main office of McSwain Elementary School," the complaint reads.
    "Upon arriving at the main office, Defendant Hernandez, intentionally and without Plaintiff's consent, grabbed Plaintiff's arm and forcibly escorted her toward Smith's office, at all times maintaining a vice-like grip on Plaintiff's arm. Hernandez only released Plaintiff's arm after physically locating her in front of Smith and Defendant Rohrer...

    "Smith and Rohrer ordered Plaintiff to remove her pro-life T-shirt and instructed Plaintiff to never wear her pro-life T-shirt at McSwain Elementary School ever again...
    "Completely humiliated and held out for ridicule, Plaintiff complied with Defendants' directives and removed her pro-life T-shirt, whereupon, Defendants seized and confiscated it. Defendants did not return Plaintiff's property until the end of the school day."
    The school administrators dispute some of the allegations, said Anthony N. DeMaria, attorney for the McSwain Union Elementary School District.
    "I think the school district has a very strong defense," DeMaria said. "The complaint does not properly characterize the events that happened. Certainly we dispute some of the events."
    He said he was unable to reach the administrators to determine which parts they say are incorrect, because school is out for the summer. Rohrer, the principal, told FOXNews.com on Monday that she could not issue a statement without consulting with the school superintendent and their attorney. The other defendants and school district employees did not respond to calls and e-mails from FOXNews.com.
    The school district sought to get the case thrown out due to "failure to state a cognizable claim," but a U.S. Eastern District Court judge ruled last month that all but one of Amador's claims could go forward.
    The complaint quotes school district officials saying that they ordered Amador's daughter to remove the shirt because it constituted "inappropriate subject matter" in violation of the school's dress code, which bans clothing with "suggestion of tobacco, drug or alcohol use, sexual promiscuity, profanity, vulgarity, or other inappropriate subject matter."
    Amador claims in the legal complaint that other students at the school have been allowed to wear expressive shirts, and she blames the school for “inconsistently applying their Dress Code based upon subjective determinations as to which messages are acceptable and which messages are not.”
    One of the girl's lawyers, Mark A. Thiel, said that the images on her shirt of a fetus in the womb were same as those in her science textbooks. He said no student had complained about the shirt, and he said the girl's parents were not called when the incident took place.
    "This was a young girl, not even in high school. But they didn't call," he said.
    A spokeswoman for the local Planned Parenthood chapter declined to take sides in the case.
    "Even offensive speech is protected as long as it doesn’t impinge upon the rights of others," said Deborah Ortiz, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.
    "School administrators have a mission to educate, and the student’s right to political speech should be protected in balance with this education mission."
    UCLA law professor and First Amendment expert Eugene Volokh said Supreme Court precedent appears to support the girl's case.
    "During the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court ruled that wearing black arm bands [at school, to protest the war] was OK,” Volokh said. “If students can wear armbands in protest, why can't they wear a pro-life shirt?"
    He said the case would be different if there was evidence that the shirt could have led to disruption or fighting.
    "Schools have a lot more authority than the government does in regulating speech,” he said. “If someone is speaking on a street corner and it looks like other people are going to start a fight over it, the government's job is to protect the speaker. That is not the case in schools. We need to make sure students learn. So if speech is highly disruptive, well … in that case we can suppress it.
    "But the school's position that they can restrict speech just because they find it inappropriate is not correct."
    But the fact that it's a K-8 school with very young children could change things, said Brooklyn Law School professor William Araiza. He pointed to the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Morse v. Frederick, where the court allowed a high school to suspend students in Juneau, Alaska, who waved a banner that read “Bong hits 4 Jesus” from across the street during an Olympic torch relay, because it was seen as promoting illegal drug use.
    “[The school] could almost use a “bong hits” kind of rationale about protecting students from inappropriate messages,” Araiza said. “For instance, would you allow a 4th grader to wear a gruesome picture of a bomb scene? You probably wouldn't.”
    First Amendment attorney William Becker, who represents Amador, disagreed that the shirt could be seen as containing inappropriate messages.
    "The message of the T-shirt is that life is sacred," he said. "One would be very hard pressed to find anything wrong with that particular idea, except that some people do object to the political message.”

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    US


    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31733401/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?GT1=43001

    Video

      Murders leave S.C. town on edge
    July 4: Fourth of July celebrations in Gaffney, S.C., took on a somber tone amid a desperate search for a killer believed to be responsible for at least five murders. NBC’s Ron Mott reports.

    Nightly News


    Image: Possible suspect
    AP
    This is an updated drawing of the suspected serial killer in Cherokee County, S.C., made available on Friday.










    S.C. town terrorized by 5 killings in past week AP

    15-year-old girl latest victim of suspected serial killer

    GAFFNEY, S.C. - A teenage girl shot while helping her father in their family's small furniture and appliance store died Saturday, becoming the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer terrorizing a small South Carolina community, authorities said.

    Abby Tyler, 15, died about 11:15 a.m. at a Spartanburg hospital after fighting for her life for two days, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said.
    Tyler was wounded and her father was killed Thursday as they worked to close the Tyler Home Center near downtown Gaffney.
    County Sheriff Bill Blanton said investigators believe the killings are linked and the search is on for a suspected male serial killer. An 83-year-old mother and her daughter were shot to death Wednesday, and a 63-year-old peach farmer was found dead at his home a week ago.
    Blanton said all the victims were shot, but he would not say how the deaths were linked. The shootings all occurred within about 10 miles of each other in Cherokee County, a rural community of 54,000 people set amid peach orchards and farms some 50 miles west of Charlotte, N.C.

    Killings have terrorized community
    The spree had alarmed residents canceling Independence Day holiday plans and arming themselves. The sheriff has warned door-to-door salesmen to stop knocking and anyone who breaks down on the county's rural roads to wait instead of walking to a house for help because he worries "people are going to start shooting at shadows."
    The killings began a week ago Saturday when the wife of 63-year-old peach farmer Kline Cash found him dead in their home. Then last Wednesday, relatives found 83-year-old Hazel Linder and her 50-year-old daughter, Gena Linder Parker, bound and shot to death in a separate shooting at Linder's home.
    Dozens of local, state and federal investigators were assigned to the case when the killings were linked. But a day later, the killer struck again, less than a half-mile from the sheriff's office serving as the headquarters for the investigation, killing 48-year-old Stephen Tyler and his daughter.
    "We're knee-deep in the investigation," Blanton said Sunday. "There's fear and concern here and there should be concern."
    Investigators have released a sketch of the suspect, saying he is in his 40s, with salt and pepper hair, about 6-foot-2, and roughly 200 pounds. They think he is driving a silver 1991-1994 Ford Explorer. 

    The last time the town was this threatened like this was 1968, when the "Gaffney Strangler" killed four women over 10 days and vowed to kill more. The town banded together, despite racial prejudice, to find the man who was killing white and black women.
    The strangler, Lee Roy Martin, called the editor of a local newspaper on Feb. 8, 1968, and told him where to find the bodies of two women he'd dumped in the woods. He threatened to kill even more women until he was "shot down like the dog I am."
    People started to comb the community for clues, which led to Martin's arrest. He was convicted of four murders and sentenced to four life terms. In 1972, he was stabbed to death in his cell.

    More on South Carolina
    MORE FROM CRIME & COURTS
    Crime & courts Section Front

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31707246/ns/health-addictions/

    Video

      Police fight Florida pill mills 
    April 30: Florida police face drug addicts and dealers from other states seeking painkillers. Watch more of Mark Potter's report.

    Nightly News

    Video
      Prescription drugs 'killing our young'
    July 5: In their own words, parents, community leaders and advocates discuss the "epidemic" of prescription drug abuse.

    Nightly News


    Interactives and quizzes

     
    NBC News/Voince Genova
    Lynn and Sam Kissick discuss the tragic death of their Daughter as a result of a

    prescription drug overdose


    NBC News / Vince Genova
    Sarah Shay seen before her tragic drug overdose.














    Prescription drug abuse ravages state's youth

    Prescription drug abuse is  a fast-growing problem that exists across the country,
     but officials say the problem is particularly acute
     in the cities and rural areas of Eastern Kentucky. NBC News' Mark Potter reports.

    Kentucky officials see an ‘epidemic’; officials say drugs coming from Florida

    By Mark Potter

    Correspondent

    NBC News

    updated 8:17 a.m. ET July 6, 2009

    MOREHEAD, Ky. — Late in the morning last New Year's Day, Sam and Lynn Kissick received a devastating phone call that would tear their lives apart.
    The caller informed them their 22-year-old daughter, Savannah, was being rushed by ambulance to the St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead, Ky. She had long battled drug addiction, but it looked like this time, Savannah had overdosed on a combination of painkillers and sedatives while celebrating New Year's Eve. 
    After racing to the emergency room to be by Savannah's side, her parents were met by a physician with grim
    news. "I'm sorry, Mr. And Mrs. Kissick, but she didn't make it," he said.
    Savannah had just become the latest fatality linked to prescription drug abuse, a fast-growing problem that killed more than 8,500 Americans in 2005, according to the latest available statistics from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says nearly 7 million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, noting that is "more than the number who are abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy and inhalants combined." The DEA also reports that "opioid painkillers now cause more overdose deaths than cocaine and heroin combined."
    "Something needs to be done, because it's killing our kids every day." said Lynn Kissick.  "People need to stand up and take notice. Our kids are dying. They're dying because of these drugs."

     A regional ‘epidemic’ 
    While the problem exists in every state in the country, Kentucky led the nation in the use of
    prescription drugs for non-medical purposes during the last year, according to the state'sOffice of Drug Control Policy. Officials said prescription drug abuse is particularly acute in the cities and rural areas of Eastern Kentucky.
    Last year alone, at least 485 people died in Kentucky from prescription drug overdoses,
    according to the state's Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Medical Examiners' records indicate the drugs most commonly found in those death cases were methadone, the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone, alprazolam (Xanax), morphine, diazepam (Valium) and fentanyl.
    "It's an epidemic and I'm afraid we're losing a whole generation," said Beth Lewis Maze, the Chief Circuit Judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit in Kentucky. "These pain medications are so highly addictive that these young people are digging themselves a very deep hole."
    In the region's newly formed drug court, Maze sees the ravages of prescription drug abuse at all levels of society. "I see good kids from good families, doctors, lawyers, teachers," she said.
    Greenup County Coroner Neil Wright calls prescription drug abuse "public enemy number one."  Half of the 50 deaths he logged last year were drug related, and "85 to 90 percent" of those calls involved prescription pill overdoses. "It affects everybody. I don't care, rich, poor, educated or non-educated, it affects everybody."
    Down the street, Greenup County Sheriff Keith Cooper dug through the many evidence bags his deputies have filled with prescription pill bottles and cash seized during drug arrests.
    "We are drowning in a sea of prescription medication," said Cooper, who complained about the skyrocketing number of crimes committed by addicts searching for money to buy painkillers.
    "It affects, quite literally, every kind, every type of crime that we have, the burglaries, the thefts, the accidents, the domestic disputes between families. It's breaking families up."
    In neighboring Rowan County, where Savannah Kissick died, Chief Deputy Sheriff Roger Holbrook was arrested recently on federal charges that he had conspired to distribute oxycodone. 

    Crowded rehabilitation clinics 
    Pastor Wayne Ross runs the Shepherd’s Shelter adult drug and alcohol treatment center in Mount Sterling, Ky. His 50 available beds are filled with residents struggling to recover from drug addiction, almost all of them from prescription pill habits. 

    Savannah Kissick was one of his clients, and she had graduated from the recovery program. Her return to drug abuse and her death from an overdose shook Ross and the clinic staff members who had worked hard for her success. 
    "I cried, it breaks my heart," said Ross, who officiated at Savannah's funeral. "She's not the only one. We've been directly involved with five different people who have OD'd. Three of the funerals I did, myself, as a minister. It just breaks my heart."
    Kay Fultz, 36, is also from Morehead, Ky. and is currently a resident of the Shepherd’s Shelter who said that at the height of her addiction, she was taking as many as 50 oxycodone pain pills a day and was dealing drugs to support her own habit.
    "It just starts out as a party drug, you know, every now and then," Fultz said.  "Once you start doing it every day, I mean it just takes compete control of your life."
    Finding a prescription drug supply was easy for Fultz. "It's very simple to get. It's everywhere," she said. But once addicted, the costs are severe. "I've lost everything. I've lost everything and it's so easy to do."

    Florida connection 
    During a recent classroom session at his clinic, Ross asked the residents where they bought their prescription drugs. Every person in the room had either traveled to Florida to obtain the medications, or had purchased drugs from someone else who had bought prescription painkillers there. 
    Florida has become notorious as a destination for addicts and drug dealers from around the southeastern United States.  They are drawn to the many pain clinics in Florida, some of which dispense hundreds of painkillers at a time after only a cursory medical exam.
    "You can go down there and within 24 hours have everything you need," said Fultz, who added that the medical exam she was given at a Florida pain clinic, where she pretended to suffer from pain, was not at all professional.
    "I mean, they look at your MRI, ask you how you are feeling — ‘I'm feeling pretty bad’ — and you leave there with pills."
    Sam Kissick, Savannah’s father, believes the drugs that killed his daughter came from Florida.
    "From where I'm sitting, it looks like they're handing it out like candy on Halloween," he said. "Anybody that goes down there can come back with carloads of pills, and then they're dumped out on our streets."
    To addicts in Kentucky, Florida is “like the promised land,” said Cooper, the Greenup County sheriff.
    Local police, federal agents and medical officials in Florida are targeting illicit prescription drug sales. The state legislature recently passed, and Gov. Charlie Crist signed, a law to regulate and monitor pain clinics, although the procedure won't be fully implemented until late next year. 
    Kentucky and most other states already have such monitoring laws in place, making it much more difficult for addicts and dealers to buy large amounts of prescription medication by going from clinic to clinic – a common practice in Florida.

    Families left behind 
    Karen Shay, a dentist in Morehead, Ky., also knows too well the cost and pain of prescription drug abuse. Two years ago, her 19-year-old daughter, Sarah, died from an overdose after partying with friends, who dropped her body off at a hospital and drove away. 
    Sarah Shay and Savannah Kissick had been childhood friends.
    "We have two young ladies that were beautiful, talented and intelligent, had the world by the tail, could have done anything and they're gone,” Shay said. “They're gone."
    In her work, Shay also sees the desperation of drug addicts, some of whom have visited her office seeking pain medication for fake dental problems. Because of Kentucky's prescription monitoring law, Shay is able to run computer checks on patients she suspects of doctor-shopping for painkillers and turns many of them away.
    "If [the painkillers are] taken the way they're supposed to be, it's a very powerful, helpful drug.  But when they're not taken the way they're supposed to, then it becomes a killer," she said. "It's amazing when you look in the paper, how many people have died from drug abuse. "

    During a recent visit to the cemetery where Sarah is interred, Shay cleared away the dying flower petals and placed a colorful pinwheel below her daughter's crypt. Looking upward to the plaque showing Sarah's name and picture, she quietly spoke the words, "Hi, Baby," then bowed her head. 
    "When you lose somebody like that, it puts a hole in your heart that nothing else will ever fill," she said.
    For the Kissicks, whose loss is more recent and raw, anger mingles with grief.
    "It's time that people were held accountable for what's happening. I think it's time that someone was held responsible,” Lynn Kissick said.
    The parents want to raise awareness about the problem so that others don’t have to endure their pain.
    "The drugs, they don't discriminate and it can happen to anybody," said Sam Kissick. "You may never have any idea that your child is exploring or fooling with prescription drugs at all, until they've already gone too far with it."

    Sitting at their dining room table recently, Savannah's parents sorted through colorful photographs of their daughter. 

    "She had a beautiful smile," said Lynn. In a quiet voice, Sam agreed, "That she did."
    Chantix, Zyban must carry depression warning

    More addiction stories

     

     


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    http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/06/south.carolina.killings/index.html


    Police say the murder scenes are linked and they are searching for a man resembling this sketch.

    Police say the murder scenes are linked and they are searching for a man resembling this sketch.


    N. Carolina shooting stirs interest in S. Carolina serial killings


    • STORY HIGHLIGHTS
    • Police say no confirmed link between N. Carolina crime, S. Carolina serial killings
    • But video of N. Carolina crime site shows car similar to one sought in serial killings
    • North Carolina authorities say "evidence" prompted call to South Carolina police
    • Killer has slain five people in Gaffney, South Carolina, area, police say

    DALLAS, North Carolina (CNN) -- Police in Gaston County, North Carolina, shot and killed a suspect during a possible robbery early Monday, then called in police from South Carolina who have been chasing a serial killer.

    There was "evidence in regard to the man that was shot," said Capt. Joe Ramey of the Gaston County Police Department.

    He did not give specifics, and he said he could not state for certain that the suspect had a link to the serial killer case.

    "We saw evidence they needed to know about," Ramey told CNN.

    Gaston County is about 33 miles northeast of Gaffney, South Carolina. Police say a serial killer in the Gaffney area has killed five people since late June.

    Police in Cherokee County, which includes Gaffney, had issued a basic description of the killer and said he may be driving a Ford Explorer from the early 1990s.

    Video from outside the home in North Carolina on Monday showed a vehicle that seemed to match that general description.

    Early Monday, in Dallas, which is part of Gaston County, police received a call about a possible burglary in progress, police said. When they entered the residence, they found two people who lived there and a third who "was an acquaintance," police said in a news release.

     

    "A second check on the suspect individual uncovered an outstanding warrant" from nearby Lincoln County, police said. "Officers attempted to serve the outstanding warrant when the suspect pulled a gun and fired at officers. Officers returned fire killing the suspect."

    One officer was shot in the leg and has been treated and released from a hospital, police said.

    Jennifer Timmons of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division told CNN there was no immediate confirmation of any link to the serial killer case. "Processing any crime scene is going to take a while," she noted.

    The killer's latest victim was 15-year-old Abby Tyler, who was shot last week and died Saturday. Her father, Stephen Tyler, 48, had been pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting, in their family-run furniture and appliance store.

    As residents mourned the Tylers over the weekend, they also had words of warning for the man terrorizing the community.

    "If he comes to me, face to face, I'm ready, I'm loaded, and I'm aimed for him," said Sarah Banister, a neighbor of one of the killer's victims.

    "I'm afraid for my life," said Robby Banister, her husband. "It's gonna be kind of like a dogfight. I'm telling you: I'm going to win."

    In an interview Monday on CNN's "American Morning," Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton said investigators have determined "through evidence" that the five killings are linked. Authorities are not giving details about the evidence.

    "We don't have a current motive or connection between the murders," said Blanton. "With a community this small, it's very possible I knew all the victims, and it's possible that all the victims knew each other. But we don't have any information right now that links the killer to [them]."

    Police released a sketch that they say is their best guess about the killer's appearance, based on witness reports. He is identified as a white male, approximately 6 feet 2 inches tall, with salt-and-pepper hair.

    The vehicle he was driving may be a Ford Explorer, possibly "goldish-tan or champagne" in color, Blanton said.

    "We're focusing on anything that even looks like a Ford Explorer," he said. Witnesses have said the killer appears to weigh about 250 pounds, "so we're saying probably 230 to 250," he said.

    The killer apparently also "had a ball cap on," but his clothes have been different, Blanton added.

    The first shooting occurred June 27, when peach farmer Kline W. Cash, 63, was killed. His wife found him dead in their home, the sheriff's office said.

    Blanton said Cash's home may have been robbed.

    Four days later, the bound and shot bodies of Hazel Linder, 83, and her 50-year-old daughter, Gena Linder Parker, were found in the Linders' home, where she lived alone.

    Blanton said authorities are still trying to determine if anything was taken from that home.

    Leave has been canceled for all members of the police department and the sheriff's department, their respective chiefs have said.

    About 100 investigators from North and South Carolina are working the case, Blanton said.

     

    Asked how the 50,000 Cherokee County residents can try to stay safe, Blanton said, "Generally it's the same information just a crime prevention officer would use. People need to check on their neighbors, especially family, loved ones that live alone or elderly that live together. Travel in at least groups of two or more. But I've noticed the community is concerned and have a right to be."

    People in Cherokee County are operating "on regular schedules," businesses are open, and some schools began Monday, Blanton said. "But people are using caution. And that's what we're asking them to do. Just be cautious until we do catch this murderer." 

     

     


    Sepide Salmani, left, 23, comforts Soheyla Kazemi Sunday, July 5, 2009 in Orange Park, Fla. as they talk about the death of Soheyla Kazemi's sister, Sahel Kazemi, 20, in Nashville, Tenn. Sahel Kazemi  and former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair(notes) were found dead Saturday at a Nashville condominium that he rented with a friend.

    Sepide Salmani, left, 23, comf… 
    AP - Jul 6, 1:09 pm EDT


    http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-mcnairkilled&prov=ap&type=lgns

    Relative: Police say woman with McNair bought gun

    By TERESA M. WALKER, AP Sports Writer

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Steve McNair’s(notes) 20-year-old girlfriend bought a gun a couple of days before she was found dead alongside the slain former NFL quarterback, her relative said Monday.

    Farzin Abdi said police told him about the gun purchase by his aunt Sahel Kazemi, who was raised with him like a sister. Kazemi and McNair were found dead on Saturday in a Nashville condominium leased by the former Titans star.

    Abdi said police told him they are almost sure Kazemi was the shooter, but the 27-year-old nephew said he doesn’t believe she would do it. Abdi didn’t know what day of the week the gun was purchased or what type of gun it was.

    “There was no way she was depressed and wanting to do this,” he said. “She was so happy. … She just had it made, you know, (with) this guy taking care of everything.”

    Nashville police didn’t immediately have a response to Abdi’s comments.

    Abdi said Kazemi believed McNair was divorcing his wife and she was preparing to sell her furniture to move in with him.

    Nashville courts had no record of a McNair divorce case, but a 14,000-square-foot home he owned in Nashville is on the market for $3 million.

    Mechelle McNair has been described as very distraught about her husband’s death and has not commented on it.

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Steve McNair’s(notes) 20-year-old girlfriend bought a gun a couple of days before she was found dead alongside the slain former NFL quarterback, her relative said Monday.

    Farzin Abdi said police told him about the gun purchase by his aunt Sahel Kazemi, who was raised with him like a sister. Kazemi and McNair were found dead on Saturday in a Nashville condominium leased by the former Titans star.

    Abdi said police told him they are almost sure Kazemi was the shooter, but the 27-year-old nephew said he doesn’t believe she would do it. Abdi didn’t know what day of the week the gun was purchased or what type of gun it was.

    “There was no way she was depressed and wanting to do this,” he said. “She was so happy. … She just had it made, you know, (with) this guy taking care of everything.”

    Nashville police didn’t immediately have a response to Abdi’s comments.

    Abdi said Kazemi believed McNair was divorcing his wife and she was preparing to sell her furniture to move in with him.

    Nashville courts had no record of a McNair divorce case, but a 14,000-square-foot home he owned in Nashville is on the market for $3 million.

    Mechelle McNair has been described as very distraught about her husband’s death and has not commented on it.

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Steve McNair’s(notes) 20-year-old girlfriend bought a gun a couple of days before she was found dead alongside the slain former NFL quarterback, her relative said Monday.

    Farzin Abdi said police told him about the gun purchase by his aunt Sahel Kazemi, who was raised with him like a sister. Kazemi and McNair were found dead on Saturday in a Nashville condominium leased by the former Titans star.

    Abdi said police told him they are almost sure Kazemi was the shooter, but the 27-year-old nephew said he doesn’t believe she would do it. Abdi didn’t know what day of the week the gun was purchased or what type of gun it was.

    “There was no way she was depressed and wanting to do this,” he said. “She was so happy. … She just had it made, you know, (with) this guy taking care of everything.”

    Nashville police didn’t immediately have a response to Abdi’s comments.

    Abdi said Kazemi believed McNair was divorcing his wife and she was preparing to sell her furniture to move in with him.

    Nashville courts had no record of a McNair divorce case, but a 14,000-square-foot home he owned in Nashville is on the market for $3 million.

    Mechelle McNair has been described as very distraught about her husband’s death and has not commented on it.

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Steve McNair’s(notes) 20-year-old girlfriend bought a gun a couple of days before she was found dead alongside the slain former NFL quarterback, her relative said Monday.

    Farzin Abdi said police told him about the gun purchase by his aunt Sahel Kazemi, who was raised with him like a sister. Kazemi and McNair were found dead on Saturday in a Nashville condominium leased by the former Titans star.

    Abdi said police told him they are almost sure Kazemi was the shooter, but the 27-year-old nephew said he doesn’t believe she would do it. Abdi didn’t know what day of the week the gun was purchased or what type of gun it was.

    “There was no way she was depressed and wanting to do this,” he said. “She was so happy. … She just had it made, you know, (with) this guy taking care of everything.”

    Nashville police didn’t immediately have a response to Abdi’s comments.

    Abdi said Kazemi believed McNair was divorcing his wife and she was preparing to sell her furniture to move in with him.

    Nashville courts had no record of a McNair divorce case, but a 14,000-square-foot home he owned in Nashville is on the market for $3 million.

    Mechelle McNair has been described as very distraught about her husband’s death and has not commented on it.

    Before their deaths, the public knew nothing of Kazemi’s relationship with McNair, a star who had earned the respect of his fellow NFL players for shaking off defenders and injuries and the love of fans amazed at how the quarterback kept showing up for work—and winning.

    He endeared himself further with his charity work. Not just from the checks he handed out, but for throwing himself into the efforts, like he did when loading boxes onto tractor-trailers bound for Hurricane Katrina victims.

    Publicly, McNair was a happily married man and proud father of four sons who split his time between his Mississippi farm and a home in Music City, where celebrities are cherished, not hassled.

    His death, however, thrust a darker side of his private life into the spotlight.

    “People have certain things that they do in life,” said McNair’s longtime friend Robert Gaddy, who called 911. “We don’t need to look on the situation at this time (but) on the fact we just lost a great member of society.”

    Even McNair’s longtime agent said he didn’t know about the former quarterback’s relationship with Kazemi.

    “As good as he was on the football field, that couldn’t touch the person,” agent Bus Cook said Sunday, still shaken by McNair’s death. “I mean it just couldn’t.”

    Hints of a problem with alcohol surfaced in May 2003 when a Nashville police officer pulled McNair over on suspicion of drunk driving. Police said the quarterback’s blood alcohol content was 0.18 percent—well over Tennessee’s legal limit. He also was charged with having a 9mm weapon with him, but all the charges were later dropped.

    McNair was charged with drunken driving in 2007 because he let his brother-in-law drive his pickup truck. Those charges were later dropped when the DUI charge against the brother-in-law was reduced to reckless driving.

    And McNair could have been charged again Thursday night when the same officer who arrested him in 2003 stopped a 2007 Cadillac Escalade driven by Kazemi and registered to both her and McNair. Kazemi was arrested on a DUI charge, and he was allowed to leave in a taxi.

    Police labeled his death a homicide Sunday, revealing McNair had been shot four times—twice in the head, twice in the chest—when found in a rented condominium he shared with a longtime friend, Wayne Neeley. Police found a semiautomatic pistol under Kazemi’s body.

    But police spokesman Don Aaron said they were reviewing every possibility, interviewing friends of both and an ex-boyfriend before labeling Kazemi’s death.

    On the football field, he simply was “Air McNair,” a winner.

    McNair still holds the NCAA’s Football Championship Series (formerly Division I-AA) records for career yards passing (14,496) and total offense (16,823) from his days at tiny Alcorn State in Mississippi.

    He played 13 NFL seasons, starting with the then-Houston Oilers, and led Tennessee to its famous last-second 2000 Super Bowl loss to the St. Louis Rams. He ended his career in Baltimore last season, after being traded away by the Titans after they drafted Vince Young(notes) as a replacement to the aching and expensive veteran.

    McNair’s friends want the quarterback to be remembered for his generosity. He gave away turkeys and checks in Tennessee, toys in Baltimore and paid for three football camps himself this year. Cook talked to someone Saturday who saw McNair cleaning up the field after one camp at Southern Mississippi.

    “That was Steve McNair. That’s who he is. And who he was,” an emotional Cook recalled.

    A viewing will be held Thursday at a Nashville funeral home, followed by another viewing at Mount Zion Baptist Church with a memorial service Thursday night. A funeral service will be held Saturday in Mississippi, but final details were not set.

    McNair met Kazemi at the Dave & Buster’s restaurant where she worked as a server and where his family ate often. The two began dating a few months ago in a relationship that included a vacation with parasailing. Photos posted on TMZ.com showed McNair gazing and smiling at the young Kazemi.

    Associated Press writers Travis Loller, Lucas L. Johnson II and Joe Edwards contributed to this story.

    Other Celebrity Updates

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    Megan Fox returns to her hotel, following the 'Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen' premiere, when a young fan attempts to hand her a rose in London, England.  June 15, 2009. Will Alexander/WENN.com







    Harry Potter actor tells of swine flu fear

    by AFP  July 6, 2009

    Actor Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, spoke Monday of his fears after contracting swine flu, saying he initially thought he might die.

    Grint described contracting the A(H1N1) virus, which has spread around the world, as "quite scary" but he recovered after spending a few days in bed.

    "It was quite scary when I first found out I had swine flu," he said at a press conference with other Potter actors including Emma Watson in London.

    "I thought 'Am I going to die?' But it was just like any other flu really."

    "I had a sore throat and I went to bed for a few days."

    Grint was speaking ahead of the world premiere in London on Tuesday of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", the sixth instalment of the phenomenally successful Harry Potter films.

    The 20-year-old's publicist confirmed on Saturday that he had suffered from the virus, taking several days off filming the next movie in the blockbuster series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

    Four people have died in Britain of swine flu, and the country has Europe's highest number of reported cases with nearly 7,500.

    The government has warned that figure could rise to over 100,000 new cases a day by the end of August.

    Photo Galleries

     

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090706/ap_on_en_mu/us_michael_jackson

    Jackson's mother loses control of son's estate AAP

    LOS ANGELES – A judge said Monday that Michael Jackson's longtime attorney and a family friend should take over the pop singer's estate for now, rejecting a request from Jackson's mother to be put in charge or share control.

    Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff backed attorneyJohn Branca and music executive John McClain, who had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to administer his estate. Attorneys for the pop singer's mother repeatedly objected to their appointment at Monday's court hearing.

    "It's our desire to do everything we can to carry out Michael Jackson's wishes and to maximize the estate," said Howard Weitzman, who spoke after the hearing on behalf of Branca. Weitzman issued a statement later calling the judge's ruling "the correct decision."

    The singer's mother, Katherine Jackson, had applied to oversee her son's estate, but that was before the 2002 will surfaced. Her attorney, Burt Levitch, expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's financial leadership.

    Jackson died June 25, deeply in debt. But a court filing estimates that his estate will be worth more than $500 million. His assets are destined for a private trust.

    A public memorial has been scheduled for Jackson in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. Dozens of police officers and a fire truck were parked outside Dodger Stadium on Monday, where ticket winners could start picking up their coveted passes to the Staples Centerceremony.

    More than 1.6 million people registered to win the coveted free tickets, and only 8,750 names were chosen. Los Angeles officials are concerned about other fans clogging city streets.

    One person who won't be at the memorial is Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two oldest children. She had planned to attend, but backed out Monday.

    "The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," Rowe attorney Marta Almli said. "Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."

    Lucky fans celebrated when they got an e-mail saying they had scored the hottest ticket in town. "Congratulations, your application was successful," said the message sent to Deka Motanya, 27, of San Francisco.

    She immediately Twittered: "OMG OMG OMG OMG i got tickets to the michael jackson memorial service!!!"

    On eBay, bids were reaching as high as $3,000, though it was impossible to verify the seriousness of those offers. Others on Monday were submitting bids more in the $100-$200 range.On Craigslist, asking prices also were in the thousands. Some unable to attend, though, simply wanted to give away their tickets — as one post read — "to only true fans."On the legal front, Katherine Jackson's attorneys had asked that she be appointed to serve as a co-administrator with Branca and McClain. Beckloff refused to grant that request.Branca and McClain will have to post a $1 million bond on the estate, Beckloff ruled. Their authority over the estate will expire Aug. 3, when another hearing on the estate will be held.
    "Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain for the next month are at the helm of the ship," Beckloff said.Attorneys also disclosed that another Jackson will from 1997 has been lodged with the court, but will only become a factor if the 2002 will is invalidated. Details of the older will were not disclosed.Levitch, an attorney for Katherine Jackson, told Beckloff that Branca had previously been removed from financial positions of authority by Jackson. Branca's attorney says he was rehired by Jackson on June 17, days before Jackson's death.Katherine Jackson did not appear at Monday's hearing. Branca did attend.

    Levitch said it was unclear whether McClain would serve as an administrator because he was of ailing health. Attorneys for McClain and Branca described him as having a physical disability but having a completely sound mind. They also noted a decades-long relationship with the Jackson family.

    The judge granted Branca and McClain several powers over the estate, including the rights to negotiate a settlement with concert promoter AEG Live over refunds for Jackson's canceled London shows. Beckloff stressed that Katherine Jackson should be given complete information about major transactions, but that he as the judge would grant final approval.

    John E. Schreiber, an attorney for Katherine Jackson, said, "Frankly, Mrs. Jackson has concerns about handing over the keys to the kingdom."

    Branca had a 5 percent interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing in September 2005, according to Uniform Commercial Code filings in New York, but his interest was terminated in December 2007.

    Branca also was a trustee in MJ Publishing Trust, which held Jackson's 50-percent stake, but is not believed to be any longer, said John Schreiber, a lawyer for Katherine Jackson.

    Her lawyers had argued in court that Katherine Jackson needed to be special administrator of the estate to be able to determine if Branca and McClain had other dealings with Jackson or his partners.

    Paul Gordon Hoffman, an attorney for Branca and McClain, said some of Katherine Jackson's concerns were unfounded.

    "We're not aware of any real conflicts at all," he said in response to a claim that the men may have business dealings with parties such as concert promoter AEG Live.

    In contrast, Hoffman said Jackson's mother had more of a potential conflict administering the estate because she is a likely beneficiary.

    "If there are any conflicts by the parties, Katherine Jackson rather than Mr. McClain and Mr. Branca have them," Hoffman said.

    Beckloff noted the contentious relationship brewing between Katherine Jackson and Branca, who personally delivered the will to the family's home a week ago.

    "We're getting off to a bit of a rocky start here out of the gate," Beckloff said toward the end of Monday's hearing.

    L. Londell McMillan, Katherine Jackson's main attorney, said after the hearing that he did not expect a protracted fight.

    "We have no reason to believe this is going to turn into a nasty fight over millions and millions of dollars," McMillan said.

    He said he and other attorneys will be watching Branca's and McClain's actions closely.

    "We will be working to ensure that Mr. Jackson's legacy will be treated with dignity," McMillan said. "Mr. Jackson's life and legacy will be memorialized tomorrow and we will move forward."

    Associated Press Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch and Associated Press writers Daisy Nguyen and Ryan Nakashima contributed to this report

     

     

    Related

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_michael_jackson_memorial;_ylt=Ak2zm1YlxGnWtcPKzYqoKbonHL8C;
    _ylu=X3oDMTE2YmdmNnFpBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bi1yLWItbGVmdARzb


    A child passes a large poster at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , Sunday,













    AP – A child passes a large poster at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , Sunday, July 5, 2009.
    The venue 

    Debbie Rowe confirmed to attend Jackson memorial

    LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe will attend the pop superstar's memorial service.

    Former Jackson business associate Marc Schaffel said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that Rowe was confirmed for VIP seats
    . Rowe is the mother of Jackson's two oldest children.

    Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry said she'd "love it" if the Jacksons helped defray some of the city's expected costs associated
    with Tuesday's memorial, but that officials hadn't heard from the family.

    Perry said the city didn't immediately have an estimate of those costs. More than 1.6 million fans registered online for a chance to attend the
    Staples Center
     ceremony, and only 8,750 names were chosen. Los Angeles officials are concerned about other fans clogging city streets.

    "We're encouraging people to stay away," Perry said on CBS' "The Early Show" on Monday.

    The Rev. Al Sharpton, in an appearance Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," made no mention of whether the Jacksons would help the city
    with some of the expected costs.

    "The city is trying to do what it should do to secure people," said Sharpton, a family friend. "That's what cities do. Clearly, no one in the family
    are happy that the city is incurring any expense at all. You're talking about an historic figure that will have an historic celebration, probably one
    that we would not see similar in this generation."

    Meanwhile, lucky fans celebrated when they got an e-mail saying they had scored the hottest ticket in town. "Congratulations, your application
    was successful," said the message sent to Deka Motanya, 27, of San Francisco.

    She immediately Twittered: "OMG OMG OMG OMG i got tickets to the michael jackson memorial service!!!"

    It was a real-life version of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. Each selected person gets a pair of free tickets, with the odds of being chosen about 1 in 183.

    Dozens of police officers and a fire truck were parked outside Dodger Stadium on Monday, where ticket winners could start picking up their coveted passes.

    Nancy Kothari, 31, drove all night from Yuma, Arizona, to be at the stadium before the gates opened.

    "I grew up with Michael Jackson, with his music," Kothari said. "`Thriller' was the first album I ever had."

    Kothari said she expected the service to be "extremely sad."

    "I'm kind of nervous in a way, but also excited," she said.

    Tickets were handed out in a drive-through process. Voucher holders had to get past a police checkpoint outside the stadium, then drive into a parking
    lot where orange traffic cones marked about 20 lanes. A police officer and an event staffer stood at the end of each lane. Drivers pulled up, handed over
    their vouchers, had a band placed on their wrist and were given tickets and another wristband.

    Ticket winners were to show up with a unique code and instructions, and organizers were to check IDs to make sure those picking up wristbands were
    the same people who originally applied online, said Staples Center spokesman Michael Roth.

    Fans must have both the ticket and the wristband to enter Staples Center on Tuesday. Wristbands that have been ripped, taped or tampered with will
    be voided.

    But Roth acknowledged that high-priced scalping of the free passes was possible because winners were permitted to give anyone their second bracelet.

    "Theoretically, the second wrist band can be sold," Roth said.

    Organizers were considering how to distribute any unclaimed seats, but had not immediately decided on a plan, Roth said.

    The memorial service will be broadcast live on five television networks.

    David Gobaud, 25, who studies computer science at Stanford University, said he didn't believe his e-mail of acceptance was real at first.
     "It's Michael Jackson, one of the greatest musical stars of all time," he said.

    Zach Moss, a 21-year-old ticket winner from Chicago who is working as a DJ in Las Vegas this summer, said clubgoers have responded strongly
    to Jackson's music since his death.

    "You can play two, three Michael Jackson songs back to back and people are going to have this huge jubilation celebration," he said.
    "Everyone throws their drinks up and shouts, 'MJ!' It's extremely powerful."

    The tickets will admit 11,000 people to the Staples Center plus 6,500 in the Nokia Theater overflow section next door. The streets around
    Staples Center will be closed to prevent those without tickets from trying to attend, police said.

    Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell warned the ticketless to stay away. He would not say how many police would be on the job, but alluded
    to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the recent championship celebration for the Los Angeles Lakers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

    "You'll be standing in the hot sun on a city street with a lot of other people," he said. "But not within eyeshot of Staples."

    The ceremony will not be shown on Staples' giant outdoor TV screen and there will be no funeral procession through the city.
    No details were available about the actual memorial events.

    The joyful anticipation among the chosen fans comes as the courts continue to untangle the future of Jackson's estate and police probe the
     circumstances of his death.

    Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 after going into cardiac arrest in the bedroom of his rented mansion.
    The cause of Jackson's death has not been determined. Autopsy results are not expected for several weeks.

    Jackson's family was planning a private ceremony at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills,
    McDonnell said. He did not provide further details.

    Associated Press Writers Jacob Adelman and Michael R. Blood, Television Writer David Bauder and
    National Writer Jesse Washington contributed to this report.

    Michael Jackson dies at 50
    Slideshow:Michael Jackson dies at 50

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     The seven series of books 
    written by Stephen Carew-Reid
    The Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) 


    Stephen Carew-Reid - arguing with the Judiciary
    Stephen Carew-Reid, now living in WA

    Stephen went to Christ Church Grammer School until 1962 when his family moved to Melbourne. There he attended Brighton Grammer School from 1963 to 1969. In 1970 he attended Melbourne High School and received a Commonwealth Scholarship to attend Melbourne University to complete a Law Degree. Instead his father John Hastings Carew-Reid talked him into comming back to Perth WA and taking over the family stone business and completing a Bachelor of Commerce Degree during the years 1971-75.

    Stephen received 75% of the family company worth about $8,000 in compensation to his other two brothers and one sister receiving about $20,000 to start their adult life with. 

    Stephen built this company up with wise real estate investments from $8,000 in value to over $500,000 by the end of the 1970's. Stephen wanted to develop these properties himself and make a further $1 million development profit by building town houses and offices on the land. During his university days he rented all the rooms out in the houses to pay for the mortgages, had two children and was one of the 8 selected out of over 2,000 entries to fly to Melbourne to be part of the Johny Young Song Festival. His father took control of the company back from Stephen by issuing an extra 5,000 shares now it was very valuable and stopped Stephen from developing the house himself and in fact sold the house to a property developer who made $1 million profit.

    His father died in 1986 and left the WA Public Trustee as executor of this will. Stephen ended up sueing the Public Trustee for mishandling the etate and ended up representing himself for over a decade in the WA Courts against the Public Trustee who used their power of City Hall against him. Stephen has ended up having his practical expereince in the courts before he did any formal training and has now written a series of books about the fight he has had with the WA Public Trustee and the WA Government called, "The Truimph of Truth (Who's Watching the Watchers)". The books have been named after his late Great Grand Father Bertram McKennal who was well known bronze sculpter in the earty 1900's in Melbourne who went on to becoming quite famous in Europe. Before he left Melbourne to further his art in Europe, he won a competition sponcered by well knbwon business men to produce a life size sculpter to be placed outside the Art Gallery. He called his entry "The Triumph of Truth". He only ever did a small clay version for the entry because the prise money never came forward form the businessmen to finance him to complete the life size sculpter.

    His Great Grand Father was searching for the Truth in his art and now Stephen is searching for the truth in his books to carry on his Great Grand Father's work in a different form.


    http://www.mhsoba.asn.au/default.asp?pg=luncheon&spg=display&articleid=2266 

    When the other eight Volumes of the Triumph of Truth ( Who Is Watchinbg The Watchers?) are finally recovered from the Queensland Police and the Queensland Government, they are due to be made into a series of films in a cartoon version staring 

    Mr Wijat and His Team,
     

    Mr Wijat's little greenie mate, who even though he is mr Wijat's bestest friend, he is always telling Mr Wijat that Mr Wijat can not go around telling powerful people like the Prime Miniister, the President, the Police Commissioner, the director of Public Prosecutions that they have actied in a criminal manner and should go to jail if they do niot chsange their ways, ERF the Worm's way of dealing with these people is to go and talk nicely to them in a gentle manner and hug a tree in the White House and turn and the corrupt acts of partliament and worngful orders made into garne mulsh witht he help of millions of the Erf the Worm Family who go unnoticed by the security guards who think, "oh there just gasrden worms they can not do any harm" , 

     
      
    Mr Wijat's supero hero upstart son who thinks he know it all, 
      
    Marven the Marvelous 
    who is Mr Wijat's mad inventor who always comes up with crazy ideas, but occasionally Mr Wijat is impressed and users one of Marvelous Marvin's crazy ideas, and

      Invisible Magic Rabit, 
    who is Mr Mr Wijat;s little magic rabbit friend with psychic powers who goes everywhere with Mr Wijat and guides him in  the right direction and warns Mr Wijat of danger looming for Mr Wijat..Magic Rabit loves Strawberry Jam and is rewarded by Mr Wijat with a jar of Strawberry Jam when he has helped Mr Wijat out of another dangerous situation. Magic Rabbit has the ability to be invisable so that only Mr Wijat can see him with his special Sunglasses in the shape of map of Australia, made for him by Marvin the Marvelous. That way he can go and check out things for Mr Wijat withoiut anyone knowing he is there.

    The Triumph of Truth ( Who Is Watching The Watchers?)


    volumes one to nine, only volume nine is available on pre-order which had to be written in the USA for safety reasons, as the other eight volumes were stolen by the Queensland Police on behalf of the Queensland Government, powerful Freemason judges, magistrates, police, politicians, prosecutors, corrupt business people or organisations, corrupt prosecutors, corrupt public trustee employees to try and bury the truth..25 police have now been sacked in Queensland as a result of INLNews and USAWeeklyNews  Investigations given to the Queensland Government showing corrupt police making false arrests and planning and executing a robbery of two house fulls of furniture and effects in the house where the 8 volumes of The Triumph of Truth ( Who Is Watching The Watchers?). The Queensland Government are now about to be sued for in excess of one billion dollars in damages by those wrongly effected by the wrongful, immoral and illegal actions of Queensland Police who thought they were so powerful the could get away with all this, unless an out of court settlement is reached 


    "Provocative, frightening, informative, humorous- Your view and knowledge of the way the legal, police, political, public trustee business circles operate in Western Australia will never be the same.. after reading these volumes...A must real for present and budding legal eagles, police, politicians, litigants in person, anyone interested in and/or studying the law or the legal system, high school students, also anyone wanting to search for the truth and/or just interested in a book that is about a unique situation where one takes on City Hall which has unlimited resources and gives them a run for it's  money - with little and very little resources to fight City Hall with. It has been described as a real David V Goliath affair, and also described by Ian Wilson, Western Australian solicitor, as one of the greatest legal debacles he has ever seen in his legal practice.  Ian Wilson tried to negotiate an amicable settlement many years ago without success. The Public Trustee and the Western Australian Government felt there were simply too powerful and untouchable to bother with negotiating in a reasonable manner. Now they are among 69 respondents, including judges, magistrate, senior police, senior prosecutors, senior politicians, well known lawyers and barristers, public trustee accountants and managers, court officers etc., being sued in The Australian Federal Court  for conspiracy to defraud the Carew-Reid Family, who are asking $100 million in damages.. Volume 2-Edition 3 is about 1,100 pages plus photos........" Australian Weekend News publishers of The Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) 
    The Triumph of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?) by Stephen Carew-Reid volumes one to nine, original manuscripts of the first 8 volumes stolen by Queensland Police in Australia to try and cover up the information in these volumes and illegally removed from the Western Australian Batye Resource Library without any court order from pressure from State Government Law Office
    http://usaweeklynews.com/TriumphOfTruth_Book.php
       http://www.usaweekendnews.com/TriumphOfTruthBookStolen.html 
    Click here to check the strange justice in Australia http://usaweeklynews.com/Mickleberg_Conspiracy.php

    Taken from Volume One 
    The Triumph of The Truth ( Who's Watching The Watchers?)
    written by Stephen Carew- Reid 
    and published originally by 
    the Australian Weekend News 
    in 1996

    ....."I have spoken to so many people whom tell me stories of the blatant disregard the Western Australian Public Trustee and their representatives have for the people's assets and income they are meant to protect and look after in the Western Australian Public Trustee General Fund. I have statements by ex-employees of the Public Trustee who state they have been shocked and dismayed at the blatant fraud, deceit, corruption and general immoral behaviour of senior members of the Public Trust Office in Western Australia and their appointed accounting, legal, property and trustee representatives. The corrupt people inside the Western Australian Public Trustee Office were so concerned about how much information one of these employees had built up on these corrupt senior Public Trustee Officers over the years, that they tried to obtain a false mental report on that person, to have that person declared insane so that person's evidence would not be believed when it finally becomes public. I have promised that person that I would withhold their name from being mentioned publicly because of fear of further reprisals and legal and underhand things being done to that person. However, if the Western Australian Public Trustee and the Western Australian Court Liberal Government and their co-conspirators are ever game to have a full blown trial where all the evidence is openly and candidly exposed and all witnesses are openly cross examined, this person will be willing to expose all the FRAUD, DECEIT, LIES, CORRUPTION, IMMORAL BEHAVIOUR AND GENERAL CONTEMPT and DISREGARD FOR THE PEOPLE THEY ARE MEANT TO BE LOOKING AFTER AS PUBLIC TRUSTEES. I must explain that the problems I have been experiencing with the System is very much to do with the current war that is currently being waged in Australia and in particular in Western Australia, for overall control between the Catholics and the Freemasons. When Brian Burke and the Labour Party was in power as premier of Western Australia, the Catholics were running the show in Western Australia, along with well known Catholics businessmen and politicians such as Lorry Connel, Allan Bond, Ray O'Connor. The Italian Catholic Mafia Godfather ,Sam Franchina who help put Brian Burke and Ray O'Connor in power as premiers of Western Australia on behalf of the Catholic Mafia etc. Sam Franchina well know in Perth Western Australia as the Italian Catholic Mafia God Father was so powerful that me appointed premiers lord mayors, police commissioners and even judges. As told to me by an ex-Western Australian police detective, who also was a Freemason, historically most of the Western Australian Police Commissioners in the last 100 years have been Freemasons. This particular police officer who rose quickly in the ranks to senior police detective with support and help of the other Freemasons in the Western Australian Police Force and Freemason politicians, was being groomed to become the next Freemason Western Australian Police Commissioner. He explained a lot of things about Freemasonry one evening at his home in Kalamunda, a suburb in the hills of Perth Western Australia, when I was helping him investigate a case he was working on in his new role as a private detective, having left the police force due to pressure from senior Freemasons in the Western Australian Police Service because he refused to play by their rules and refused to do what they wanted him to do. He brought out and showed me his Freemason white apron and other Freemason items that Freemasons are issued with when they join Freemasonry. He explained that he was for a long time a member of what was called the Blue Lodge of Freemasonry, which he found OK with his general religious beliefs as a Seventh day Adventist, because all that was required as far he knew to be a Freemason was to worship and/or believe in one supreme being. However, when he was approached to be groomed to become the next Freemason Police Commissioner, he was told to be able to be appointed in that powerful position with the support of powerful Freemasons he would have to join the Red Freemason Lodge, which he did not know anything about until that moment. He went to one meeting in the Red Lodge, which was a much higher level of lodge which only people in very powerful positions in society who are also Freemasons is allowed and/or invited to join.It was at the Red Lodge Freemason Meeting that it was revelled that the one supreme being that Freemason's actually were told to worship was The Devil, not God, as he had originally believed. It was at that point he wanted nothing more to to with attending Freemason meetings, and did not want to be part of the Red Freemason Lodge to have to join in with other senior Freemasons at the Red Lodge to worship the Devil. He also did not want to be the Western Australian Police Commissioner if it meant relying on the support of other senior powerful Freemasons at the Red Lodge. Because of his refusal to play the Freemason Game according to their rules, he was pressured in clandestine ways at work as a police officer, to the point he had a nervous breakdown and had to leave the police force in an early retirement. He now works as a private investigator in Western Australia for taking paid jobs on for private people where in many instances has to investigate the police who have done the wrong thing to private individuals.
    When Richard Court came to power in 1993 with his now Freemason backed Liberal Party, that won the election from the Catholic Mafia backed Labour Party it was return to power for the Freemasons in Western Australia. It is also interesting to note that originally the Catholic Mafia backed Ray O'Connor who was the leader of the Liberal Party to become the Premier of Western Australia. Then the Catholic Mafia headed by Sam Franchina moved their money power and resources to back Sam Franchina's life long friend Brian Burke, ex-journalist and joint supporter of trotting in Western Australia, to become premier as head of the Labour Party. This was clever public political marketing by the same group now backing the opposition political party under a new Premier to make Brian Burke at the time one of the most popular Premiers Western Australia ever had. 
    What Richard Court has done since being in power, is as quickly as possible place as many Freemasons ( Masonic Lodge) in important positions in the Western Australian Government and Public Service positions. This way even if the Freemasons were ever to lose temporary political power there would be enough of their Freemasons in powerful positions in the Public Service, the Police, the Court System etc to maintain control of the system and cause disruption to those in power so they do not remain in power for very long.  It has been stated in published books I have read and also to me personally by people who I have met whom know people inside the Masonic Lodges that over 60% of male lawyers, solicitors, magistrates, judges, builders, government clerks, prison officers, doctors, physciatrists, bankers and many other professions are members of the masonic lodge. I am told they hold meetings in their professional groups such as judges or bankers etc, so that it is easy for them to make behind the scene decisions as to how that particular industry will handle a particular person and/or situation. I my case they make sure the right judge and/or magistrate hears my cases when IT IS IMPORTANT. Thus they can use their wide discretionary powers in favour of those whom are against me, knowing that a judge can make any sort of abhorrent, illegal an/or immoral judgement, knowing it is such, and knowing that the worst that can happen is some judge in a higher court says that the judgement was wrong, and eventually sets it aside after the legal fraternity have made a fortune in legal fees form the parties on both sides (That's if the side that has been illegally treated has the resources to take the case to a higher court). If one of the parties are the government, that is even better for the legal firm whom has the brief, then a blank cheque is handed out tot he legal firm by the Government to take the case as far as possible, and make it as complicated as possible. Such firms as Mallesons Stephens Jaques ( Peter Foss The Attorney Generals' old legal firm) and Corrs Westgarth Chambers, seem to constantly obtain a lot of such government work.
    What Richard \Court did on behalf of the Freemasons who backed him into power as Premier of Western Australia following his most powerful Freemason father Charles Court who was also a previous Premier of Western Australia before the Catholic Mafia backed Ray O'Connor came to power, was to have senior successful Catholic Mafia businessmen such as Alan Bond and Lorry Connel and ex-catholic mafia premiers such as Ray O'Connor and Brain Bourke all arrested on various criminal charges, at the same time allow successful Freemason businessmen such as Walter Leonard Buckeridge 'the green ligfht' to commit what every business, criminal and taxation crimes he wanted and what ever help he needed with government approvals to further his business interests in Western Australia and throughout Australia. Leonard Walter Buckeridge who teamed up with his defacto wife Siok Poh Koh who was from the well known Triad Ko (or Koh) family to moved billions of dollars into the building industry in Western Australia from Hong Kong, so that Lennard Walter Buckeridge ended up fronting up as trustee owner of 90% of all commercial and housing building companies and building manufacturing companies such as bricks, windows, concrete, tiles, roads etc in Western Australia. Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his Triad partners call their group of companies the BGC Group and often spend millions in corporate TV advertising just showing how they can build a whole city from the ground up, all from their own building products. In fact when Channel 10 TV News in Australia filmed and started to show on national TV the evidence of common assault by Lennard Walter Buckeridge of Ronald Mitchell at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Lennard Walter Buckeridge and his BGC Group needed to urgently stop this news footage being shown, so they overnight spent over $10 million in corporate advertising with Chanel 10 TV News in a new corporate advertising campaign for the BGC Group of companies on the condition Chanel 10 did not show the news footage anymore that proved Lennard Walter Buckeridge hit Ronald Mitchell over the head with a hot rake as Ronald Mitchell walked away after serving a court summons on Leonard Walter Buckeridge to force him to come to court to be cross examined over committing perjury in an exparte court application to obtain a fraudulent court order based on illegal legal principles, to restrain myself ( Stephen Carew-Reid) from going home to his family home at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park where he had life tenancy prior to and since his father died in 1986 when the Western Australian Public Trustees were named as executors of his later father's will. A sympathetic news editor for Channel 10 TV News kindly provided a copy of the news tape showing the witnesses describing Lennard Walter Buckeridge hitting Ronald Mitchell on the back of the head with a hot rake which drew blood, while Ronald Mitchell had turned his back and was walking away after serving the witness summons on Leonard Walter Buckeridge. I personally witnessed this very cowardly act by billionaire Leonard Walter Buckeridge who is used to normally paying people to physically harm his enemies including paying people to murder his enemies. Leonard Walter Buckeridge has even openly bragged to the media that he has paid hit men to kill union leaders of unions he has been trying to destroy if anything ever happens to him from what he says are threats against him. This is not the first time that I had seen Leonard Walter Buckeridge Leonard hit an innocent person on the back of the head when they had their back turned. When I was about six years old my late father and I were chopping wood in the garage that bordered a common lane way that we shared between out family home, then at 137 Glyde Street Mosmans Park and Leonard Walter Buckeridge's mothers home below. Len Buckeridge ( as he is known in Perth) up the lane way and my father told him off in pleasant not threatening way for bulding Len Buckeridge's mothers house above the legal height limit, thus blocking out some of our view of the Swan River. After my father had said what he had to say to Len Buckeridge in a completely non threatening way, as my father was always a non violent person and always spoke softly and never ever shouted or lost his temper, my father went back to chopping the hard jarrah wood for our fireplace. Then when my father had his back turned to Len Buckeridge, Len Buckeridge grabbed a piece of jarrah wood from the wood pile and hit my father on the back of the head. I witnessed all this and saw my father drop to the ground as though all life had been knocked out of my father by the bang on the back of the head by Len Buckeridge. I then ran screaming up the garden stairs to my mother and yelled Len Buckeridge has killed Dad. This is such a vivid memory as a six year old that will never leave me. I still cry every time I think of this terrible event. A neighbour helped carry Dad up to the lounge in our house and the doctor was called, I was so relieved that it turned out that the nasty bang on the head my father had had only knocked him unconscious, and had not killed him. 
    The sad and disturbing fact about all this is not so much that there are such violent and cowardly people in this world that resort to violence when challenged over wrongs they have done to others, it is the fact that because Len Buckeridge is one of the richest most powerful person in Western Australia that employees thousands of people and his a Freemason, he is a fully protected individual that other powerful; Freemasons and non Freemasons are prepared to protect from any form of criminal prosecution, no matter how violent. This is clear evidence that there is one rule for the average person and another rule for powerful Freemasons like Len Buckeridge who can literally get away with assault, perjury , open threats of violence and even murder. Len Buckeridge has been given the green light to commit what ever criminal offence he likes and his fellow Freemasons and others will protect him regardless.

    READERS, what you will read in this introductory volume and following volumes is a factual and legal account of what I personally experienced. The comments I make are based on factual knowledge and true conviction. They have resulted form a search for the truth, which really started when I was a small child. However the first twenty three years of my life was mainly engaged in gaining the formal education I would need to be able to carry out my search for the truth and to be able to finally communicate it to the world at large through these books and other written and oral communications. I was born on the 3rd March 1953 and spent the years 1956 to 1976 in formal education which finalised in 1976 when I obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the University of Western Australia after majoring in Commercial law, Economics and Business Management.
    During my time over the last decade of fighting with those powerful positions in society I have name a lot of powerful enemies whom wish me not to bring out the truth tot he average Australian of how the system can be used by people in power against the average person and how it is extremely difficult to stand up and protect oneself and one's family. many people have said to me - what if you are murdered or sent to the insane asylum for trying to bring out the truth? My answer to this is simply this:
    1. My brother Lloyd Carew-Reid who lived in America now, wrote to me in 1986 when our father (John Hastings Carew-Reid) died and stated that one of the main things in life is that before we leave the physical world we make a statement of some kind. It is this statement that gives meaning to our life, not how long we live or how much material wealth we obtain during our life. if we can use the experiences in our life and formulate these into a statement of some kind for others to gain from, then our life on this physical world has not been waisted. I hope through this book and it's following volumes I can make such a statement before something untoward happened to me to stop me making any more statement about whom I am writing about.
    2. I would not be the first person to be murdered and/or sent to an insane asylum by the conspiracy which they tried to expose. the Book the UNSEEN HAND written by A Ralph Epperson published by Publius Press, Suite C 3100 50 Philamena Place, Tuscon, Arizona, 85730, which shows the other side of history which is not normally written in history books, was dedicated to Larry McDonald (1935-1983) " Who died because he dared to expose the very conspiracy that murdered him". As long as I at least get this volume and hopefully other volumes published, my life will not have been waisted. I would like to repeat what the author of the UNSEEN HAND, a Ralph Epperson stated in the introduction of his book,
    "What the reader will see as he progresses through this book, I am convinces, is a picture of  a great conspiracy so immense that it poses the greatest threat tot he freedoms and rights of all human beings, not only in the United States, but all over the world. It is likely that, as the reader completes this book, despair will replace curiosity especially if this explanation of the events being reviews has never been explored before. That is an unfortunate consequence of my research, and the author is sorry that he must be the bearer of such bad tidings. Despair, however, can reasonably be replaces with cautious optimism, the battle is not yet over, and there is reason to be encouraged. But you are the final participant. What happens will largely be dependent on your reaction once you've read this book.
    I have also noted in a letter addressed to the Honourable Justice Kevin Parker of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, " Please note: It doesn't matter how wrong the orders are made against me and other's whose interests I represent, because the more wrong and unjust they are, the more evidence I gather against those who have made them, and if the orders are fair and just then that means my message is finally getting through. 
    3. If I did not make the effort to write this book and all the other letters and correspondence I have written to people within the system to try and have an effect on changing the system for the better, I feel that I would have waisted my life and the education I have been given to be able to communicate in the written word, I have not lived a saintly life by any means and have made plenty of mistakes . However, life is about learning form mistakes and progressing form such learning in the hope that we all can try and make it a better world where human beings care for one another.
    I Australia we have an opportunity to make such a world where people of all religions and different social backgrounds can live in peace and harmony.

    4. The things that are said in this book very few people would be game to write; even though it is all the truth, because of fear of retribution form those powerful people in the system, which included not only physical acts, but also being sued for defamation and criminal charges in the form of criminal defamation and contempt of court etc. This would tie up the person up in the courts for years and probably send him bankrupt paying lawyers to defend them. that if they could find a lawyer whom would honestly defend them, without just running them out of money and assets and then sending them bankrupt and/or to prison and/or an insane asylum, so they can be no more trouble in the future. In my case I am constantly threatened with violence, false imprisonment, death, being declared insane and other legal threats by those whom I write about. I have been falsely arrested on charges that had no legal or factual basis whatsoever when I sued 69 of the most powerful people in the legal, political, court, public trustee, government, semi/quasi-government and business circles in Western Australia in the Federal Court in Canberra, and flown by RAAF Government plane in common with 60 SAS soldiers to the RAAF base at Pierce in Perth Western Australia, taken to the Perth Lock Up for the weekend, the put in front of a corrupt District Court Judge that I have written about in my books called Justice Williams, who was appointed as a result of previously working for Len Buckeridge who used his political and legal connections to get him appointed a judge in the District Court, who sent me to Graylands Mental Institution in the hope of having me declared insane, instead of sending me for trial on the false charges which he knew would be dismissed because they had no legal and/or factual basis to support a conviction at trail. It is interesting to note that the now Justice Williams was known in legal circles in Perth as one of the most hopeless lawyers in Perth, but it suited Len Buckeridge to befriend him while he was a lawyer and help make him a judge in the District Court of Western Australia so he can be used for doing favour for Len Buckeridge and his connections when needed. Justice Williams cam in handy when a judge was needed to send myself ( Stephen Carew-Reid) to a mental institution to help try and silence me speaking up about all the criminal , immoral, illegal and wrongful actions committed by those who I have been writing about in my seven series of books called The Triumph of Truth ( Who's Watching The Watchers?). Fortunately for me, Dr Bock who was the doctor who they had organised to have me declared clinically insane at Graylands Mental Institution as a schizophrenic who lives in a fantasy world and everything he writes about is all fantasy and delusional writings of a madman. At the same time those that I have written about in my my seven series of books called The Triumph of Truth ( Who's Watching The Watchers?) organised the Crown Law Department and the Director of Public Prosecutions, the judges and magistrates, the Ministry of Justice in Western Australia, the Government of Western Australia, Len Buckeridge etc all join all their political, legal and business power and influence to have all copies of my seven series of books called The Triumph of Truth ( Who's Watching The Watchers?) which had been purchased with public funds by the state resource library known as the Alexander Library and also as the Battye Library completely removed, destroyed and all traces of them removed from the library's computer as never ever having existed. The overall plan was to remove all traces of the books as never having ever existed from the state library, and at the same time have me permanently committed to a mental institution so I could never complain about the books being removed and in fact never ever know they Had been removed and they all could say that anything in the books that had been written were written by a schizophrenic who lives in a fantasy world and nothing written in the books is real and just was a complete fantasy by Stephen Carew-Reid. Well folks, the sad truth is “everything in these books and every detail in them is all the truth, nothing but the truth so help me God,” as one says when swearing to tell the truth under oath in a court room.
    I was actuality sued for defamation by top corporate barrister David Lancelot Jones, who represented the Public Trustee and received hundreds of thousands of dollars to prepare false, fraudulent and misleading affidavits for the assistant Public Trustee Alistair Borg to sign, Alexander Rorrison a lawyer who represented the Public Trustee and received hundreds of thousands of dollars to prepare false, fraudulent and misleading affidavits for the assistant Public Trustee Alistair Borg to sign and Alistair Borg assistant Public Trustee who signed countless false, fraudulent and misleading affidavit in the Supreme Court and was involved in manufacturing a fraudulent share register and false company records including false directors minutes etc to help the public trustee win court actions against me and/or have court actions I had against the Public Trustee and their representatives wrongly dismissed. I was fortunate enough to have enough legal knowledge to be able to have most of their statement of claim struck out by the Master in the Supreme Court and they have not bothered to do anything about the action since then.
    I have been in the court System for over a decade and have attended over 1,000 court hearings in the Local, petty Sessions, District, Supreme, Full Supreme Court, the Federal Courts and have a High Court Appeal running as a litigant in person ( a person representing himself without a formal lawyer). My enemies all know that I know the legal system reasonably well now and thus I am able to stand up to any legal challenges without having to pay millions of dollars to the legal fraternity if they ever sued me for defamation for anything written about them in these books. That is why they are too scared to sue me for defamation for what I have written in these books, because they know I would simply defend the action with full force and vigour as simply prove to the court that everything written in these books is all the truth and should be allowed to be published in the public interest so that the guilty are exposed and so this never happens to anyone else in what is meant to be a civilised modern society of Australia where everyone including judges, magistrates, politicians, police, lawyers, barristers, powerful business people, ordinary people are meant to tell the truth and respect the law.


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    Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?)
    ----From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

     

    Photo of Stephen_Carew-Reid Arguing with the judiciary, the writer of the seven series of books called The Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?) published by the Australian Weekend News and creator of the Cartoon Characters Mr Wijat and His Team, Mr Wijat, Al Wijat, ERF The Worm, Marvin The Marvelous, Magic Rabbit, The Public Trustee's Monster Gang and others

     

    The_Triumph_Of_Truth_(Who's_Watching_The_Watchers?)Vol.1_OriginalBackCover

     

    Triumph_Of_Truth_Vol.1_P.423_Cor81_1993_WA_Supreme_Court_P.1_of_Statement_Of_Claim_StephenCarew-Reid.v.ThePublicTrustee_&_Others

     

    Triumph_Of_Truth_Vol.1_P.424_Cor81_1993_WA_Supreme_Court_P.2_of_Statement_Of_Claim_StephenCarew-Reid.v.ThePublicTrustee_&_Others

     

    Triumph_Of_Truth_Vol.1_P.425_Cor81_1993_WA_Supreme_Court_P.2_of_Statement_Of_Claim_StephenCarew-Reid.v.ThePublicTrustee_&_Others

     

    Triumph_Of_Truth_Vol.1_P.426_Cor81_1993_WA_Supreme_Court_P.2_of_Statement_Of_Claim_StephenCarew-Reid.v.ThePublicTrustee_&_Others

    Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?) are a seven series of factual books written by Australian author Stephen Carew-Reid and published by the Australian Weekend News in the early 1990's . The books chronicle the factual details, correspondence, legal papers, circumstances, background, people and organisations involved and/or associated with Stephen Carew-Reid's legal fight, that started originally just as a one paragraph statement of claim attached to a writ issued in October, 1986 in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, which named Stephen Carew-Reid, being a litigant in person (which means representing oneself without a qualified lawyer representing you), as the plaintiff, and the Western Australian  Public_Trustee  Office as the defendant. The books explain the reason for issuing the first short Supreme Writ, which was to set the public record straight, to bring the truth out about about how Stephen Carew-Reid had been a successful business person, who had turned the family companies, in the five years he was at university finishing his Bachelor of Commerce Degree, from being worth a few thousand dollars, to being worth millions in real estate and business assets and income, yet his late father before he died, had used his Federal Police Connections and overall creditability in the business world in Perth Western Australia, to destroy Stephen Carew-Reid's public image, as a way of controlling Stephen Carew-Reid and the millions Stephen Carew-Reid built up in the two family companies, Carew Corporation Pty Ltd and Lloyd McKennal International Co Pty Ltd, from almost nothing, effectively from the grave through the help of the Public Trustee of Western Australia, who was as Stephen Carew-Reid puts it in his books, "were prepared to play the game". You will note in the above sections of one of the later statement of claims filed in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, action Cor 81 of 1993, being Stephen Carew-Reid v The Public Trustee and others, that there are two bronze statutes left in the will in control of the Public Trustee. These two bronze statues where original bronze statues that were made by Stephen Carew-Reid's great grand father, Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal . Stephen Carew-Reid explains in the books that these statues were always placed in a prominent place in the family home at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, and were considered as par of the family heritage that the Carew-Reid family would proudly keep for ever in memory of Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal . The books include copies and details, court lodged papers and correspondence back and forth between Stephen Carew-Reid, the courts, the Western Australian Government , theWestern Australian Police , the Australian Federal Police , the Western Australian Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Commonwealth Offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the other parties associated in one way or another with these legal actions. The author of this article was able to read the seven volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?) written by Stephen Carew-Reid, while they were still in existence in the Western Australian Resource library, formerly known as the J S Battye Library , and it seems clear that while it was obvious that the initial intention of Stephen Carew-Reid in writing these books, was to just provide on public record a chronicle of his court battles, the books ended up being a detailed research, analysis and thoughts about the overall subject of the effect of any one wanting to make changes in the the way the court system is run and corruption in the courts, public trustee offices, politics, business, prisons and other areas of general life so that people, not just in Australia, but also people in the whole world, can be more aware of what goes in in these areas, and how to deal with things, when it effects their individual lives. The books were also clearly designed as a set legal references and experiences to students in the law and other litigants in person.

     

    Photo of the original Daily-Weekend News Building.Perth,January, 1992

     

    Copy of Front Cover of the original Volume One of the book The Triumph Of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)by Stephen Carew-Reid

     

    Copy of Front Cover of the original Volume Two of the book The Triumph Of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)by Stephen Carew-Reid

     

    Copy of Front Cover of the original Volume Three of the book The Triumph Of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)by Stephen Carew-Reid

    </gallery>

    Hundreds of court actions taken out by others against Stephen Carew-Reid

    As set out in the books, Stephen Carew-Reid's legal battles over time escalated into hundreds of legal actions issued in the 
    Magistrates Court of Western Australia , theDistrict Court of Western Australia , the Supreme Court of Western Australia , The Federal Court of Australia  and the High Court of Australia  that have continued for over two decades. The Federal Court of Australia  and High Court of Australia  are based in Canberra , known as the Australian Capital Territory . In the end, out of the hundreds of court actions that were stared with Stephen Carew-Reid as a party, most of these court actions show on public courts records that they were taken out by others against Stephen Carew-Reid. The plaintiffs and applicants in the court actions that were taken out against Stephen Carew-Reid included:
    (a) The Western Australian Public Trust Office,
    (b) The Western Australian Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions,
    (c) The Commonwealth Director of_Public_Prosecutions,
    (d) Leonard Walter Buckeridge the Western Australian Billionaire, and his 
    Buckeridge Group of Companies ,
    (e) The 
    Western Australian Police 
    The books also show the evidence of what Stephen Carew-Reid states in the books is "the wrongful and unjust way the Western Australian Legal, Political, Public Trustee, Police, Prosecution, Judicial, Court and business system is run, and he attempts to show in the books that the legal, courts, police, public prosecution, public trustee, business and political system favours the rich and powerful" so that, "the average Australian  that does not have much money or power, does not get a fair go, if they end up fighting either the Government, the Public Trustee, the Police, the Public Prosecution, the Crown Law Office and/or powerful business people in the courts. The defendants and respondents in legal actions that show on public courts records started by Stephen Carew-Reid include the following:
    1. DAVID HURT an employer of NEIL KEVIN JOYCE TRADING AS STANTON AND PARTNERS-Liquidators,
    2. THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA,
    .3. ALISTAIR BORG, deputy public trustee and accountant for the public trustee who also acted as a director for Carew Corporation Pty Ltd and Lloyd McKennal International Co Pty Ltd, Carew-Reid family companies administered by the Western Australian Public Trustee Office in their capacity as executors of the estate of the late John Hastings Carew-Reid,
    4. ROGER JENKINS Accountant for the Western Australian Public Trustee Office, who helped administer the Estate of the Late John Carew-Reid, and the two family companies Carew Corporation Pty Ltd and Lloyd McKennal International Co Pty Ltd, and also served as a director and secretary of these two companies under instructions of the Western Australian Public Trustee Office,
    5. JOHN JAMES HOCKLEY, barrister for the Western Australian Public Trustee Office who was paid around $300,000 for his legal services over a two year period,
    6. DAVID LANCELOT JONES, A Law Chambers corporate barrister for the Western Australian Public Trustee Office, who also acted as a director and secretary of both of the Carew-Reid family companies, Carew Corporation Pty Ltd and Lloyd McKennal International Co Pty Ltd, and was paid around $1,000,000 over a number of years by the Western Australian Public Trustee Office from the estate of the late John Carew-Reid, which included the proceeds of the sale of the two story family home at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, transferred to Ester Investments Pty Ltd, a company controlled by Leonard Walter Buckeridge, the Western Australian Billionaire, and his [[Buckeridge Group of Companies] for $1,000,000, and the cash amounts in the two family companies, Carew Corporation Pty Ltd and Lloyd McKennal International Co Pty Ltd, in return for preparing accounts and records for the two family companies, preparing affidavits and court submissions for the Western Australian Public Trustee Office, and attending court hearings for the Western Australian Public Trustee Office
    7. KENNETH ERIC BRADLEY, the Western Australian Public Trustee,
    8. CAROLINE THATCHER, a lawyer for the Western Australian Crown Law Office,
    9. NICHOLAS DAVID CHARLES DILLON, a barrister working for legal firm Corrs, Westgarth Chambers under instructions from the Western Australian Public Trustee Office, Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his 
    Buckeridge Group of Companies ,
    10. CORRS WESTGARTH CHAMBERS (A legal

    firm),
    11. LEONARD WALTER BUCKERIDGE, a well known Western Australian billionaire businessman,
    12. ROBERT FALCONER, the Western Australian Police Commissioner,
    13. ALISON FLEMING, a lawyer for BankWest Limited (formerly Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia,
    14. BANKWEST LIMITED, a Western Australian Bank,
    15. ESTHER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, a company controlled by Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his 
    Buckeridge Group of Companies ,
    16. SIOK PAUY KOH, the de facto wife of Leonard Walter Buckeridge,
    17. JULIAN AMBROSE,the de facto son of Leonard, son of SIOK PAUY KOH,
    18. Leonard Walter Buckeridge, Western Australian billionaire businessman,
    19. RICHARD FAIRFAX COURT, the Premier of Western Australia,
    20. PETER FOSS, the Attorney General of Western Australia,
    21. THE STATE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA,
    22. DARRYL WILLIAMS, Attorney General of Australia,
    23. JOHN WINSTON HOWARD, Prime Minister of Australia,
    24. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA
    25. PHILLIP BARLOW, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    25. MICHAEL PETER McMAHON, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    27. ROBERT LAWRENCE, a magistrate in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia,
    28. GEOFFREY ARTHUR WATSON, a senior clerk in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia,
    29. JOHN RODERICK McKECHNIE, at the time the Director of the Western Australian Public Prosecutions, that was appointed judge in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on his retirement as the Director of the Western Australian Public Prosecutions,
    30. DENNIS REYNOLDS, a magistrate in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia,
    31. DR GRAHAM RAAD, a doctor practicing in Western Australia that was involved with the transfer of the Carew-Reid family home at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, from ESTHER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, a company controlled by Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his 
    Buckeridge Group of Companies  to himself, and during the time the property was registered in his name, the luxury two story home at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park was completely demolished while there was still legal actions preceding in the courts over the ownership of 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, by Stephen Carew-Reid for and/or behalf of the Carew-Reid family, consisting of Patricia Elizabeth Carew-Reid, Lloyd MacKennal Carew-Reid, Wayne Hastings Carew-Reid, Pippen Louise Drysdale (formerly Pippen Louise Carew-Reid) and Stephen Carew-Reid,
    32. THE TOWN OF MOSMAN PARK, who issued the demolition licence to ESTHER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, a company controlled by Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his
    Buckeridge Group of Companies , who demolished 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, during a period that they had knowledge that there was still legal actions proceeding in the courts of the ownership of 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia by Stephen Carew-Reid for and/or behalf of the Carew-Reid family consisting of Patricia Elizabeth Carew-Reid, Lloyd MacKennal Carew-Reid, Wayne Hastings Carew-Reid, Pippen Louise Drysdale (formerly Pippen Louise Carew-Reid) and Stephen Carew-Reid,
    33. TREVOR HARKINS, an employee of THE TOWN OF MOSMAN PARK,
    34. THE REGISTER OF TITLES OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
    35. WILLIAM RAYNER, the head lawyer for the Western Australian Public Trustee Office,
    36. RONALD PATRICK GETHIN, a lawyer practising in Western Australia,
    37. ROBERT ANTHONY SMITHSON, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    37. BRUCE WILLIAM DUCKHAM, a lawyer practising in Western Australia,
    39. MACK HALL, an estate agent operating in Western Australia, that was involved with the transfer of the Carew-Reid family home at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park to ESTHER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, a company controlled by Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his 
    Buckeridge Group of Companies 
    40. DEE SEED, an estate agent operating in Western Australia, that was involved with the transfer of the Carew-Reid family home at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park to ESTHER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, a company controlled by Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his Buckeridge Group of Companies 
    41. PAUL HEANEY, a magistrate in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia,
    42. KENNETH WATKINS, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    43. MATHEW PETER HARTFIELD, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    44. JOHN HANCOCK, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    45. ALINTA GAS, a gas corporation in Western Australia that agreed to cut of the gas at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, that had been registered under the names of different members Carew-Reid family since 1959 when the house was first built, which made it possible for the THE TOWN OF MOSMAN PARK to issued the demolition licence to ESTHER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, a company controlled by Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his 
    Buckeridge Group of Companies , who demolished 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, during a period that they had knowledge that there was still legal actions proceeding in the courts of the ownership of 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia by Stephen Carew-Reid for and/or behalf of the Carew-Reid family consisting of Patricia Elizabeth Carew-Reid, Lloyd MacKennal Carew-Reid, Wayne Hastings Carew-Reid, Pippen Louise Drysdale (formerly Pippen Louise Carew-Reid) and Stephen Carew-Reid,
    46. PHILLIP HARVEY, a senior manager of Alinta Gas,
    47. WESTERN POWER CORPORATION, an electricity corporation in Western Australia that agreed to cut of the electricity at 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, that had been registered under the names of different members Carew-Reid family since 1959 when the house was first built, which made it possible for the THE TOWN OF MOSMAN PARK to issued the demolition licence to ESTHER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, a company controlled by Leonard Walter Buckeridge and his 
    Buckeridge Group of Companies , who demolished 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia, during a period that they had knowledge that there was still legal actions proceeding in the courts of the ownership of 135 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia by Stephen Carew-Reid for and/or behalf of the Carew-Reid family consisting of Patricia Elizabeth Carew-Reid, Lloyd MacKennal Carew-Reid, Wayne Hastings Carew-Reid, Pippen Louise Drysdale (formerly Pippen Louise Carew-Reid) and Stephen Carew-Reid,
    48. LENNARD ROBERTS, a magistrate in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia,
    49. NOEL GARTLAN, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    50. DAVID ROBSON, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    51. NATHAN JOHANSEN, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    52. MARK CUNNINGHAM, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    53. ANTHONY DERRICK, a lawyer practising in Western Australia,
    54. CHERYL EDWARDES, the Attorney General for Western Australia,
    55. THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE FOR THE STATE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA,
    56. JAMES HUNTER, the acting deputy public trustee for the Western Australian Public Trustee Office,
    55. PETER WIESE, Minister for Police for the State of Western Australia,
    58. PINO MONARCO, A lawyer practising in Western Australia,
    59. BRUCE MOORE, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    60. GRAHAME MOON, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    61. IVOR ROBSON, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    62. CON CAMARIARI, a senior Western Australian Police Officer,
    63. THE OFFICIAL RECEIVER FOR AUSTRALIA,
    64. GERRY WHITE, a representative of the THE OFFICIAL RECEIVER FOR AUSTRALIA,
    65. KEN WONG, a representative of the THE OFFICIAL RECEIVER FOR AUSTRALIA,
    66. DEBRA PATON, A lawyer practising in News South Wales,
    67. NEVILLE OWEN, A Western Australian Supreme Court Judge,
    68. KEVIN PARKER, A Western Australian Supreme Court Judge

    Books purchased by the J S Battye Library, Western Australia's State Reference Library

    Several copies of the seven volumes of Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?) written by Stephen Carew-Reid in the early 1990's were purchased by the 
    J S Battye Library  which is often referred to as the Alexander Resource Library of Western Australia.

    Title named after his Great Grand Father Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal 's plaster cast statute Triumph Of Truth.

    Stephen Carew-Reid dedicated the seven volumes of Triumph of Truth(Who's Watching the Watchers?) to Sir Edgar 
    Bertram Mackennal , who was Stephen Carew-Reid's Great Grandfather, who, as is widely known in art circles and literature, that he made it publicly known that he searched for the truth through his art all his life. Sir EdgarBertram Mackennal , who in the 1870's, had won a competition in his home town of Melbourne Victoria  a state of Australia , to turn a small plaster cast Sculpture  he had made to enter the competition, he called "Triumph of Truth", into a life size bronze statue that was to be donated to Melbourne  and be displayed at the National Gallery of Victoria . However, after Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal  won the competition, the businessmen that had promised the funds to the winner to pay for the making of the life size statue "Triumph of Truth", reneged on providing the funds, and the life size bronze statute was never made. For this reason Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal 's great Grandson,Stephen Carew-Reid has written the series of books "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watches?)" in his search for the truth in the courts and feels that it was his duty to continue on his Great Grandfather's search for the truth and to make sure "Triumph of Truth" finally did come to life, through Stephen Carew-Reid's books. Stephen Carew-Reid feels that his great grandfather is working with him in spirit in their joint search for the truth. Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal  (1863-1931) was the most significantAustralian  Sculpture  of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in Melbourne  in 1863, the son of Scottish immigrant and architectural  sculptor  J. S. Mackennal, Bertram Mackennal studied at the National Gallery Schools in Melbourne (1878-1882) before he departed for Europe in 1882, seeking further training and greater opportunities for sculptural success.

    Destruction of Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?) from J S Battye Library

    A few years after the 
    J S Battye Library  purchased the seven volumes of Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?), the librarian who was responsible for making the decision to authorise the purchase of the books on behalf of the library, told a reporter for the USA Weekend News, that "a representative from the Western Australian Crown Law Office came to the library without any court order and demanded that the seven volumes of Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?) be completely destroyed and that all reference to these books be removed from the library's computer index system, so that no-one would ever know that they ever existed in the library.

    Removal of original manuscripts by Queensland Police in 2005 without court order

    In 2005 Senior Queensland Detectives Gregory Stormont and Barry Zerner removed the original manuscripts of the seven volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching the Watchers?) from 6 Earl Court, Tallai suburb of Queensland's famous Gold Coast, one hour south of 
    Brisbane , the capital city of Queensland . Despite constant requests by the owners of these original manuscripts, being Stephen Carew-Reid, the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group and International News Limited, for the return of these original manuscripts, to Kerry_Shine  Queensland 's Attorney-General , the Premier of Queensland , the Police Commissioner  of Queensland , the Queensland_Police , Senior Detectives Gregory Stormont and Barry Zerner and others, as at July 2009, these original manuscripts of seven volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching the Watchers?)have not been returned, even after Stephen Carew-Reidthe Australian Weekend News Publishing Group and International News Limited have sent copies of a signed receipt signed by Senior Detective Gregory Stormont, on behalf of the Queensland Police Service  and the Queensland Government , when he removed the seven volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching the Watchers?) from 6 Earl Court, Tallai in November, 2004

    Stephen Carew-Reid's family members

    Stephen Carew-Reid's bothers and sisters include:

    1. Brother: Wayne Carew_Reid, who is well known in the Western Australian business world as being a director of Australian Liquor Market (ALM), a division of well known grocery chain in Western Australia called FoodlandWayne Carew-Reid in his younger days was a well know champion surfer and golfer and received many Western Australian state championship awards for his golf and surfing activities, is the oldest brother of Stephen Carew-Reid.

    2. Brother :Lloyd Carew-Reid, is famous for fighting for the rights of ordinary citizens rights who live in 
    New York , and for fighting the New York Transit Authority  single handed for the rights of buskers to busk in the streets of New York  and the New York subways , is the Brother of Stephen Carew-Reid. Lloyd Carew-Reid, who moved to New York  in 1978 in the words of Lloyd Carew-Reid, "to escape the clandestine manipulations of his life by his late father John Carew-Reid, who was a pilot and squadron leader and also one of the highest ranking officers in the intelligence section of the American Air Force  and the Australian Air Force , during the Second World War . My fatherJohn Carew-Reidwas asked after the war to help form the Australian Federal Police ". Lloyd Carew-Reid has become famous for his fight for justice for buskers against the New York Transit Authority  and the badly treated tenants at the Famous New York  Hotel , then known as the Kenmore Hotel, which became so dangerous to live in during the early 1980's, that the management of the Kenmore Hotel had to be taken over by the US Military . Lloyd Cared-Reid's middle name Mackennal was given to him by his parents John Hastings Carew-Reid and Patricia Elizebeth to keep an old family name alive and in memory of Lloyd, Stephen, Wayne and Pippen Carew-Reid's great grandfather Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal .

    3. Sister: Pippen Drysdale is now a famous pottery-artist, who married Chris Drysdale, the nephew of the famous Australian artist Sir George 
    Russell Drysdale , as is the only sister of Stephen Carew-Reid.

    Australian Weekend News newspaper created by Stephen Carew-Reid as extension of original Daily News-Weekend News

    During the period 1986 and 1996, being the period Stephen Carew-Reid wrote, complied and published the seven volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching the Watchers), Stephen Carew-Reid also created the Australian Weekend News (AWN) hard copy newspaper, so that ordinary people in Australia, like himself, that had some important issues to say to the public, had a newspaper that was their free and open voice for all 
    Australians Stephen Carew-Reid saw the Australian Weekend News (AWN) belonging to all Australians , rather than belonging to himself personally. Stephen Carew-Reid envisaged the Australian Weekend News as his gift to his fellow Australians to provided them their own voice, where every one can have a say, no matter what their point of view.

     

    Australian_Weekend_News_Masthead


    Australian_Weekend-News_newspaper_Logo

    Creation of Mr Wijat and His Team as part of Australian Identity of the AWN

    As part of the Australian Identity of the Australian Weekend NewsStephen Carew-Reid created a group of cartoon characters, which were originally created , along with the Monster Gang, for the books Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching the Watchers),, to depict real characters in the books, but in cartoon form, that he felt the ordinary Australian could relate to, that were very much inspired by his good friend 
    Paul Rigby  the Western Australian  cartoonist  that became a world famous cartoonist through his cartoons that appeared each day on the back of the original Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia)  newspaper, with a little man and his dog hidden in the cartoons somewhere, that the reader had to locate. Stephen Carew-Reid's concept was to continue the original Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia) , as an Australia Wide Newspaper called, theAustralian Weekend News, and make the Australian Weekend News as close to the original format and layout as the old Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia) , including cartoons on the back that would appear on each edition, similar to the now famous Paul Rigby  cartoons, he called, Mr Wijat and His Team Working for Truth Justice and the Australian Way. The members of Mr Wijat's Team were called, Mr WijatAl WijatERF The WormMarvin The Marvellous and Magic Rabbit.

     

    MrWijat_Cartoon_representing_WeekendNews_Investigative_Journalistic_Action_Team_January_1986

     

    Mr_Wijat_The_Fearless-Carton Character_That_Stands_Up_for Justice for The_Australian_People_&_for people_All_Over_The_World



     

    ERF_The_Worm_Mr_Wijat's_Little_Greenie_Mate

     

    Al_Wijat_Mr_Wijat's_Super_Hero_Son



     

    Mr_Wijat_&_His_Team_ERF_The_Worm_Al_Wajat_Marvin_The_Marvelous



    Stephen Carew-Reid's Paul Rigby Connection used to help the Australian Weekend News

    Stephen Carew-Reid spoke at length of the telephone with 
    Paul Rigby  in the late 1980's and early 1990's (who was then working for News Corporation  and their publication theNew York Daily News ), for information and the history of the old Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia) , and advice about how the develop the Australian Weekend News as an extension of the old Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia) , that had been then closed in 1992 by the then owners, the Bell Group, who also owned the only daily morning newspaper knows as the West Australian . In support of Stephen Carew-Reid's efforts to continue the life of the old Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia) , (a newspaper that Paul Rigby  loved and cherished and was sad to see it being closed by the Bell Group and the West Australian  Newspaper Group) under the new name of theAustralian Weekend NewsPaul Rigby  agreed to provide a new cartoon  for the back of the first edition of the Australian Weekend News, which depicted Allan Bond's Bell Group's managing director, Mr David Aspinall, being beaten back with sticks by the journalists and other support staff, that worked for the oldDaily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia) , that were all sacked by Mr David Aspinall, when he made the decision to close the old Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia) 

    References:
    ----

    1. James Battye Library, Western Australia Editions of the Australian Weekend News, on microfilm at the James Battye Library.
    2. Editions of the Australian Weekend News, compliments of the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group and International News Limited.
    3. Seven volumes of books knows as Triumph of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers? written by Stephen Carew-Reid and published by the Australian Weekend News.
    4. Website:
    www.INLNews.com  Website: www.USAWeeklyNews.com.
    5. Website: www.whois 
    watchingthewatchers.com .
    6. Australian Weekend News websites: www,
    awn.bz www.australianweekendnews.com www.newscorp.net .
    7. Interviews with Stephen Carew-Reid and other staff at the Australian Weekend News, USA Weekly News and INL News Limited and International News Limited.
    8. Historical records of the old [[Daily_News_(Perth,_Western_Australia).<]]br />9. Historical records of the 
    West Australian  Newspaper, published in Perth Western Australia and held on micro Film at the J S Battye Library  in Perth Western Australia.
    10. Interviews with staff at the James Battye Library in Perth Western Australia.
    11. Interviews with the residents and owner of 6 Earl Court Tallai, Queensland.
    12. Queensland Queensland Police records held in Queensland, Australia.
    13. Statements from Queensland Senior Detectives Gregory Stormont and Barry Zerner Letters.
    14. Records, receipts and correspondence from the Queensland Police Service in Australia.
    15. Local Court of Western Australia records.
    16. Magistrate Court of Western Australia records.
    17. District Court of Western Australia records.
    18. Supreme Court of Western Australia records.
    19. Federal Court of Australia records.
    20. High Court of Australia records.
    21. Public Trustee of Western Australia records.
    22. Director of Public Prosecution records.
    23. Western Australian Titles Office at Midland records.
    24. Western Australian Police Service records.
    25. Mosman Park Shire council records.
    26. Interviews with Lloyd Carew-Reid.
    27. Interview with Wayne Carew-Reid.
    28. Interviews with Pippen Drysdale.
    29. Interviews with Paul Rigby.
    30. Historical records of the Sunday Times Newspaper published in Perth Western Australia.
    31. The New York Times.
    32. Time Magazine.
    33. 
    http://www.pippindrysdale.com/ 
    34. http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/about_us/the_arts/artists_and_orgs/artists/pippin_drysdale 
    35. http://www.lookupanyone.com/namelistings/pippen-drysdale-robyne-drysdale.html 
    36. http://www.inlnews.com/PippenDrysdale_FineArts.html 
    37.http://www.artcalendr.com/index.cfm/events/events.eventsMainPage/orderType/all/showEvent/next30Days/showCategory/all/showVenue/Houston%20Center%20for%20Contemporary%20Craft 
    38. http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/20051112/impressions/20051112-impressions.pdf 
    39. http://www.inlnews.com/AustWeekendNews2001.html 
    40. http://www.inlnews.com/Lloyd_Carew-Reid_Justice.html 
    41. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertram_Mackennal 
    42. http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/ed/resources/ed_kits/mackennal 
    43. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speel/sculpt/mackenna.htm 
    44. http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/mackennal/ 
    45. http://www.victorianweb.org/sculpture/mackennal/mackennalov.html 
    46. http://www.artnet.com/artist/648778/sir-edgar-bertram-mackennal.html 
    47. http://wwar.com/masters/m/mackennal-sir_bertram.html 
    48. http://www.artknowledgenews.com/Bertram_Mackennal.html?q=national+gallery 
    49. http://www.whitehat.com.au/Australia/People/Mackennal.asp 
    50. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/22/nyregion/about-new-york-europe-can-wait-musician-adopts-an-sro-hotel.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss 
    51. http://altlaw.org/v1/cases/556502  52. http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F2/903/914/435677/ 
    53. LLOYD CAREW-REID, who dissented in part in Young v. New York City Transit Authority, 903 F.2d 146 (2d Cir.1990)
    54. TIME MAGAZINE Monday, Judiciary By GREGORY JAYNES Monday, Jul. 06, 1987
    55. 
    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964903-2,00.html 
    56. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/26/nyregion/mta-turns-down-volume-on-subway-platform-music.html 
    57. http://www.brooklaw.edu/directory/library.php 
    58. http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=452971&t=e&cat_id= 
    59. http://www.citylore.org/citylore_resources-guide.html 
    60. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/17/nyregion/subway-performers-told-to-keep-their-distance.html 
    61. http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/transit_systems/index.html?s=oldest&&query=CAREW  REID,+LLOYD&field=per&match=exact
    62. 
    http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mta/aft/munyfacts1.htm 
    63. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/federal_ct/1999/998.html 
    64. Melbourne High School Old Boys Association artilce "Stephen Carew-Reid - arguing with the Judiciary"
    65. 
    http://www.mhsoba.asn.au/default.asp?pg=luncheon&spg=display&articleid=2266 
    66. Records from the Director of Public Prosecutions of Western Australia
    67. Records from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
    68. Records form the Magistrates Court of Canberra
    69. Interview with Peter Moon, comedian in Melbourne, Victoria, old school and family friend of Stephen Carew-Reid
    70. Letters, reports, legal papers and correspondence held by Valerie Carew-Reid
    71. Interview with Southerby's Auction House, Melbourne Victoria who did all the research into the public scandal in the the late 1880's where Sir Edgar Bertram MacKennal won the first prize with his plaster cast model of Triumph of Truth to be funded to create a life size bronze statue of the same plaster cast model for permanent display at the National Gallery of Victoria, however the businessmen did not provide the funds for the prize and the life size bronze model of Triumph of Truth.
    72. Private legal papers, files, correspondence and records held by Stephen Carew-Reid's family.
    73. The Western Australian Supreme Court Library.
    74. Records of the Western Australian Public Trustee Office
    75. Records, legal papers, correspondence and other documents held in safe keeping for the Carew-Reid family
    76. Court Documents filed in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, being action Cor 81 of 1993, Stephen Carew-Reid v The Public Trustee and others.






     I think this is a gentleman's club Dictionary. 
    I can understand their policy but not for equal human right.



    Dear INL News Editor,
    I note that the article entited
    Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?)
    ----From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Penright/Triumph_Of_Truth_(Who_Is_Watching_The_Watchers%3F)
    has been forced to be deleted by the following editors of Wikipedia named

    Vicenarian  (Said  · Done )

    Hesperian 

    Moondyne 

    Gavia immer  (talk )

    Gigs  (talk )

    Abecedare  (talk )

    Who then was a gentleman?  (talk )

    Future_.Perfect_at_Sunrise 

    javért stargaze 

    The editors of Wikipedia that oposed the deletion but were outvoted by the above group were:
    S Marshall Talk 

     GrooveDog (talk)

     King of ? ? ? ?  

     Tarc (talk)

    Collect (talk)



    I have been reading all of opinion and discussions over the deletion of this article and it seems clear that the main person behind the push for the urgent deletion of the artilce
    Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?),  is 
    Moondyne , who seems to be powerful  and well connected  in business, courts, legal, political, police and media circlesin Western Australia, and is obviously paid on a full time basis  by people and/or organisations with in these circles, to have written and/or edited thousands of artilces in Wikipedia over the last few years, all about subjects that concerning the history, media, courts, general law, sports, entertainment, writers, people, politics--the list is endless, in Western Australia. There is no doubt that Moondyne could nit have had the time,  even if wirking 24 hiurs qa day seven days a week to write, research and edit all these artilces himself. This leaves the undeniabkle conclusion that Moondyne  has been provided the funds form someone and/or some organisation to employ other Wikipedian editors to help him wiht writing, editing, researching and compiling these thousands of Wikipedian artcles all concerning Western Australia. I have also noted that every time someone edits a existing artilce and/or writes a news article on Wikipedia, taht has nit been oersoanbklly apporved by Moondyne , then the edit and/or article is imediately removed by Moondyne , and/or one of his other assocuated Wikipedian editors that work with him, when he does not want to be seen to have benn involved with the deletion of  the edit of an extisting artilce and/or new artilce himself.

    Truth is the truth,  but Wikipedia  has no concept, to expose all truth and no responsibility. I suppose rather they think without trouble is their concept is the best.  
    I noticed  the article about Moodyne at www.usaweekendnews.com
    http://www.usaweekendnews.com/TriumphOfTruthBookStolen.html 
    • I am apparently the subject of an investigation which relates to this user
    the USA Weekly News investigative team have discovered that the person that removed the above articles and edits to the Perth Western Australian Daily-Weekend News page in Wikipedia, calls himself Moondyne, and was originally in the administratin section of Wikipedia, which is an unpaid job, and since 2003 when he resigned from from being on the adminteam of Wikipedia, he became a full time writer for Wikipedia, writing and editing thousands of artilces all about people, places, history, courts, sport, general news, media, crime, politics, etc from his rural property in Moolibeenie, near Gingin in Western Australia, which is about one hour from Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. In fact Moondyne was the person that posted the first edit of Perth Western Australian Daily-Weekend News page in Wikipedia, and complete most of the other minor edits completed by other part time editors of Wikipedia.[1] 
    WTF! And that url is one of the sources in the userfied article. Before long no doubt, 
    this deletion and userfication saga will be another chapter in several of these self-published webpages,
     thus proving the conspiracy theory. –Moondyne 05:04, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

    WIKIPEDIA'S policy cannot change any current problem of social circumstances. Just show past history and surface of new technology etc.etc. 

                                                                        " I think this is a gentleman's club Dictionary."
                                                               
                                                                    "I can understand their policy but not for equal human right."

     If they say seeking and appeal of human right is violate and absolutely nothing good or productive.
     
    I really would like to ask all of Weikipedian "What is most important and productive for human beings"  If you don't mind would please put this on top of page. 
    whatever writing they will be deleted  put question is make more appeal. 

    The seven books 
    Triumph Of Truth (Who Is Watching The Watchers?)  is full of evidence of court battle for human right record by Stephen Carew-Reid .
    According to Wikipedia's rule I cannot show the contents of this book. Editing team think about this book is too violate and no productive. 
    However " What is most important and productive for human beings"  We  human beings always battled to obtain human right since past. 
    If you have an interest please pay attention about references.
    I am not sure all those rules but, I feel little bit sad with those good people. 
    Hesperian and Moondyne attacked the article with very bad words.then started debate.
    Hoswever have not replied ot aligations against them, the have just hidden behind the their other associated editors.

    Best regards
    Mary , helping out in Watching the Watchers
    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/TriumphOfTruthVol1_CopyofOriginalFrontCover.jpg 


    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/TriumphOfTruthVol1_CopyofOriginalFrontCover.jpg 
    Copy of Front Cover of the original Volume One of the book
     The Triumph Of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)by Stephen Carew-Reid


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Triumph_Of_Truth_Original_BackCoverVol1_100%25.jpg
     The_Triumph_Of_Truth_(Who's_Watching_The_Watchers?)Vol.1_OriginalBackCover


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Triumph_of_TruthVol1_P.423_WritCor81_1993.jpg 
    Triumph_Of_Truth_Vol.1_P.423_Cor81_1993_WA_Supreme_Court_P.1_of_Statement_Of_Claim_StephenCarew-Reid.v.ThePublicTrustee_&_Others


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Triumph_of_TruthVol1_P.424_WritCor81_1993.jpg 
    English: Triumph_Of_Truth_Vol.1_P.424_Cor81_1993_WA_Supreme_Court_P.2_of_Statement_Of_Claim_StephenCarew-Reid.v.ThePublicTrustee_&_Others


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Triumph_of_TruthVol1_P.425_WritCor81_1993.jpg 


    Triumph_Of_Truth_Vol.1_P.425_Cor81_1993_WA_Supreme_Court_P.2_of_Statement_Of_Claim_StephenCarew-Reid.v.ThePublicTrustee_&_Others

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Triumph_of_TruthVol1_P.426_WritCor81_1993.jpg 
    Triumph_Of_Truth_Vol.1_P.426_Cor81_1993_WA_Supreme_Court_P.2_of_Statement_Of_Claim_StephenCarew-Reid.v.ThePublicTrustee_&_Others



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TriumphOfTruthVol2_CopyofOriginalFrontCover.jpg 
    Copy of Front Cover of the original Volume Two of the book The Triumph Of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)by Stephen Carew-Reid-Larger_Copy



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TriumphOfTruthVol3_CopyofOriginalFrontCover.jpg 
    Copy of Front Cover of the original Volume Three of the book 
    The Triumph Of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)by Stephen Carew-Reid-Larger_Copy



    The Seven Volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) who were purchased by the Western Australia Alexander Resource Library with public money during the years 1988 and 1992 and cateloged into the the library's computer for about three year myseriously completely disappeared from the Library and from the Libray's computer sysyem as though they never existed... and in the year 2004, Detective Sergent Gregory Stormont on behalf of the Queensland Police Force and the Queensland Government, which have  historically been controlled by the Freemasons since the beginning of Federation in Australia, stole the original manuscripts of  the Seven Volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) from 6 Earl Court Tallai, known as the Hollywood Hills of the Gold Coast in Queensland, even signing a receipt for them, which International News Limited, the owners of the publisher the Australian Weekend News, has a copy of such receipt....constant requests to the Premier of Queensland, The Atorney of Queensland, the Police Commissioner of Queensland, the Prime Minister of Australia and to Detective Sergent Gregory Storemont himself for the return of thesse original manusripts since 2004 have been ignored.. International News Limited through its Australian owned publisher the Austalian Weekend News is about to issue a Supreme Court legal action for in excess of $100 million in damages for the loss of these books since the year 2004, as in 2004 at the time they had been stolen, they were about to be made into a series of films,TV series, plays, short stories, legal training books, a cartoon series staring Mr Wijat and Mr Wijat's Team Fighting For Truth Justice and the Australian Way up against The Monster Gang.
     Mr Wijat and Mr Wijat's Team and the Monster Gang are the cartoon characters created by the author Stephen Carew-Reid that resemble some of the real characters in the series of books "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)

    Fermin Juan Astiz Diaz  has kindly translated the words 

    Who's Watching The Watchers into Spanish

    Quien Esta Viendo A Los Observadores?

    Australian Weekend News
    Meet Mr Wijat's team working for Truth, Justice & the Australian Way

    A MESSAGE FROM MR WIJAT
    If you want the last laugh on pollies & powerbrokers,
     SEE YOU SOON in The Adventures of 
    Mr Wijat, ERF The Worm, Super Hero Al Wijat, 
    and Marvelous Marvin, 
    exclusive to Australia's favourite and
     fealess newspaper the
    Australia Weekend News
    Just remember, 
    You can play with a Wijat,
    You can dance with a Wijat,
    But you can't stand on
     a Wijat's toes!!!

    Hollo, I'm Mr Wijat, Anyone seen my little mate, ERF The Worm?

    Here I am Wijat, and guess what?
    Marvellous Marvin's come up with another great idea!!!

    G'Day, I'm Mr Wijat's Super Hero life saving son, Al.

    A message from Marvelous Marvin
    "Why don't see give subsribers and advertisers
    of the Australian Weekend News
    100 free shares and 5,000 free options
    to purchase shares in International News Limited (INL) shares
    at $1 each which can be paid for 28 days after
     International News Limited
    is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)...

    Let's Do It!!!!"


    Mr Wijat and the Weekend News Investigative Journalistic Action Team
    WIJAT

    Stephen Carew-Reid, during the 1980's and 1990's  while fighting serius and indemic corruption in the
    the Western Australian Legal, Political, Public Trustee, Police, Prosecution, Judicial, Court and business sytem, he took over ownership the 100 year old Western Australian newspaper masthead, the Weekend News, which had been closed by the Western Australian Newspaper Group because Bob Baxt, the in the late 1980's and early 1990's told the Western Australian Newspaper Group that it could no longer own both the morning newspaper, The West Australian, the afternoon newspaper, The Daily News and the other weeken paper, which was the Friday Edition of the Daily News,as this was considered a monopoly. For many years since then, the owners of the Western Australian Newspaper Group, billionaire businessman Robert Homes a Court, who sold to the Western Australian Newspaper Group to contraversial famous billionaire businessman Allan Bond, had the Western Australian Newspaper Group wharehouse the Daily News and the Weekend News, by having a friendly businessman run these newspapers for them, falsely pretending that the Daily and Weekend News had been sold. When in fact it they had not been sold, and Robert Homesa Court and Allan Bond paid business friends to run these two newspapers for them. In fact Allan Bond lent Brian Coppin $10 million on aloan that never was paid back to wharehouse the Daily and Weekend News for Allan Bind and deloberately run them at a loss each year tro it would look like the second and third newspapers arer not making money to frighten anyone from thinking about starting another newspaper in Western Australia. This prescerving the over $200 million the Western Australian Newspaper Grouo hs historically made each year form the six day a week West Australian morning newspaper.
    Stephen Carew-Reid created the cartoon Charcters
    Mr Wijat and His Team, ERF The Worm, Al Wijat and Marvin The Marvelous to publicise in cartoon form, the serious corruption he was fighting in Western Australia, in the Australian Weekend News. Stephen Carew-Reid remaned The Weekend News to The Australian Weekend News, to make the newspaper into an Australia Wide Newspaper published in all states of Australia, rather than just Western Australia as it had been for over 100 years, before the Western Australian Newspaper Group wrongly and fraudulently closed it and put thousand sof jouralists and other workers out of work.
    This was done before Stephen Carew-Reid wrote and the books
     "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?).
    Many of these editions of the Weekend News have been recorded and kept in the archive at the Western Australian Alexander Resource Libary..the samed libray that purchaseed all seven volumes of about 500 pages each of  "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?), which the Western Australian Crown Law Department without any court order or official authority or any court actionb being taken against Stephen Carew-Reid, came in one day, off the record, and demanded tot he library that these boomks be destroyed in thre shredder and taken off the libray computer, so that it would appear that they never ever existed in the first place..
    the plan by the Western Australian authorities and the powerful judges, magistrates, bsuiness people, lawyers and barristers, senior public trustee empolyees, senior public prosecutors, senior court staff, senior poilce and others, was to either have Stephen Carew-Reid murdered and/or sent to Graylands Mental Instition  and declared permanently insane and then have him die of an accidental overdose of drugs one night in the mental institution..
    That way Stephen Carew-Reid would not be around to complain and/or 
    bring to the attention of the world  that his books
     "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)
    have been decreated out of existence from the Western Australia State Library.
    So that Stephen Carew-Reid and his seven volumes of
     "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)
    would never be heard of again....
    This devious plan backfired on the powerful people Stephen Carew-Reid exposed in his books
     "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)
    when a corrupt judge Justice Williams, who had been on the payrole of the most powerful, feared and dangerous billionaire businesman in Western Australia, Leonard Walter Buckeridge for years,
    (in fact is was through the influence of Leonard Walter Buckeridge that Justice Williams became a judge),
    during a cout hearing, Justice Williams as part of thre conspircy to destroy Stepehn Carew-Reid,  sent Stephen Carew-Reid down for mental assessment to the Graylands Mental Institution in Perth, Western Australia for 14 days in the hope that the doctors there would declare Stephen Carew-Reid insane. However, the doctors gave Stephen Carew-Reid a certificate that said he was sane,
     even though suffering from severe stress of all these court battles with these powerful people..
    Since then Stephen Carew-Reid has had many threats on his life he
     ever attempted to make copies of  his books

    "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?)

    publicly avaiable.

    Awn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

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     23rd July, 2009



    Awn

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



    AWN as an abbreviation may refer to:

    Awn as a word or name may refer to:

    • Awn (botany) , a hair or bristle-like appendage on a plant
    • Awn hair  (mammal), a type of hair on mammals
    • AWN Newspaper Masthead,is a well known over 100 year old newspaper masthead from Perth Western Australia that was originally known as the Weekend News that was the Friday edition of the over 100 year old Western Australian Newspaper compiled in Western Australia's capital city of Perth. The Daily and Weekend News started in 1879 as Perth Western Australia's first newspaper. The well known author, Stephen Carew Reid, whose home town is Perth Western Australia, the author of seven volumes of the book series called Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) see: http://www.whoiswatchingthewatchers.com ,published in the late 1980's to expose the corruption he had been fighting for a decade in the legal, political, police, public trustee and business world of Western Australia, managed to obtain the Weekend News newspaper masthead when "The Daily News-Weekend News was mothballed in the early 1990s by the then owners of the West Australian Newspaper group (WAN), because a former Trade Practices Commissioner, Bob Baxt, told them that it was a monopoly to control both newspapers. But instead of selling this valuable asset to an independent operator, WAN ran up millions of dollars worth of bills and put it into liquidation."[[See:http://inlnews.com/AustWeekendNews2001.html ]> Stephen Carew-Reid then proceeded to republish the Weekend News under the new name "Australian Weekend News", abrieviated to "AWN", described by Stephen Carew-Reid the following way, "The Australian Weekend News will provide a reasonably priced alternative, that will be owned by the Australian people." See: http://inlnews.com/AustWeekendNews2001.html, which featured "a cartoon series staring Mr Wijat and Mr Wijat's Team Fighting For Truth Justice and the Australian Way up against The Monster Gang."See:http://www.whoiswatchingthewatchers.com/Journal.html"Mr Wijat and Mr Wijat's Team and the Monster Gang are the cartoon characters created by the author Stephen Carew-Reid that resemble some of the real characters in the series of books "Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?"See:http://www.whoiswatchingthewatchers.com/Journal.html Stephen Carew-Reid had all his powerful enemies against him trying to stop him from continuing with the publication and expansion of the Australia Weekend News. Many of these enemies he had exposed in his series of books called Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?,) as well, he had the rich established powerful media groups in Australia against him the did not want him to succeed because it would greatly reduce the value and profits of their existing newspaper that had a combined value of over $30 billion on the Australian and world stock exchanges, and in particular the powerful Western Australian Newspaper Holdings Ltd (with the West Australian newspaper masthead valued by the stock market at about $3 billion), that continued to publish Western Australia's second oldest newspaper The West Australian. "The West Australian (often simply called The West) is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed West Australian Newspapers Holdings Ltd (ASX: WAN). The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication. It is the second-oldest continuously-produced newspaper in Australia, having been published since 1833. The West is politically populist, with strong conservative leanings. It was described by former Prime Minister of Australia Paul Keating as the worst newspaper in Australia.[citation needed]"See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Australian. For many years Stephen Carew-Reid continued to publish what he called "Australian Weekend News -AWN-Collectors Editions" which the Western Australian State Reference Library, The State Library of Western Australia known as the Alexander Resource Library [[Se: http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/  also see:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Library_Building  also see:, encouraged Stephen Carew-Reid to continue with publishing weekly editions of the Australian Weekend News featuring Mr Wijat and His Team consisting of ERF The Worm, Al Wijat ( Mr Wijat's Super Hero Son) and Marvin The Marvellous. The Western Australia's Alexander Resource Library hold copies of most of these editions. "The Alexander Library was established in 1955, in a rented house in West Perth, with five staff and 15,000 books, serving the three country libraries of York Donnybrook and Moora. Today the library board (operating as the library and information service of Western Australia) has 267 staff and a total of 2.2 million volumes in the public library building. It provides reference and information services from the Alexander Library building and serves 230 public libraries. The Alexander Library's facilities include a modern, air-conditioned facilities and plenty of comfortable seating. There is a large stock of reference books and magazines as well as records for listening to, music scores for borrowing and a piano room to try the music scores out. Other materials at the library include newspapers from around the world, film and videos for loan to community groups or for viewing in the library, Western Australian history (including photographs, oral history and archives), and maps and atlases. There are computer catalogues to assist you to find the information you want," See: http://www.totaltravel.com.au/travel/wa/pertharea/perth/shops/books-video-photos/alexander-library-3/details/. Stephen Carew-Reid eventually obtained financial partners which included other family members such as his bother Lloyd Carew-Reid who became famous for his fight for justice for the down trodden New Yorker See:http://inlnews.com/Lloyd_Carew-Reid_Justice.html and http://www.whoiswatchingthewatchers.com/Journal.html and his famous artist-potter sister Pippen Drysdale See:http://inlnews.com/PippenDrysdale_FineArts.html, to help him form the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group, "Australian Weekend News Publishing Group registered at 1707 L 17 Australia Square Tower 264 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000"See:http://www.hotfrog.com.au/Companies/Australian-Weekend-News-Publishing-Group Due to the large expense of publishing and distributing a newspaper in hard copy, in 2001 the AWN was created into an internet newspaper under various domain names over the years includingwww.inlnews.net , www.australianweekendnews.com ,www.australianweekendnews.com.au  and www.awn.bz.In  2004 the control of the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group was taken over by International News Limited originally an Australian company formed by a group of investors keen to support an independent news media group that was based around Stephen Carew-Reid's original charter and aims of the AWN Publishing Group, being " 1.To establish a financially strong mainstream worldwide people's media group listed on the stock exchange, which can compete with other media on a fair and equitable basis. 2.To have more than one million subscribers. 3. To allow subscribers to have a say in the running of the Weekend News. 4. To provide financial assistance, advice and work opportunities to subscribers. 5. To provide an alternative workplace for journalists and others who work or want to work in the media industry. 6. To provide a truly independent public voice. 7.To provide quality, interesting and colourful news content. 8. To provide assistance in publishing of articles, books and journals where other publishers have refused to assist. 9. To provide legal assistance to subscriber shareholders. 10.To provide affordable advertising to subscribers."See:http://inlnews.com/AustWeekendNews2001.html. The aim of the investors behind the formation of International News Limited was for form a financially strong independent media group that is there to support the aforementioned aims, rather than for profit motive of the investors that would be grow into a financially strong and well publicly supported media group that is there for the average person that would keep good investigative journalism alive, as an alternative to another Australian Rupert Murdoch who controls the most powerful media groups in the world called News Limited that has been described by one of Rupert Murdochs outspoken critics media scholar Robert W. McChesney, who launched www.FreePress.net  with the help of journalist John Nichols and executive director Josh Silver, in late 2002 by media scholar Robert W. McChesney,critics at www.freepress.net  as just been interested in junk journalism for the pure greed and profit motive. See:Rupert Murdoch just bought the Wall Street Journal=//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf8Gi3SwfxY. In 1996 Stephen Carew-Reid had a venture capital broker approach Rupert Murdoch at News Limited's office in Sydney to ask if News Limited wished to invest $2,000,000 into the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group for 20% of the shares to help fund the expansion of the Australian Weekend News (AWN) into a financially solid newspaper published in each state in Australia on Friday afternoon, (as the original weekend News had been published on Friday at lunchtime, rather that Saturday morning giving readers the chance to see what was happen for the weekend on Friday rather than Saturday) as an alternative Australian weekend newspaper to all the other weekend state newspapers that were published in each state on Saturday morning. Rupert Murdoch and News Limited's answer was to threaten Stephen Carew-Reid and his Australian Weekend News Publishing Group with Federal and Supreme Court writs to try and stop them using the name "Australian", in front of the name Weekend News. Rupert Murdoch and News Limited's argument was that they had established the Australian Newspaper, being the only Australia wide newspaper with general news and they called their weekend edition The Australian (Weekend Edition). However, Stephen Carew-Reid had the name registered in Australia for some time Australian Weekend News as a business and company name and had been publishing the Australian Weekend News Collectors Editions since 1986. Stephen Carew-Reid's response to these legal threats from News Limited, a 300 billion dollar company being one of the largest media companies in the world with very deep pockets, that had unlimited money for the best and most expensive legal council money can buy, was to fax a draft copy of the next edition of the Australian Weekend News, with a headline and story entitled "Rupert Murdoch and his News Limited company sues Mr Wijat's Australian Weekend News over the right to use Australian as part of the Australian Weekend News Masthead".

    Stephen Carew-Reid also requested that the lawyers work over night to prepare the writs for collection by Stephen Carew-Reid the next morning. There was never any further response from Blake Dawson and Waldron, solicitors(now known as http://www.blakedawson.com/ ) for News Limited that made the threats for and on behalf of News Limited, and Stephen Carew-Reid, Mr Wijat, the Australian Weekend News, the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group have never heard from News Limited, Rupert Murdoch, News Limited or any of their solicitors or representative since that day. The original manuscripts of the seven volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watches?) written by Stephen Carew-Reid and published by the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group were stored for safe keeping by the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group and its now owners, International News Limited (known as The INL News Group see: www.inlnews.com) in a house in Tallai, Gold Coast (commonly known as the Hollywood Hills of the Gold Coast) Queensland. Then in late 2004 Detective sergeant Gregory Stormont and Detective Barry Zerner of the Queensland Police came to the house and removed these original manuscripts of the seven volumes of Stephen Carew-Reid's books Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watches?) without any court order or authority to remove such books and still has refused to return them as at July 2009, despite many requests by the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group and International News Limited, to the Detective Gregory Stormont and Detective Barry Zerner, Queensland Police Service, the Queensland Attorney General, the Queensland Premier and the Queensland Commissioner of Police, these original manuscripts have not been returned to the the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group or International News Limited. See: http://www.whoiswatchingthewatchers.com/ The a number of copies of the seven volumes of the Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) written by Stephen Carew-Reid and published by the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group were purchased in the 1980' with public library money to have on public record an alternative view of the legal, political, public trustee, police, courts and business in Western Australia. The Alexander Resource Library issued receipts to the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group for payment for these seven volumes. Then in the year 2001, a lawyer friend of Stephen Carew-Reid, who was about to help Stephen Carew-Reid re-launch a new legal proceedings against the Western Australian Public Trustee See: http://www.publictrustee.wa.gov.au/, went to the Alexander Resource Library to read the seven volumes of Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?), to prepare for the proposed court proceedings, only to find that these books has been completely removed from the library's computer and the hard copies of these books where no longer in the library. No one would tell him in the Library where these volumes had gone and/or that they ever existed. It has been alleged by Stephen Carew-Reid and his family in over a decade of court battles in the Local, District, Supreme and Federal Courts, where Stephen represented himself and his family, as a litigant in person, at thousands of court hearings, that the Western Australian Public Trustee and its appointed representatives had wrongly handled and even defrauded, the estate of Stephen Carew-Reid's late Father John Carew-Reid, who died on the 16th September, 1986. The seven volumes of the Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) written by Stephen Carew-Reid and published by the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group, exposed the details of the over a decade in court battles and names names and had photos and details of the powerful people he and his family alleged were involved in a conspiracy to defraud his family out of a multi million dollar estate and family companies Stephen Carew-Reid and his late father John Carew-Reid had built from 1971 onwards, while Stephen Carew-Reid was completing a Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the University of Western Australia "Since 1911 The University of Western Australia has helped shape the careers of over 100,000 graduates."See: http://www.uwa.edu.au/. When finding out from his lawyer friend that his books were no longer in the Alexander Resource Library computer, and no longer in hard copy in the library, Stephen Carew-Reid rang the head librarian who authorised the purchase of his books for the Alexander Resource Library, and was told the words, "Off the record, a legal representative of the Western Australian Crown Law Department came into the library and demanded without any type of court order and/or court authority, that the seven volumes of the Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) written by Stephen Carew-Reid and published by the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group be removed completely from the library's computer system and that all copies of the hard copied of the books be completely destroyed. See: http://www.whoiswatchingthewatchers.comThe current situation is that after many warning letters and emails, Stephen Carew-Reid, The Australian Weeekend News Publishing Group and International News Limited are taking out a court action in the International Courts for over $100 million in damages against Queensland Police officers Senior Detective Gregory Stormont and Senior Detective Detective Barry Zerner, the Queensland Police Service, the Commissioner of Police of Queensland, the Attorney General of Queensland, the Premier of Queensland and the Government of Queensland for the damages caused by the what is alleged as the wrongful and/or illegal removal for he seven volumes of the Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) written by Stephen Carew-Reid and published by the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group from a house in Tallai in late 2004, and for the return of the seven volumes of the Triumph of Truth (Who's Watching The Watchers?) written by Stephen Carew-Reid and published by the Australian Weekend News Publishing Group.See: http://www.whoiswatchingthewatchers.com/Journal.html





    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Miscellany_for_deletion/User:Penright/Triumph_Of_Truth_(Who_Is_Watching_The_Watchers%3F) 

    Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:Penright/Triumph Of Truth

     (Who Is Watching The Watchers?)

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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     Julian Assange says he could be killed in US jail

    Julian Assange WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange outside Beccles police station in Suffolk, which he has to visit every day as one of the terms of his bail. Photograph: Paul Hackett/Reuters 

    The Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/23/julian-assa... 


    The Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/23/julian-assa... 

    Julian Assange: my fate will rest in Cameron's hands if US charges me

    WikiLeaks founder says it would be 'politically impossible' for Britain to extradite him to the US

    Luke Harding

    guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 December 2010

    Article history

    Julian Assange said today that it would be "politically impossible" for Britain to extradite him to the United States, and that the final word on his fate if he were charged with espionage would rest with David Cameron.

    In an interview with the Guardian in Ellingham Hall, the Norfolk country mansion where he is living under virtual house arrest, the founder of WikiLeaks said it would be difficult for the prime minister to hand him over to the Americans if there was strong support for him from the British people.

    "It's all a matter of politics. We can presume there will be an attempt to influence UK political opinion, and to influence the perception of our standing as a moral actor," he said.

    Assange is currently fighting extradition to Sweden. He strongly denies allegations of sexual misconduct with two Swedish women. But he believes the biggest threat to his freedom and to WikiLeaks, his whistleblowing website, emanates from a wrathful United States.

    There is no evidence of any imminent US move to indict him. But according to Assange, the Obama administration is "trying to strike a plea deal" with Bradley Manning, the 23-year-old intelligence officer and alleged source of the more than a quarter of a million US diplomatic cables embarrassingly leaked last month. The US attorney general, Eric Holder, wants to indict Assange as a co-conspirator and is also examining "computer hacking statutes and support for terrorism", Assange claims.

    Sitting in front of a log fire, his Apple MacBook Pro perched on his lap, Assange said his recent nine-day spell in Wandsworth jail had prepared him for the possibility that he might spend a long period in prison if indicted by the US. He said the prospect of solitary confinement was no longer an "intellectual abstraction" but a reality. The high court bailed him to Norfolk last Thursday, with his extradition hearing scheduled for 6-7 February.

    He said: "Solitary confinement is very difficult. But I know that provided there is some opportunity for correspondence I can withstand it. I'm mentally robust. Of course it would mean the end of my life in the conventional sense."

    If the US succeeded in removing him from the UK or Sweden, Assange said there was a "high chance" of him being killed "Jack Ruby-style" in the US prison system.

    Since moving to Ellingham Hall, a Georgian country house and organic farm owned by his friend and supporter Vaughan Smith, Assange has given numerous media interviews. But he said he was fed up with the press and described an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme – in which John Humphrys grilled him on how many people he had slept with – as "awful".

    Assange also took issue with a lengthy report in Saturday's Guardian setting out the prosecution allegations against him in Sweden. Assange acknowledged that the Guardian had a right to publish the material, dealing with his alleged encounters with the women. But he said it had been "sub-selected" and not placed properly in context. Swedish prosecutors have demanded that he return to Sweden to face further questions about the allegations.

    Assange also said WikiLeaks did not have enough money to pay its legal bills, even though "a lot of generous lawyers have donated their time to us". He said legal costs for WikiLeaks and his own defence were approaching £500,000. The decisions by Visa, MasterCard and PayPal to stop processing donations to WikiLeaks – apparently following US pressure – had robbed the website of a "war chest" of around €500,000, he complained. This would have been enough to fund WikiLeaks' publishing operations for six months. At its peak the organisation was receiving €100,000 a day, he said.

    According to publishing sources, however, Assange can take cheer from the fact that he has secured a seven-figure advance for a book about WikiLeaks and his life story. The sources suggest he is likely to receive £250,000 himself, allowing him to pay off some of his debts and to settle his personal defence fund, currently "paralysed". The book is to be published in the spring by Knopf in the US and Canongate in the UK, the sources suggest.

    Assange – who has to wear his electronic tag in the bath, and report every day to Beccles police station – confessed he has no idea where he will be in a year's time. He described the next chapter in his life as "not yet predictable.

    "Legally the UK has the right to not extradite for political crimes. Espionage is the classic case of political crimes. It is at the discretion of the UK government as to whether to apply to that exception."

    He argued that Cameron and Nick Clegg were in a stronger position than the previous, Labour government to resist his extradition by Washington. "There is a new government, which wants to show it hasn't yet been co-opted by the US," he said, claiming that the security services – British and Australian – had a history of spying on and unduly influencing Labour politicians.

    Many WikiLeaks supporters have now gone home for Christmas, leaving Assange with a scaled-down team over the holiday period, on an estate where the pheasant and grouse greatly outnumber the humans.

    His immediate plan, he said, was to rest after a gruelling couple of months and then to continue with the staged global release of redacted US state department cables in the new year. Physically, he appeared somewhat wrung out, although very much composed and in good spirits.

    Assange defended one of WikiLeaks' collaborators, Israel Shamir, following claims Shamir passed sensitive cables to Belarus's dictator, Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko has arrested 600 opposition supporters and journalists since Sunday's presidential election. The whereabouts and fate of several of the president's high-profile opponents are unknown.

    Of Shamir, Assange said: "WikiLeaks works with hundreds of journalists from different regions of the world. All are required to sign non-disclosure agreements and are generally only given limited review access to material relating to their region. We have no reason to believe these rumours in relation to Belarus are true."

    Over the past month the Guardian has published more than 200 articles based on the trove of US diplomatic dispatches obtained by WikiLeaks, and 739 of the cables themselves. All cables published by the Guardian and the four other international news organisations who had exclusive early access to the material have been carefully redacted to protect sources who could be placed in danger, and the redacted versions have been passed to WikiLeaks.

    WikiLeaks now plans to begin sharing the cables with a wider group of regional news organisations. Julian Assange says all future cables released by WikiLeaks will either be redacted by other partner news organisations, or by WikiLeaks itself. The Guardian and its partners in the project, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, El Pais and Le Monde, will continue to share redactions with WikiLeaks for any cables they publish in future.



    http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4671950

    Julian Assange says he could be killed in US jail

    Edited on Thu Dec-23-10 10:24 PM by Turborama
    Source: AFP

    WIKILEAKS chief Julian Assange says there is a "high chance" he would be killed in a US jail if he were to be extradited from Britain on espionage charges.


    The Australian is on bail in Britain fighting a bid by Sweden to extradite him over sex assault claims, but Washington is believed to be considering how to indict him over the leaking of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

    Mr Assange told The Guardian it would be "politically impossible" for Britain to send him across the Atlantic, adding that the government of Prime Minister David Cameron would want to show it had not been "co-opted" by Washington. "Legally the UK has the right to not extradite for political crimes. Espionage is the classic case of political crimes. It is at the discretion of the UK government as to whether to apply to that exception," he said.

    Mr Assange added that if the United States succeeded in getting him extradited from Britain or Sweden, then there was a "high chance" of him being killed "Jack Ruby-style" in an American prison.

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/julian-assange-say... 



    The Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/23/julian-assa... 

    A historical refresher for anyone who might not know what Jack Ruby did...

    On Sunday, November 24 Oswald was being led through the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters preparatory to his transfer to the county jail when, at 11:21 a.m., Dallas nightclub operator Jack Ruby stepped from the crowd and shot Oswald in the abdomen. Oswald died at 1:07 p.m. at Parkland Memorial Hospital—the same hospital where Kennedy had died two days earlier.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harvey_Oswald#Death



    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says there is a "high chance" he would be killed in a US jail.

    http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8188503/assange-says-he-could-be-killed-in-us-jail

    Fri Dec 24 2010

    Assange says he could be killed in jail

    WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange says there is a "high chance" he would be killed in a US jail if he were to be extradited from Britain on espionage charges.

    The Australian is on bail in Britain fighting a bid by Sweden to extradite him over sex assault claims, but Washington is believed to be considering how to indict him over the leaking of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

    Assange told The Guardian it would be "politically impossible" for Britain to send him across the Atlantic, adding that the government of Prime Minister David Cameron would want to show it had not been "co-opted" by Washington.

    "Legally the UK has the right to not extradite for political crimes. Espionage is the classic case of political crimes. It is at the discretion of the UK government as to whether to apply to that exception," he said.

    He said US authorities were "trying to strike a plea deal" with Bradley Manning, the US army soldier suspected of providing WikiLeaks with the cables.

    Assange added that if the United States succeeded in getting him extradited from Britain or Sweden, then there was a "high chance" of him being killed "Jack Ruby-style" in an American prison.

    Ruby, a nightclub owner, shot dead Lee Harvey Oswald at a police station in Dallas, Texas days after Oswald was arrested for the assassination of US President John F Kennedy in 1963.

    Ruby's alleged links to organised crime sparked conspiracy theories about his involvement in an overall plot surrounding the assassination of Kennedy.

    Assange has previously said that he and other WikiLeaks staff have received death threats since the website began to release a cache of about 250,000 secret US State Department cables in November.

    The 39-year-old has been staying at a friend's country mansion in eastern England since his release from jail last week on strict bail conditions that include reporting to police daily and wearing an electronic tag.

    A court in London is due to hold a full hearing on the Swedish extradition request starting February 7.

    http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/assange-says-he-could-be-killed-in-us-jail-20101224-196z2.html

    AFP

    WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange says there is a "high chance" he would be killed in a US jail if he were to be extradited from Britain on espionage charges.

    The Australian is on bail in Britain fighting a bid by Sweden to extradite him over sex assault claims, but Washington is believed to be considering how to indict him over the leaking of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

    Assange told The Guardian it would be "politically impossible" for Britain to send him across the Atlantic, adding that the government of Prime Minister David Cameron would want to show it had not been "co-opted" by Washington.

    Advertisement: Story continues below

    "Legally the UK has the right to not extradite for political crimes. Espionage is the classic case of political crimes. It is at the discretion of the UK government as to whether to apply to that exception," he said.

    He said US authorities were "trying to strike a plea deal" with Bradley Manning, the US army soldier suspected of providing WikiLeaks with the cables.

    Assange added that if the United States succeeded in getting him extradited from Britain or Sweden, then there was a "high chance" of him being killed "Jack Ruby-style" in an American prison.

    Ruby, a nightclub owner, shot dead Lee Harvey Oswald at a police station in Dallas, Texas days after Oswald was arrested for the assassination of US President John F Kennedy in 1963.

    Ruby's alleged links to organised crime sparked conspiracy theories about his involvement in an overall plot surrounding the assassination of Kennedy.

    Assange has previously said that he and other WikiLeaks staff have received death threats since the website began to release a cache of about 250,000 secret US State Department cables in November.

    The 39-year-old has been staying at a friend's country mansion in eastern England since his release from jail last week on strict bail conditions that include reporting to police daily and wearing an electronic tag.

    A court in London is due to hold a full hearing on the Swedish extradition request starting February 7.

    http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/assange-says-he-could-be-killed-in-us-jail-20101224-196z2.html

    Assange says he could be killed in US jail

    December 24, 2010

    AFP

    WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange says there is a "high chance" he would be killed in a US jail if he were to be extradited from Britain on espionage charges.

    The Australian is on bail in Britain fighting a bid by Sweden to extradite him over sex assault claims, but Washington is believed to be considering how to indict him over the leaking of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

    Assange told The Guardian it would be "politically impossible" for Britain to send him across the Atlantic, adding that the government of Prime Minister David Cameron would want to show it had not been "co-opted" by Washington.

    Advertisement: Story continues below

    "Legally the UK has the right to not extradite for political crimes. Espionage is the classic case of political crimes. It is at the discretion of the UK government as to whether to apply to that exception," he said.

    He said US authorities were "trying to strike a plea deal" with Bradley Manning, the US army soldier suspected of providing WikiLeaks with the cables.

    Assange added that if the United States succeeded in getting him extradited from Britain or Sweden, then there was a "high chance" of him being killed "Jack Ruby-style" in an American prison.

    Ruby, a nightclub owner, shot dead Lee Harvey Oswald at a police station in Dallas, Texas days after Oswald was arrested for the assassination of US President John F Kennedy in 1963.

    Ruby's alleged links to organised crime sparked conspiracy theories about his involvement in an overall plot surrounding the assassination of Kennedy.

    Assange has previously said that he and other WikiLeaks staff have received death threats since the website began to release a cache of about 250,000 secret US State Department cables in November.

    The 39-year-old has been staying at a friend's country mansion in eastern England since his release from jail last week on strict bail conditions that include reporting to police daily and wearing an electronic tag.

    A court in London is due to hold a full hearing on the Swedish extradition request starting February 7.


    WikiLeaks

     is an international new media non-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources andnews leaks. Its website, launched in 2006, is run by The Sunshine Press.[4] Within a year of its launch, the site claimed its database had grown to more than 1.2 million documents.[8] The organisation has described itself as having been founded by Chinesedissidents, as well as journalists, mathematicians, and start-up company technologists from the United States, Taiwan, Europe, Australia, and South Africa.[4] Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its director.[9]

    WikiLeaks has received praise as well as criticism. The organization won a number of awards, including The Economist's 2008 New Media Award.[10] In June 2009, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange won Amnesty International's UK Media Award, in the category "New Media", for the 2008 publication of "Kenya: The Cry of Blood – Extra Judicial Killings and Disappearances",[11] a report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights about police killings in Kenya.[12] In May 2010, New York City's Daily News listed WikiLeaks as first in a ranking of "websites that could totally change the news".[13] Julian Assange was named the Readers' Choice for TIME's Person of the Year for 2010.[14] Several U.S. government officials have criticized WikiLeaks for exposing state secrets, harming national security, and compromising international diplomacy.[15][16][17][18][19] Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International criticized WikiLeaks for not adequately redacting the names of civilians working with the U.S. military.[20] Some journalists have criticized the lack of editorial discretion when releasing thousands of documents at once and without sufficient analysis.[21] Negative public reactions in the United States have characterized the organization as irresponsible, immoral, and illegal.[22][23][24]

    In April 2010, WikiLeaks posted video from a 2007 incident in which Iraqi civilians and journalists were killed by US forces, on a website called Collateral Murder. In July of the same year, WikiLeaks released Afghan War Diary, a compilation of more than 76,900 documents about the War in Afghanistan not previously available for public review.[25] In October 2010, the group released a package of almost 400,000 documents called the Iraq War Logs in coordination with major commercial media organisations. In November 2010, WikiLeaks began releasing U.S. State department diplomatic cables.

    WikiLeaks was originally launched as a user-editable wiki site, but has progressively moved towards a more traditional publication model, and no longer accepts either user comments or edits. The site is available on multiple servers and different domain names following a number of denial-of-service attacks and its severance from different Domain Name System(DNS) providers.[26][27]\\

    History

    The wikileaks.org domain name was registered on 4 October 2006.

    [5] The website was unveiled, and published its first document in December 2006.[28][29] The site claims to have been "founded by Chinese dissidents, journalists, mathematicians and start-up company technologists, from the US, Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South Africa".[4]

    The creators of WikiLeaks have not been formally identified.[30] It has been represented in public since January 2007 by Julian Assangeand others. Assange describes himself as a member of WikiLeaks' advisory board.[31] News reports in The Australian have called Assange the "founder of WikiLeaks".[32] According to Wired magazine, a volunteer said that Assange described himself in a private conversation as "the heart and soul of this organisation, its founder, philosopher, spokesperson, original coder, organiser, financier, and all the rest".[33] As of June 2009, the site had over 1,200 registered volunteers[4] and listed an advisory board comprising Assange,Phillip AdamsWang Dan, C. J. Hinke, Ben Laurie, Tashi Namgyal Khamsitsang, Xiao QiangChico Whitaker and Wang Youcai.[34]Despite appearing on the list, when contacted by Mother Jones magazine in 2010, Khamsitsang said that while he received an e-mail from WikiLeaks, he had never agreed to be an advisor.[35]

    WikiLeaks states that its "primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behaviour in their governments and corporations."[4][36]

    In January 2007, the website stated that it had over 1.2 million leaked documents that it was preparing to publish.[37] An article in The New Yorker said:

    One of the WikiLeaks activists owned a server that was being used as a node for the Tor network. Millions of secret transmissions passed through it. The activist noticed that hackers from China were using the network to gather foreign governments’ information, and began to record this traffic. Only a small fraction has ever been posted on WikiLeaks, but the initial tranche served as the site’s foundation, and Assange was able to say, "[w]e have received over one million documents from thirteen countries."[29][38]

    Assange responded to the suggestion that eavesdropping on Chinese hackers played a crucial part in the early days of WikiLeaks by saying "the imputation is incorrect. The facts concern a 2006 investigation into Chinese espionage one of our contacts were involved in. Somewhere between none and handful of those documents were ever released on WikiLeaks. Non-government targets of the Chinese espionage, such as Tibetan associations were informed (by us)".[39] The group has subsequently released a number of other significant documents which have become front-page news items, ranging from documentation of equipment expenditures and holdings in theAfghanistan war to corruption in Kenya.[40]

    The organisation's stated goal is to ensure that whistleblowers and journalists are not jailed for emailing sensitive or classified documents, as happened to Chinese journalist Shi Tao, who was sentenced to 10 years in 2005 after publicising an email from Chinese officials about the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.[41]

    The project has drawn comparisons to Daniel Ellsberg's leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1971.[42] In the United States, the leaking of some documents may be legally protected. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution guarantees anonymity, at least in the area of political discourse.[42] Author and journalist Whitley Strieber has spoken about the benefits of the WikiLeaks project, noting that "Leaking a government document can mean jail, but jail sentences for this can be fairly short. However, there are many places where it means long incarceration or even death, such as China and parts of Africa and the Middle East."[43]

    On 24 December 2009, WikiLeaks announced that it was experiencing a shortage of funds[44] and suspended all access to its website except for a form to submit new material.[45] Material that was previously published was no longer available, although some could still be accessed on unofficial mirrors.[46][47] WikiLeaks stated on its website that it would resume full operation once the operational costs were covered.[45] WikiLeaks saw this as a kind of strike "to ensure that everyone who is involved stops normal work and actually spends time raising revenue".[48] While the organisation initially planned for funds to be secured by 6 January 2010,[49] it was not until 3 February 2010 that WikiLeaks announced that its minimum fundraising goal had been achieved.[50]

    On 22 January 2010, PayPal suspended WikiLeaks' donation account and froze its assets. WikiLeaks said that this had happened before, and was done for "no obvious reason".[51] The account was restored on 25 January 2010.[52] On 18 May 2010, WikiLeaks announced that its website and archive were back up.[53]

    As of June 2010, WikiLeaks was a finalist for a grant of more than half a million dollars from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation,[29] but did not make the cut.[54] WikiLeaks commented, "WikiLeaks was highest rated project in the Knight challenge, strongly recommended to the board but gets no funding. Go figure”. WikiLeaks said that the Knight foundation announced the award to "'12 Grantees who will impact future of news' – but not WikiLeaks" and questioned whether Knight foundation was "really looking for impact".[54] A spokesman of the Knight Foundation disputed parts of WikiLeaks' statement, saying "WikiLeaks was not recommended by Knight staff to the board."[55] However, he declined to say whether WikiLeaks was the project rated highest by the Knight advisory panel, which consists of non-staffers, among them journalist Jennifer 8. Lee, who has done PR work for WikiLeaks with the press and on social networking sites.[55]

    On 17 July, Jacob Appelbaum spoke on behalf of WikiLeaks at the 2010 Hackers on Planet Earth conference in New York City, replacing Assange because of the presence of federal agents at the conference.[56][57] He announced that the WikiLeaks submission system was again up and running, after it had been temporarily suspended.[56][58] Assange was a surprise speaker at a TED conferenceon 19 July 2010 in Oxford, and confirmed that the site had begun accepting submissions again.[59]

    Upon returning to the US from the Netherlands, on 29 July, Appelbaum was detained for three hours at the airport by US agents, according to anonymous sources.[60] The sources told Cnet that Appelbaum's bag was searched, receipts from his bag were photocopied, his laptop was inspected, although in what manner was unclear.[60] Appelbaum reportedly refused to answer questions without a lawyer present, and was not allowed to make a phone call. His three mobile phones were reportedly taken and not returned.[60]On 31 July, he spoke at a Defcon conference and mentioned his phone being "seized". After speaking, he was approached by two FBIagents and questioned.[60]

    Assange is quoted as acknowledging that his practice of posting largely unfiltered classified information online could one day lead the Web site to have "blood on our hands."[61]

    In 2010, at least a dozen key supporters of WikiLeaks have left the website.[62]

    Administration

    According to a January 2010 interview, the WikiLeaks team then consisted of five people working full-time and about 800 people who worked occasionally, none of whom were compensated.[48] WikiLeaks has no official headquarters. The expenses per year are about €200,000, mainly for servers and bureaucracy, but would reach €600,000 if work currently done by volunteers were paid for.[48]WikiLeaks does not pay for lawyers, as hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal support have been donated by media organisations such as the Associated PressLos Angeles Times, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association.[48] Its only revenue stream is donations, but WikiLeaks is planning to add an auction model to sell early access to documents.[48] According to the Wau Holland Foundation, WikiLeaks receives no money for personnel costs, only for hardware, travelling and bandwidth.[63] An article in TechEYE.net wrote

    As a charity accountable under German law, donations for WikiLeaks can be made to the foundation. Funds are held in escrow and are given to WikiLeaks after the whistleblower website files an application containing a statement with proof of payment. The foundation does not pay any sort of salary nor give any renumeration [sic] to WikiLeaks' personnel, corroborating the statement of the site's former German representative Daniel Schmitt (real name Daniel Domscheit-Berg)[64] on national television that all personnel works voluntarily, even its speakers.[63]

    Site management issues

    Within WikiLeaks, there has been public disagreement between founder and spokesperson Julian Assange and Daniel Domscheit-Berg, the site's former German representative who was suspended by Assange. Domscheit-Berg announced on 28 September 2010 that he was leaving the organisation due to internal conflicts over management of the site.[65][66][64]

    Hosting

    WikiLeaks describes itself as "an uncensorable system for untraceable mass document leaking".[67] WikiLeaks is hosted by PRQ, a Sweden-based company providing "highly secure, no-questions-asked hosting services". PRQ is said to have "almost no information about its clientele and maintains few if any of its own logs".[68] The servers are spread around the world with the central server located in Sweden.[69] Julian Assange has said that the servers are located in Sweden (and the other countries) "specifically because those nations offer legal protection to the disclosures made on the site". He talks about the Swedish constitution, which gives the information providers total legal protection.[69] It is forbidden according to Swedish law for any administrative authority to make inquiries about the sources of any type of newspaper.[70] These laws, and the hosting by PRQ, make it difficult to take WikiLeaks offline. Furthermore, "Wikileaks maintains its own servers at undisclosed locations, keeps no logs and uses military-grade encryption to protect sources and other confidential information." Such arrangements have been called "bulletproof hosting."[68][71]

    On 17 August 2010, it was announced that the Swedish Pirate Party will be hosting and managing many of WikiLeaks' new servers. The party donates servers and bandwidth to WikiLeaks without charge. Technicians of the party will make sure that the servers are maintained and working.[72][73]

    Some servers are hosted in an underground nuclear bunker in Stockholm.[74][75]

    After the site became the target of a denial-of-service attack from a hacker on its old servers, WikiLeaks moved its site to Amazon's servers.[76] Later, however, the website was "ousted"[76] from the Amazon servers, without a public statement from the company.[citation needed] WikiLeaks then decided to install itself on the servers of OVH in France.[77] After criticism from the French government, the company sought two court rulings about the legality of hosting WikiLeaks. While the court in Lille immediately declined to force OVH to shut down the WikiLeaks site, the court in Paris stated it would need more time to examine the highly technical issue.[76][78]

    WikiLeaks is based on several software packages, including 

    MediaWikiFreenetTor, and PGP.[79] WikiLeaks strongly encouraged postings via Tor because of the strong privacy needs of its users.[80]

    On 4 November 2010, Julian Assange told Swiss public television TSR that he is seriously considering seeking political asylum in neutral Switzerland and setting up a WikiLeaks foundation in the country to move the operation there.[81][82] According to Assange, Switzerland and Iceland are the only countries where WikiLeaks would feel safe to operate.[83][84]

    Financing

    WikiLeaks is dependent on public donations since it is a non-profit organisation. Its main financing methods include conventional bank transfers and online payment systemsWau Holland Foundation, one of the WikiLeaks' main funding channels, stated that they have received more than €900,000 (US$1.2 million) in public donations between October 2009 and December 2010, out of which €370,000 has been passed on to WikiLeaks. Hendrik Fulda, vice president of the Wau Holland Foundation, mentioned that the donations throughPayPal was twice[vague] as through normal banks, before PayPal's decision to suspend WikiLeaks' account. He also noted that donations were never as strong as when WikiLeaks started publishing leaked diplomatic cables.[85][86]

    Name servers

    WikiLeaks had been using EveryDNS's services, which led to DDoS attacks on the host.[clarification needed] The attacks affected the quality of service at EveryDNS, so the company withdrew their service from WikiLeaks. Pro-WikiLeaks supporters retaliated by launching a DDoS attack against EveryDNS. Due to mistakes in the blogosphere, some supporters accidentally mistook EasyDNS for EveryDNS and attacked it. The attacks caused both EveryDNS and EasyDNS to experience outages. Afterwards EasyDNS decided to provide WikiLeaks its name server service.[87]

    Name and policies

    Despite using the name "WikiLeaks", the website is no longer wiki-based as of December 2010. Also, despite some popular confusion[88] due to both having the term "wiki" in their names, WikiLeaks and Wikipedia have no affiliation with each other;[89][90] i.e. "wiki" is not a brand name. Wikia, a for-profit corporation loosely affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation, did however purchase several Wikileaks-related domain names (including "wikileaks.com" and "wikileaks.net") as a "protective brand measure" in 2007.[91]

    The "about" page originally read:[92]

    To the user, WikiLeaks will look very much like Wikipedia. Anybody can post to it, anybody can edit it. No technical knowledge is required. Leakers can post documents anonymously and untraceably. Users can publicly discuss documents and analyze their credibility and veracity. Users can discuss interpretations and context and collaboratively formulate collective publications. Users can read and write explanatory articles on leaks along with background material and context. The political relevance of documents and their verisimilitude will be revealed by a cast of thousands.

    However, WikiLeaks established an editorial policy that accepted only documents that were "of political, diplomatic, historical or ethical interest" (and excluded "material that is already publicly available").[93] This coincided with early criticism that having no editorial policy would drive out good material with spam and promote "automated or indiscriminate publication of confidential records."[94] It is no longer possible for anybody to post to it or edit it, as the original FAQ promised. Instead, submissions are regulated by an internal review process and some are published, while documents not fitting the editorial criteria are rejected by anonymous WikiLeaks reviewers. By 2008, the revised FAQ stated that "Anybody can post comments to it. [...] Users can publicly discuss documents and analyse their credibility and veracity."[95] After the 2010 relaunch, posting new comments to leaks was no longer possible.[96]

    Verification of submissions

    WikiLeaks states that it has never released a misattributed document. Documents are assessed before release. In response to concerns about the possibility of misleading or fraudulent leaks, WikiLeaks has stated that misleading leaks "are already well-placed in the mainstream media. WikiLeaks is of no additional assistance."[97] The FAQ states that: "The simplest and most effective countermeasure is a worldwide community of informed users and editors who can scrutinise and discuss leaked documents."[98]

    According to statements by Assange in 2010, submitted documents are vetted by a group of five reviewers, with expertise in different fields such as language or programming, who also investigate the background of the leaker if his or her identity is known.[99] In that group, Assange has the final decision about the assessment of a document.[99]

    Legal status

    Legal background

    The legal status of WikiLeaks is complex. Assange considers WikiLeaks a whistleblower protection intermediary. Rather than leaking directly to the press, and fearing exposure and retribution, whistleblowers can leak to WikiLeaks, which then leaks to the press for them.[100] Its servers are located throughout Europe and are accessible from any uncensored web connection. The group located its headquarters in Sweden because it has one of the world’s strongest shield laws to protect confidential source-journalist relationships.[101][102] WikiLeaks has stated that they "do not solicit any information".[101] However, Assange used his speech during the Hack In The Box conference in Malaysia to ask the crowd of hackers and security researchers to help find documents on its "Most Wanted Leaks of 2009" list.[103]

    Potential criminal prosecution

    The U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal probe of Wikileaks and founder Julian Assange shortly after the leak of diplomatic cables began.[104][105] Attorney General Eric Holder affirmed the probe was  not saber-rattling”, but was "an active, ongoing criminal investigation."[105] The The Washington Post reported that the department was considering charges under the Espionage Act, a move which former prosecutors characterised as "difficult" because of First Amendment protections for the press.[104][106] Several Supreme Court cases have previously established that the American constitution protects the re-publication of illegally gained information provided the publishers did not themselves break any laws in acquiring it.[107] Federal prosecutors have also considered prosecuting Assange for trafficking in stolen government property, but since the diplomatic cables are intellectual rather than physical property, that approach also faces hurdles.[108] Any prosecution of Assange would require extraditing him to the United States, a step made more complicated and potentially delayed by any preceding extradition to Sweden.[109] One of Assange's lawyers, however, says they are fighting extradition to Sweden because it might lead to his extradition to the United States.[110] Assange's attorney, Mark Stephens, has "heard from Swedish authorities there has been a secretly empaneled grand jury in Alexandria [Virginia]" meeting to consider criminal charges in the WikiLeaks case.[111]

    In Australia, the government and the Australian Federal Police have not stated what Australian laws may have been broken by WikiLeaks, but Julia Gillard has stated that the foundation of Wikileaks and the stealing of classified documents from the US administration is illegal in foreign countries.[112] Gillard later clarified her statement as referring to "the original theft of the material by a junior US serviceman rather than any action by Mr Assange."[113] Spencer Zifcak, President of Liberty Victoria, an Australian civil liberties group, notes that with no charge, and no trial completed, it is inappropriate to state that WikiLeaks is guilty of illegal activities.[114]

    On threats by various governments toward Assange, legal expert Ben Saul argues that founder Julian Assange is the target of a global smear campaign to demonise him as a criminal or as a terrorist, without any legal basis.[115]

    Insurance file

    On 29 July 2010, WikiLeaks added a 1.4 GB "Insurance File" to the Afghan War Diary page. The file is AES encrypted and has been speculated to serve as insurance in case the WikiLeaks website or its spokesman Julian Assange are incapacitated, upon which thepassphrase could be published, similar to the concept of a dead man's switch.[116][117] Following the first few days' release of the US diplomatic cables starting 28 November 2010, the US television broadcaster CBS predicted that "If anything happens to Assange or the website, a key will go out to unlock the files. There would then be no way to stop the information from spreading like wildfire because so many people already have copies."[118] CBS correspondent Declan McCullagh stated, "What most folks are speculating is that the insurance file contains unreleased information that would be especially embarrassing to the US government if it were released."[118]

    Investigations, censorship, harassment, and surveillance

    According to The Times, WikiLeaks and its members have complained about continuing harassment and surveillance by law enforcement and intelligence organisations, including extended detention, seizure of computers, veiled threats, “covert following and hidden photography.”[119] Two lawyers for Julian Assange in the United Kingdom told The Guardian that they believed they were being watched by the security services after the US cables leak.[120]

    By governments

    Police raid on German WikiLeaks domain holder's home

    The home of Theodor Reppe, registrant of the German WikiLeaks domain name, wikileaks.de, was raided on 24 March 2009 after WikiLeaks released the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) censorship blacklist.[121] The site was not affected.[122][123]

    P.R. China

    Wikileaks's website claims that the government of the People's Republic of China has attempted to block all traffic to web sites with "wikileaks" in the URL since 2007, but that this can be bypassed through encrypted connections or by using one of Wikileaks's many covert URLs.[124]

    Potential future Australian censorship

    On 16 March 2009, the Australian Communications and Media Authority added WikiLeaks to their proposed blacklist of sites that will be blocked for all Australians if the mandatory internet filtering censorship scheme is implemented as planned.[125][126] The blacklisting was removed 30 November 2010.[127]

    Thai censorship

    The Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) is currently censoring the website WikiLeaks in Thailand[128] and more than 40,000 other webpages[129] because of the emergency decree in Thailand imposed as a result of political instabilities (Emergency decree declared beginning of April 2010[130]).

    United States

    Access to WikiLeaks is currently blocked in the United States Library of Congress.[131] On 3 December 2010 the White House Office of Management and Budget sent a memo forbidding all unauthorised federal government employees and contractors from accessing classified documents publicly available on WikiLeaks and other websites.[132] The U.S. Army, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department are considering criminally prosecuting WikiLeaks and Assange "on grounds they encouraged the theft of government property",[133] although former prosecutors say doing so would be difficult.[106] According to a report on the Daily Beast website, the Obama administration asked Britain, Germany and Australia among others to also consider bringing criminal charges against Assange for the Afghan war leaks and to help limit Assange's travels across international borders.[134]

    Iceland

    After the release of the 2007 airstrikes video and as they prepared to release film of the Granai airstrike, Julian Assange has said that his group of volunteers came under intense surveillance. In an interview and Twitter posts he said that a restaurant in Reykjavík where his group of volunteers met came under surveillance in March; there was "covert following and hidden photography" by police and foreignintelligence services; that an apparent British intelligence agent made thinly veiled threats in a Luxembourg car park; and that one of the volunteers was detained by police for 21 hours. Another volunteer posted that computers were seized, saying "If anything happens to us, you know why ... and you know who is responsible."[119] According to the Columbia Journalism Review, "the Icelandic press took a look at Assange’s charges of being surveilled in Iceland [...] and, at best, have found nothing to substantiate them."[135]

    In August 2009, Kaupthing Bank succeeded in obtaining a court order gagging Iceland’s national broadcaster, RÚV, from broadcasting a risk analysis report showing the bank's substantial exposure to debt default risk. This information had been leaked by a whistleblower to WikiLeaks and remained available on the WikiLeaks site; faced with an injunction minutes before broadcast the channel ran with a screen grab of the WikiLeaks site instead of the scheduled piece on the bank. Citizens of Iceland felt outraged that RÚV was prevented from broadcasting news of relevance.[136] Therefore, WikiLeaks has been credited with inspiring the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, a bill meant to reclaim Iceland's 2007 Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) ranking as first in the world for free speech. It aims to enact a range of protections for sources, journalists, and publishers.[137][138] Birgitta Jónsdóttir, a former volunteer for WikiLeaks and member of the Icelandic parliament, is the chief sponsor of the proposal.

    By organisations and companies

    Facebook Inc.

    WikiLeaks claimed in April 2010 that Facebook deleted their fan page, which had 30,000 fans.[139][140][141] However, as of 7 December 2010 the group's Facebook fan page was available and had grown by 100,000 fans daily since 1 December,[142] to more than 1,300,000 fans. It is also the largest growth of the week.[143] Regarding the presence of WikiLeaks on Facebook, Andrew Noyes, the company's D.C. based Manager of Public Policy Communications has stated "the Wikileaks Facebook Page does not violate our content standards nor have we encountered any material posted on the page that violates our policies."[144]

    Moneybookers Ltd

    In October 2010, it was reported that Moneybookers, which collected donations for WikiLeaks, had ended its relationship with the site. Moneybookers stated that its decision had been made "to comply with money laundering or other investigations conducted by government authorities, agencies or commissions."[145]

    After the US diplomatic cables leak

    Following the US diplomatic cables leak, which started on 28 November 2010, several companies severed ties with WikiLeaks. After providing 24-hour notification, American owned EveryDNS dropped WikiLeaks from its entries on 2 December 2010, citing DDoS attacks that "threatened the stability of its infrastructure".[26][146] The site's 'info' DNS lookup remained operational at alternative addresses for direct access respectively to the WikiLeaks and Cablegate websites.[147] On the same day, Amazon.com severed its ties with WikiLeaks, to which it was providing infrastructure services, after an intervention by an aide of U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman.[7][148][149]Amazon denied acting under political pressure citing a violation of its terms of service.[150] Citing indirect pressure from the U.S. Government, Tableau Software also dropped WikiLeaks' data from its site for people to use for data visualisation.[151][152]

    In the days following, hundreds of (and eventually more than a thousand[153]mirrors of the WikiLeaks site appeared and the Anonymousgroup of internet activists, called on supporters to attack the websites of companies which do not support WikiLeaks,[154] under the banner of Operation Payback, previously aimed at anti-piracy organisations.[155] AFP reported that attempts to shut down the wikileaks.org address had lead to the site surviving via the so-called Streisand effect, whereby attempts to censor information online leads to it being replicated in many places.[156]

    On 3 December, PayPal, the payment processor owned by eBay, permanently cut off the account of the Wau Holland Foundation that had been redirecting donations to WikiLeaks. PayPal alleged that the account violated its "Acceptable Use Policy", specifically that it was used for "activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity."[157][158] The Vice President of PayPal later stated that they stopped accepting payments after the “State Department told us these were illegal activities. It was straightforward.” Later the same day, he said that his previous statement was incorrect, and that it was in fact based on a letter from the State Department to WikiLeaks.[159] On 8 December 2010, the Wau Holland Foundation released a press statement, saying it has filed a legal action against PayPal for blocking its account used for WikiLeaks payments and for libel due to PayPal's allegations of "illegal activity".[160]

    On 6 December, the Swiss bank, PostFinance, announced that it had frozen the assets of Assange that it holds, totalling 31,000 euros. In a statement on their website, they stated that this was because Assange "provided false information regarding his place of residence" when opening the account.[161] WikiLeaks released a statement saying this was due to that Assange, "as a homeless refugee attempting to gain residency in Switzerland, had used his lawyer's address in Geneva for the bank's correspondence".[162] On the same day, MasterCard announced that it "is taking action to ensure that WikiLeaks can no longer accept MasterCard-branded products", adding "MasterCard rules prohibit customers from directly or indirectly engaging in or facilitating any action that is illegal."[163] The next day, Visa Inc. announced it was suspending payments to WikiLeaks, pending "further investigations".[164] In a move of support for WikiLeaks, XIPWIRE established a way to donate to WikiLeaks, and waived their fees.[165] Datacell, the Swiss-based IT company that enabled WikiLeaks to accept credit card donations, announced that it will take legal action against Visa Europe and Mastercard, in order to resume allowing payments to the website.[166]

    On 7 December 2010, The Guardian stated that people can still donate to WikiLeaks via Commerzbank Kassel in Germany orLandsbanki in Iceland or by post to a post office box at the University of Melbourne or at the wikileaks.ch domain.[167]

    The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has highlighted that Visa, Mastercard and Amazon may be 'violating WikiLeaks' [e pluribus unum] right to freedom of expression' by withdrawing their services.[168]

    Reception

    Support

    In July 2010 Veterans for Peace president Mike Ferner editorialised on the group's website "neither Wikileaks nor the soldier or soldiers who divulged the documents should be prosecuted for revealing this information. We should give them a medal."[171]

    Documentary filmmaker John Pilger wrote an August 2010 editorial in the Australian publication Green Left titled "Wikileaks Must Be Defended." In it, Pilger said WikiLeaks represented the interests of "public accountability" and a new form of journalism at odds with "the dominant section ... devoted merely to taking down what cynical and malign power tells it."[172]

    Daniel Ellsberg, the man who released the Pentagon Papers in 1971, has been a frequent defender of WikiLeaks. Following the November 2010 release of U.S. diplomatic cables, Ellsberg rejected criticism that the site was endangering the lives of U.S. military personnel and intelligence assets stating "not one single soldier or informant has been in danger from any of the WikiLeaks releases. That risk has been largely overblown."[169] Ellsberg went on to note that government claims to the contrary were "a script that they roll out every time there's a leak of any sort."[170] Following the US diplomatic cable release, which a number of media reports sought to differentiate from Ellsberg's whistleblowing,[173] Ellsberg claimed, "EVERY attack now made on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was made against me and the release of the Pentagon Papers at the time."[174]

    On 3 December 2010 Republican Congressman of Texas, Ron Paul, spoke out publicly during a Fox Business interview in support of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange; "In a free society we're supposed to know the truth," Paul said. "In a society where truth becomes treason, then we're in big trouble." Paul went on to state, "Why don't we prosecute The New York Times or anybody that releases this?"[175] In another speech at US House of Representatives Paul again defended WikiLeaks against criticism for revealing the truth and warned the US administration that "lying is not patriotic".[176]

    Fellow Republican congressman Connie Mack IV of Florida also praised WikiLeaks, stating that Americans have a right to know the contents of the leaks, “no matter how we acquire that knowledge.”[177]

    Australia’s most senior and high-profile media professionals expressed their support for WikiLeaks in a letter to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.[178] The letter was initiated by the Walkley Foundation, who present the yearly Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. The letter was signed by "the ten members of the Walkley Advisory Board as well as editors of major Australian newspapers and news websites and the news directors of the country’s three commercial TV networks and two public broadcasters." Their position (an extract from the letter) is summarized as follows:

    “In essence, WikiLeaks, an organisation that aims to expose official secrets, is doing what the media have always done: bringing to light material that governments would prefer to keep secret. It is the media’s duty to responsibly report such material if it comes into their possession. To aggressively attempt to shut WikiLeaks down, to threaten to prosecute those who publish official leaks, and to pressure companies to cease doing commercial business with WikiLeaks, is a serious threat to democracy, which relies on a free and fearless press.”[179]

    Following the November 2010 leak of United States diplomatic cables The Atlantic, in a staff editorial, opined "Wikileaks is a powerful new way for reporters and human rights advocates to leverage global information technology systems to break the heavy veil of government and corporate secrecy that is slowly suffocating the American press." Calling legal and physical threats against WikiLeaks volunteers "shameful" the magazine went on to state, "Not since President Richard Nixon directed his minions to go after Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg and New York Times reporter Neil Sheehan ... has a working journalist and his source been subjected to the kind of official intimidation and threats that have been directed at Assange and Manning by high-ranking members of the Obama Administration."[180]

    On 4 December 2010, Reporters Without Borders condemned the "blocking, cyber-attacks and political pressure" being directed at WikiLeaks. The organisation is also concerned by some of the extreme comments made by American authorities concerning WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange.[181]

    In an article titled "Only WikiLeaks can save US policy" published on the online foreign affairs magazine The Diplomat, former long-time CIA counter-terrorism expert Michael Scheuer said the source of interest in WikiLeaks revelations was in the inherent dishonesty of recent U.S. administrations. "In recent years, the US public has had to hear its leaders repeatedly tell Americans that black was white," Scheuer wrote, referencing the presidencies of Bill ClintonGeorge W. Bush and Barack Obama.[182]

    Evan Hughes, editor-in-chief of wired.com published his support for WikiLeaks in an online editorial titled "Why WikiLeaks is Good for America." Despite an often contentious relationship between Wired and WikiLeaks, with the former having being accused by the latter of complicity in the identification and arrest of Bradley Manning, Hughes argued that "WikiLeaks stands to improve our democracy, not weaken it." He went on to note that "The greatest threat we face right now from WikiLeaks is not the information it has spilled and may spill in the future, but the reactionary response to it that’s building in the United States that promises to repudiate the rule of law and our free speech traditions, if left unchecked."[183]

    The New York Times reported that over 200 WikiLeaks mirror sites sprang up after some hosting companies cut their services to the company.[184] On 5 December, a group of activists and hackers known as "Anonymous" called upon supporters to attack sites of companies that oppose WikiLeaks as part of Operation Avenge Assange.[185] Paypal has been targeted following their decision to stop processing donations for Wikileaks.[186][187]Gregg Housh, who previously worked on other projects with Anonymous, said that he had noticed an organised attempt taking place to attack companies that have not supported WikiLeaks. In reference to the support being shown for Wikileaks, Mr. Housh said; "The reason is amazingly simple, we all believe that information should be free, and the Internet should be free."[154] On 8 December 2010, Paypal website was victim of a Denial-of-service attack by Anonymous.[188][189][190] Later that day, Paypal announced in their blog that they will release all remaining funds in the account to the foundation that was raising funds for WikiLeaks.[191][192] On the same day, the websites of Visa and Mastercard were attacked by WikiLeaks supporters. By then over 1,200 mirror sites had been set up for hosting content no longer accessible at WikiLeaks.com. Anonymous also issued a fresh statement; "While we don't have much of an affiliation with WikiLeaks, we fight for the same reasons. We want transparency, and we counter censorship...This is why we intend to utilise our resources to raise awareness, attack those against, and support those who are helping lead our world to freedom and democracy."[193]

    The Internet Society (ISOC) stated that despite the international concern about the content released by WikiLeaks, "we nevertheless believe it must be subject to the same laws and policies of availability as all Internet sites" and that “free expression should not be restricted by governmental or private controls over computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or other essential components of the Internet”. ISOC also called for appropriate action to "pursue and prosecute entities (if any) that acted maliciously to take it [WikiLeaks] off the air” because suppressing communication would merely serve to “undermine the integrity of the global Internet and its operation”.[194]

    On 8 December 2010 the international civic organisation Avaaz launched a petition in support of WikiLeaks, which was signed by over 250 thousand people within the first few hours, the total number went up to 600 thousand by 15 December 2010.[195][196][197]

    In early December 2010, Noam Chomsky offered his support to protesters across Australia planning to take to the streets in defence of WikiLeaks.[198]

    On 14 December 2010, Michael Moore offered $20,000 to help bail Assange out of jail.[199][200]

    Awards received

    In 2008, Index on Censorship presented WikiLeaks with their inaugural Economist New Media Award.

    In 2009, Amnesty International awarded WikiLeaks their Media Award for exposing "extra judicial killings and disappearances" in Kenya.[201]

    Praise by governments

     Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his "solidarity" with Julian Assange following Assange's 2010 arrest in the United Kingdom. Lula went on to state—in reference to WikiLeaks disclosure of classified US diplomatic cables in November and December 2010—WikiLeaks had "exposed a diplomacy that had appeared unreachable."[202][203] He further criticised the arrest of Julian Assange as "an attack on freedom of expression".[204]

     Ecuador: In late November 2010 a representative of the government of Ecuador made what was, apparently, an unsolicited public offer to Julian Assange to establish residency in Ecuador. Deputy Foreign Minister Kinto Lucas stated "we are going to invite him to come to Ecuador so he can freely present the information he possesses and all the documentation, not just on the Internet, but in various public forums."[205] Lucas went on to state his praise for WikiLeaks and Assange calling them "[people] who are constantly investigating and trying to get light out of the dark corners of [state] information."[206] The following day, however, president Rafael Correadistanced his administration from the offer stating that Lucas had been speaking for himself and not on the government's behalf. Correa then criticised Assange for "breaking the laws of the United States and leaking this type of information."[207]

     Russia: In December 2010 the office of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev issued a statement calling on non-governmental organisations to consider "nominating [Julian] Assange as a Nobel Prize laureate." The announcement followed commentary by Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin who stated that Julian Assange's earlier arrest on Swedish charges demonstrated that there was "no media freedom" in the west.[208]

     VenezuelaHugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, stated his support for WikiLeaks following the release of US diplomatic cables in November 2010 that showed the United States had tried to rally support from regional governments to isolate Venezuela. "I have to congratulate the people of WikiLeaks for their bravery and courage," Chávez commented in televised remarks.[209]

     United Nations: In December 2010 United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression Frank LaRue stated he agreed with the idea that Julian Assange was a "martyr for free speech." LaRue went on to say Assange or other WikiLeaks staff should not face legal accountability for any information they disseminated, noting that, "if there is a responsibility by leaking information it is of, exclusively of the person that made the leak and not of the media that publish it. And this is the way that transparency works and that corruption has been confronted in many cases."[210] High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay subsequently voiced concern at the revelation that private companies were being pressured by states to sever their relationships with WikiLeaks.[211]

    Criticism

    WikiLeaks has attracted criticism from a variety of sources.[212]

    In 2007 John Young, operator of Cryptome, left his position on the WikiLeaks Board of Directors accusing the group of being a "CIA conduit". Young subsequently retreated from his assertion but has continued to be critical of the site.[213] In a 2010 interview withCNET.com Young accused the group of a lack of transparency regarding their fundraising and financial management. He went on to state his belief that WikiLeaks could not guarantee whistleblowers the anonymity or confidentiality they claimed and that he "would not trust them with information if it had any value, or if it put me at risk or anyone that I cared about at risk."[214]

    Citing the leaking of the sorority rituals of Alpha Sigma TauSteven Aftergood has opined that WikiLeaks "does not respect the rule of law nor does it honour the rights of individuals." Aftergood went on to state that WikiLeaks engages in unrestrained disclosure of non-governmental secrets without compelling public policy reasons and that many anti-corruption activists were opposed to the site's activities.[215]

    In 2010, Amnesty International joined several other human rights groups criticising WikiLeaks for not adequately redacting the names of Afghan civilians working as U.S. military informants from files they had released. Julian Assange responded by offering Amnesty International staff the opportunity to assist in the document vetting process. When Amnesty International appeared to express reservations in accepting the offer, Assange dismissed the group as "people who prefer to do nothing but cover their asses." Other groups that joined Amnesty International in criticising WikiLeaks subsequently noted that, despite their displeasure over the issue of civilian name redaction, they generally appreciated WikiLeaks's work.[216]

    In an August 2010 open letter, the non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders praised WikiLeaks' past usefulness in exposing "serious violations of human rights and civil liberties" but criticised the group over a perceived absence of editorial control, stating "indiscriminately publishing 92,000 classified reports reflects a real problem of methodology and, therefore, of credibility. Journalistic work involves the selection of information. The argument with which you defend yourself, namely that WikiLeaks is not made up of journalists, is not convincing."[217] The group subsequently clarified their statement as a criticism of WikiLeaks release procedure and not the organisation itself, stating "we reaffirm our support for Wikileaks, its work and its founding principles."[218]

    On 30 November 2010, former Canadian government adviser Tom Flanagan, while appearing on the CBC television program "Power & Politics", called for Julian Assange to be killed. "I think Assange should be assassinated," Flanagan stated, before noting to host Evan Solomon, "I'm feeling pretty manly today." Flanagan subsequently retracted his call for the death of Assange while reiterating his opposition to WikiLeaks.[219] Dimitri Soudas, spokesman to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, decried Flanagan's comments and said the former Tory strategist's remarks are "simply not acceptable." Ralph Goodale, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons, called Flanagan's remarks "clearly contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."[220]

    Russian investigative reporter Andrei Soldatov has criticised WikiLeaks for disclosing documents "without checking of the facts, without putting them in context, and without analysing them.” Soldatov believes WikiLeaks is "filling the gap" left by the decline of investigative journalism with a sensationalist alternative while journalistic support of WikiLeaks is motivated by anger over declining funding and resources for investigative reporting.[221]

    Contrary Views. A number of authors contend that Wikileaks, contrary to appearances, is actually a charade or intelligence agency disinformation ploy conducting psychological warfare. They point to the effects on mobilizing public opinion against freedom of information and to allegations in the purported leaks which incriminate targets of US foreign policy, such as Iran. Notable critics in this vein include Michel Chossudovsky[222] and F. William Engdahl.[223]

    Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger has said: "Speaking as Wikipedia's co-founder, I consider you enemies of the U.S.—not just the government, but the people." [224]

    According to a telephone survey of 1,029 US residents age 18 and older, conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion in December 2010, Americans are overwhelmingly critical of WikiLeaks. The poll found that 70 percent of respondents – particularlyRepublicans and older people – think the leaks are doing more harm than good by allowing America's enemies to see confidential and secret information about U.S. foreign policy. Just 22 percent – especially young liberals – think the leaks are doing more good than harm by making the U.S. government more transparent and accountable. A majority of 59 percent also wants to see the people behind WikiLeaks prosecuted, while 31 percent said the publication of secrets is protected under the First Amendment guarantee of a free press.[225]

    Criticism by governments

    Most of the governments and organisations whose files have been leaked by WikiLeaks have been critical of the organisation.

    •  Australia: On 2 December 2010 Prime Minister Julia Gillard made a statement that she 'absolutely condemns' Wikileaks' actions and that the release of information on the site was 'grossly irresponsible' and 'illegal.'[226] Wikileaks founder Julian Assange isAustralian and he responded two days later by accusing his prime minister of betraying him as an Australian citizen.[227] However, on 8 December 2010—after WikiLeaks published U.S. diplomatic cables in which United States diplomats labelled him a "control freak", former Australian Prime Minister and current foreign minister Kevin Rudd said the leak of the US secret cables raised questions about US security. Rudd said, "The core responsibility, and therefore legal liability, goes to those individuals responsible for that initial unauthorised release."[228][229] In an article in The Australian, Assange claimed, "The Australian attorney-general is doing everything he can to help a US investigation clearly directed at framing Australian citizens and shipping them to the US."[230]However, Australian officials later said that Assange has done nothing illegal.[231]
    •  France: The French Industry Minister Éric Besson said in a letter to the CGIET technology agency, WikiLeaks "violates the secret of diplomatic relations and puts people protected by diplomatic secret in danger." Therefore it would be 'unacceptable' that the site was hosted on servers based in France. The minister asked for measures to bar WikiLeaks from France.[232]
    •  Iran: The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also criticised WikiLeaks following the release of United States diplomatic cables. Ahmadinejad claimed that the release of cables purporting to show concern with Iran by Arab states was a planned leak by the United States to discredit his government, though he did not indicate whether he believed WikiLeaks was in collusion with the United States or was simply an unwitting facilitator.[233]
    •  Philippines: President Benigno Aquino III comdemned Wikileaks and leaked documents related to the country, saying that it can lead to massive cases of miscommunication.[234]
    •  United States: Following the November 2010 release of United States diplomatic cables, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clintondenounced the group saying, "this disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests, it is an attack on the international community."[235] Peter King, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee of the United States House of Representatives has stated his support for listing Wikileaks as a "foreign terrorist organisation" explaining that "WikiLeaks presents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States."[236] In a contrary statement, secretary of Defense Robert Gates has said that concerns about the disclosures were "over-wrought" in terms of their likely adverse impact on ordinary diplomatic activities.[237] Philip J. Crowley, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, stated on 2 December 2010 that the US State Department does not regard WikiLeaks as a media organisation. "WikiLeaks is not a media organization. That is our view." Crowley said and with regard to Assange;"Well, his – I mean he could be considered a political actor. I think he’s an anarchist, but he’s not a journalist."[238]
      US Senator Joe Lieberman, who first called on Amazon to shut down WikiLeaks and then praised the company after doing so called for other companies to follow suit.[149] He also proposed new legislation targeting similar cases—Securing Human Intelligence and Enforcing Lawful Dissemination Act,[148] also known as the SHIELD Act,[239] not to be confused with a shield law. Lieberman later said that also The New York Times and other news organisations publishing the US embassy cables being released by WikiLeaks could be investigated for breaking US espionage laws.[240]

    Spin offs

    Following the initial releases of US diplomatic cables, a number of other sites based on the WikiLeaks model were borne.[241]

    • OpenLeaks was created by the former deputy to Assange. Daniel Domscheit-Berg said the intention was to be more transparent than WikiLeaks as "In these last months, the organisation has not been open any more. It lost its open-source promise." It planned to start in early 2011.
    • Brussels Leaks was focused on the European Union as a collaborative effort of media professionals and activists that sought to "pull the shady inner workings of the EU system out into the public domain. This is about getting important information out there, not about Brusselsleaks [or any other 'leaks' for that matter]."
    • TradeLeaks was created to "do to trade and commerce what WikiLeaks has done to politics." It was founded by Ruslan Kogan, a fellow Australian of Assange. Its goal is to ensure ""individuals and businesses should attain values from others through mutually beneficial and fully consensual trade, rather than force, fraud or deception."
    • Balkan Leaks was founded by Bulgarain Atanas Chobanov in order to make the Balkans more transparent and to fight corruption as "There are plenty of people out there that want to change the Balkans for good and are ready to take on the challenge. We're offering them a hand."
    • Indoleaks is an Indonesian that sought to publish classified documents of the Indonesian government, though the Jakarta Globe said "the [Indonesian] government claimed not to be concerned by the website."

    Leaks

    2006–08

    WikiLeaks posted its first document in December 2006, a decision to assassinate government officials signed by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys."[29] In August 2007, The Guardian published a story about corruption by the family of the former Kenyan leader Daniel arap Moibased on information provided via WikiLeaks.[242] In November 2007, a March 2003 copy of Standard Operating Procedures for Camp Delta detailing the protocol of the U.S. Army at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was released.[243] The document revealed that some prisoners were off-limits to the International Committee of the Red Cross, something that the U.S. military had in the past repeatedly denied.[244] In February 2008, WikiLeaks released allegations of illegal activities at the Cayman Islands branch of the Swiss Bank Julius Baer which led to the bank suing WikiLeaks and obtaining an injunction which temporarily shut down wikileaks.org.[245] The site was instantly mirrored by supporters and later that month the judge overturned his previous decision citing First Amendmentconcerns and questions about legal jurisdiction.[246][247] In March 2008, WikiLeaks published what they referred to as "the collected secret 'bibles' of Scientology," and three days later received letters threatening to sue them for breach of copyright.[248] In September 2008, during the 2008 United States presidential election campaigns, the contents of a Yahoo account belonging to Sarah Palin (the running mate of Republican presidential nominee John McCain) were posted on WikiLeaks after being hacked into by members ofAnonymous.[249] In November 2008, the membership list of the far-right British National Party was posted to WikiLeaks, after briefly appearing on a blog.[250] A year later, on October 2009, another list of BNP members was leaked.[251]

    2009

    In January 2009, WikiLeaks released 86 telephone intercept recordings of Peruvian politicians and businessmen involved in the 2008 Peru oil scandal.[252] In February, WikiLeaks released 6,780 Congressional Research Service reports[253] follwed in March, by a list of contributors to the Norm Coleman senatorial campaign[254][255] and a set of documents belonging to Barclays Bank that had been ordered removed from the website of The Guardian.[256] In July, they released a report relating to a serious nuclear accident that had occurred at the Iranian Natanz nuclear facility in 2009.[257] Later media reports have suggested that the accident was related to theStuxnet computer worm.[258][259] In September, internal documents from Kaupthing Bank were leaked, from shortly before the collapse of Iceland's banking sector, which led to the 2008–2010 Icelandic financial crisis. The document shows that suspiciously large sums of money were loaned to various owners of the bank, and large debts written off.[260] In October, Joint Services Protocol 440, a British document advising the security services on how to avoid documents being leaked was published by WikiLeaks.[261] Later that month, they announced that a super-injunction was being used by the commodities company, Trafigura to gag The Guardian newspaper from reporting on a leaked internal document regarding a toxic dumping incident in the Ivory Coast.[262][263] In November, they hosted copies of e-mail correspondence between climate scientists, although they were not originally leaked to WikiLeaks.[264] They also released 570,000 intercepts of pager messages sent on the day of the 11 September attacks.[265] During 2008 and 2009, WikiLeaks published the alleged lists of forbidden or illegal web addresses for Australia, Denmark and Thailand. These were originally created to prevent access to child pornography and terrorism, but the leaks revealed that other sites covering unrelated subjects were also listed.[266][267][268]

    2010

    In March 2010, WikiLeaks released a secret 32-page U.S. Department of Defense Counterintelligence Analysis Report written in March 2008 discussing the leaking of material by WikiLeaks and how it could be deterred.[269][270] In April, a classified video of the 12 July 2007 Baghdad airstrike was released, showing two Reuters employees being fired at, after the pilots mistakenly thought the men were carrying weapons, which were in fact cameras.[271] In the week following the release, "Wikileaks" was the search term with the most significant growth worldwide in the last seven days as measured by Google Insights.[272] In June 2010, A 22-year-old US Army intelligence analyst, PFC (formerly SPCBradley Manning, was arrested after alleged chat logs were turned in to the authorities by former hacker Adrian Lamo, in whom he had confided. Manning reportedly told Lamo he had leaked the "Collateral Murder" video, in addition to a video of the Granai airstrike and around 260,000 diplomatic cables, to WikiLeaks.[273] In July, WikiLeaks released 92,000 documents related to the war in Afghanistan between 2004 and the end of 2009 to The GuardianThe New York Times and Der Spiegel. The documents detail individual incidents including friendly fire and civilian casualties.[274] At the end of July, a 1.4 GB "insurance file" was added to the Afghan War Diary page, whose decryption details would be released if WikiLeaks or Assange were harmed.[116] About 15,000 of the 92,000 documents have not yet been released on WikiLeaks, as the group is currently reviewing the documents to remove some of the sources of the information. WikiLeaks asked the Pentagon and human-rights groups to help remove names from the documents to reduce the potential harm caused by their release, but did not receive assistance.[275] Following the Love Parade stampede in Duisburg, Germany on 24 July 2010, a local published internal documents of the city administration regarding the planning of Love Parade. The city government reacted by acquiring a court order on 16 August forcing the blog to remove the documents from its blog.[276] On 20 August WikiLeaks released a publication titled Loveparade 2010 Duisburg planning documents, 2007–2010, which comprised 43 internal documents regarding the Love Parade 2010.[277][278] Following on from the leak of information from the Afghan War, in October 2010, around 400,000 documents relating to the Iraq War where released in October. The BBC quoted The Pentagonreferring to the Iraq War Logs as "the largest leak of classified documents in its history." Media coverage of the leaked documents focused on claims that the U.S. government had ignored reports of torture by the Iraqi authorities during the period after the 2003 war.[279]

    Diplomatic cables release

    On 28 November WikiLeaks and five major newspapers from Spain (El País), France (Le Monde), Germany (Der Spiegel), the United Kingdom (The Guardian), and the United States (The New York Times) started to simultaneously publish the first 220[280] of 251,287 leaked confidential—but not top secret—diplomatic cables from 274 embassies dated from 1966–2010.[281] WikiLeaks plans to release the entirety of the cables in phases over several months.[281]

    The contents of the diplomatic cables include numerous unguarded comments and revelations: critiques and praises about the host countries of various US embassies, discussion and resolutions towards ending ongoing tension in the Middle East, efforts and resistance towards nuclear disarmament, actions in the War on Terror, assessments of other threats around the world, dealings between various countries, US intelligence and counterintelligence efforts, and other diplomatic actions. Reactions to the United States diplomatic cables leak include stark criticism, anticipation, commendation, and quiescence.

    Announcements on upcoming leaks

    In May 2010, WikiLeaks said they had video footage of a massacre of civilians in Afghanistan by the US military which they were preparing to release.[119][282]

    In an interview with Chris Anderson on 19 July 2010, Assange showed a document WikiLeaks had on an Albanian oil well blowout, and said they also had material from inside BP,[283] and that they were "getting enormous quantity of whistle-blower disclosures of a very high calibre"[284] but added that they have not been able to verify and release the material because they do not have enough volunteer journalists.[285]

    In October 2010, Assange told a leading Moscow newspaper that "The Kremlin had better brace itself for a coming wave of WikiLeaks disclosures about Russia."[286][287] Assange later clarified: "we have material on many businesses and governments, including in Russia. It’s not right to say there’s going to be a particular focus on Russia".[288]

    In a 2009 Computer World interview, Assange claimed to be in possession of "5GB from Bank of America", and in 2010 told Forbesmagazine that WikiLeaks was planning another "megaleak" for early in 2011, which this time would be from inside the private sector and involve "a big U.S. bank". Bank of America's stock price fell by three percent as a result of this announcement.[289][290] Assange commented on the possible impact of the release that ”it could take down a bank or two.”[291][292]

    In December 2010, Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens, told The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, that WikiLeaks had information it considers to be a "thermo-nuclear device" which it would release if the organisation needs to defend itself.[293]



    The www.wikileaks.org domain is currently redirecting to wikileaks.info, a domain not affiliated with WikiLeaks and not included in the official list of mirrors. The Spamhaus Project has stated that the domain is hosted in a "very dangerous 'neighborhood'"

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    Julian Assange Enemy of the State Hero of the People
    By Lucy Carne LONDON
    SEEDS OF CHANGE: Julian Assange the boy and the thorn in the side of governments, and a rally by his Brisbane supporters this week
    In front of an adoring crowd at the Frontline journalist’s club in London last month, Australia Julian Assange explained why he’s risking the wrath of the world’s most powerful governments.
    In his face could still be seen traces of the sweet natured, sensitive little boy his Sunshine Coast-based mother has described and, smiling, the Queensland born 39 year old leaned into the microphone.
    “They say I enjoy crushing bastards and. Yes, that’s part of my motivation,” Assange said.
    “For some reason, the White House finds that offensive.”
    Today, the founder if whistle blowing website WikiLeaks and the man on whom the world’s spotlight is focused, sits is a grey tracksuit in one of western Europe’s biggest prsions.
    This week he was remanded in custody of rape, sexual assault and unlawful coercion stemming from alleged  non-consensual sex without a condom with two women in Sweden.
    Assange’s imprisonment, after he handed himself in, was met with relief in the US, where authorities were angered by his website’s release of embarrassing diplomatic cables last week.
    The man who kicked the hornets’ nest had been silences they thought.
    “I hadn’t heard that but it sounds like good news to me,” US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on being told of Assange’s arrest.
    But while Assange grows restless behind bars – he has already complained about the “boring” daytime television and his request to be reunited with his own laptop has been denied – a global groundswell of support has grown.
    The strongest act of revenge is coming from a group of ”hacktivists”  known as Anomymous, which temporariiy shut down the websites of US and Swedish corporations this week.
    The group also froze the websites of credit-card companies Visa and Mastercard,n which had cancelled financial donations to WikiLeaks.
    Post Finance – the Swiss bank that froze Assange’s private account – was disabled too, as was the Swedish prosecution office and the Swedish lawyers representing the two  women who claim  to have been sexually assaulted by Assange.
    The Anonymous group’s spokesman, known only as Coldblood, told reports they had not met Assange and were not connected to his organization but felt the need to defend him.
    “If we let WikiLeaks fall without a fight then government will think they can just take down any sites they wish or disagree with,” Coldblood said.
    In Brisbane on Thursday, some 300 protestors took to the streets in anger at Assange’s imprisonment.
    Protests in London were due to be held today.
    More than 35,000 people have joined a Facebook group to support Assange, with calls for all members to donate to his legal fund, while around 28,000 Australians have signed a letter to US President BARACK Obama supporting him.
    In an open letter published yesterday, prominent supports, including Australia documentary film maker John Pilger, Minty Python member Terry Jones, English actress Miriam Margolyes and author Iain Banks, call for his immediate release from jail
    Assange’s unusually harsh imprisonment for allegedly ignoring two women’s  requests to use contraception has caused this sudden swell of skepticism and fury.
    Many believe it is a flimsy excuse to keep Assange, who was placed on Interpol’s most wanted list, within reach of the US Justice Department so it can prosecute him under the Espionage Act.
    Even while he is hailed by the public as a champion of transparency, to the governments of Australia and the US he remains a menace. To them he is not an innocent messenger but an anti-government terrorist who wants to harm the US and governments across the world.
    Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard labeled WikiLeaks’s activities illegal but, despite calls for her to do so, has failed to outline any Australian law that Assange has broken.
    Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland also has stood by his condemnation of Assange, while arch-conservative US politician Sarah Palin called him an anti-American operative with blood on his hands.”
    How did the tousled-haired boy in overalls grow up to become an Andy Warhol-esque hero of the people.
    “Hr can seem – with his spectral white hair, pa8iled skin, cool eyes, and expansive forehead – like a rail thin being who has rocketed to Earth to deliver humanity some hidden truth,” The New Yorker wrote in June.
    Born in Townsville in 1971, Assange has described his childhood as “pretty Tom Sawyer”’ filled with horseriding, building rafts and fishing.
    I was, however, far from Idyllic. By the age od 14, his family had moved 37 times, living everywhere from Magnetic Island to Byron Bay. It set the scene for his future nomadic life.
    The young boy was home schooled, sporadically educated by university professors and even taught himself in hours spent alone in council libraries.
    But his life changed when his mother’s abusive boyfriend tried to gain custody of Assange’s half brother in order to submit him to religious sect The Family.
    His mother and her young family “disappeared”, constantly moving, never leaving a trail.
    But at the age of 16, in 1987, Assange got a computer and modem and his life was suddenly transformed.
    He embraced the random problem-solving and solace if life as a computer hacker.
    “We were bright sensitive kinds who didn’t fit the dominant subculture and fiercely castigated those who did as irredeemable boneheads,” he wrote of himself and a teenage friend.
    He was arrested in the early 1990’sw for hacking into the computer system of a major Canadian telecommunications company, but avoided a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
    A brief spell in hospital for depression soon followed, as well as time spent living rough in the Dandenong Ranges National Park in Victoria and a stint motorcycling across Vietnam.
    While working towards a physics degree at the University of Melbourne in 2006, He founded WikiLeaks.
    It was a site for anyone wishing to “reveal illegal or immoral behavior in their own governments and corporations” he wrote at the time of the site’s launch.
    “ I am the one who9 takes that risk,” he said prophetically, explaining his role at WikiLeaks while addressing the Frontline club last monthly. “As a consequence, I also get a lot of undue credit. I also get all the criticism.”
    His original WikiLeaks mandate was to9 “make the news, not be the news”.
    But that seems to have backfired, with Assange now a household name around the world.
    “Is is weird?” an audience member asked him of his new celebrity status.
    “No,” Assange shrugged.” Actually, I find it quite boring.”
    Lucy Marne is The Courier-Mail’s European correspondent

    Dear Friend,

    Sarah Palin wants Julian Assange hunted as a terrorist.1 She's among a swelling chorus of American politicians calling for the arrest - and even the death - of the Australian citizen who runs WikiLeaks. It's a shame that real terrorists, the kind we should be focusing our attention on, don't show up at British Police stations with their lawyers, as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange did yesterday.

    Here in Australia, Prime Minister Gillard pre-emptively judged Mr. Assange "illegal," even as the Attorney General confirmed that no Australian nor international crime by WikiLeaks has been identified.2

    The death penalty? Judgment before trial? This isn't the kind of justice system we have in Australia. If our Government won't stand up for the rights of Australian citizens, let's do it ourselves.

    We're printing ads in The Washington Times and The New York Times with the statement our Government should have made, signed by as many Australians as possible. Will you add your name to the signatories, and invite your friends to join too?

    http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/Wikileaks

    The statement:Dear President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder:

    We, as Australians, condemn calls for violence, including assassination, against Australian citizen and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, or for him to be labeled a terrorist, enemy combatant or be treated outside the ordinary course of justice in any way.

    As Thomas Jefferson said, "information is the currency of democracy."3 Publishing leaked information in collaboration with major news outlets, as Wikileaks and Mr. Assange have done, is not a terrorist act.

    Australia and the United States are the strongest of allies. Our soldiers serve side by side and we've experienced, and condemned, the consequences of terrorism together. To label WikiLeaks a terrorist organisation is an insult to those Australians and Americans who have lost their lives to acts of terrorism and to terrorist forces.

    If WikiLeaks or their staff have broken international or national laws, let that case be heard in a just and fair court of law. At the moment, no such charges have been brought.

    We are writing as Australians to say what our Government should have said: that all Australian citizens deserve to be free from persecution, threats of violence and detention without charge, especially from our friend and ally, the United States.

    We call upon you to stand up for our shared democratic principles of the presumption of innocence and freedom of information.We're printing this statement in The Washington Times and The New York Times early next week - and the more Australians sign, the more powerful the message will be. Please add your name by clicking below, and forward this message to friends and family:

    http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/WikiLeaks

    What has started with WikiLeaks being branded as terrorists won't end there.

    In fact, just yesterday U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, Chair of the Senate's Homeland Security Committee, said thatThe New York Times should also be investigated under the U.S. Espionage Act for publishing a number of the diplomatic cables leaked to WikiLeaks.4 We can help stop such plans in their tracks, by showing how they are affecting the image of the US in the eyes of their staunchest friends and allies.

    Click here to sign the statement before it's published in The New York Times and Washington Times.

    Thanks for being part of this, 
    The GetUp team

    ---

    1 Beckford, M., 'Sarah Palin: hunt WikiLeaks founder like al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders', The Telegraph, 30 November 2010.

    2 Oakes, L., 'Oakes: Gillard gushes over US leaks', Perth Now, 4 December 2010.

    3 The quote is widely attributed to Jefferson, but some now dispute whether he actually said it. We know, at least, that he said "knowledge is power," even if Francis Bacon did say it first.

    4 Savage, C., 'U.S. prosecuters study WikiLeaks prosecution', The New York Times, 7 December 2010.



    Julian Assange from Jail to Masion






    Former Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks. Photo: Jacky Ghossein

     \

    Assange gets bail but still locked up (01:12)
    British judge grants bail to WikiLeaks founder under strict monitoring conditions, but he remains in jail as Sweden appeals the ruling.

    Assange will never receive a fair trial: Hicks 
    Cameron Atfield 
    December 15, 2010

    Hicks answers the tough questions
    Former terrorism suspect David Hicks has come out in support of jailed freedom-of-speech campaigner Julian Assange, saying he feared for Mr Assange's safety should he end up in American hands.
    Mr Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website, has been returned to London's notorious Wandsworth prison despite winning bail from a British Court.
    He will be held there for another 48 hours while Swedish prosecutors, who want to extradite him to Sweden to face allegations of sex crimes, mount a High Court appeal against the decision.
    Supporters of Mr Assange, including his lawyer, have claimed the charges are politically motivated after the release of thousands of secret diplomatic cables, causing embarrassment for several governments.
    Yesterday, Mr Hicks told Fairfax Radio he was concerned about what might happen to Mr Assange if he was extradited to the United States.
    "He will never receive a fair trial," he said.
    "We have already established that it's a political decision rather than a legal one. It's important that our governments are held to account for any war crimes they may be involved in and that is why the work of WikiLeaks is so important."
    Mr Hicks spent six years at Guantanamo Bay, the US-run prison camp in Cuba, before he returned home to Australia to serve nine months at Adelaide's Yatala jail.
    He was convicted by a US military commission of "providing material support for terrorism".
    Mr Hicks said he believed future WikiLeaks releases could contain information about his incarceration.
    "I will watch with interest in more leaks released because I have heard that they might contain information about my treatment in Guantanamo and the political interference in my case," he said.
    "I just hope the Australian government doesn't abandon him like they did to me."
    WikiLeaks: Julian Assange sex assault court case branded a 'show trial'
    The Swedish authorities are turning the sexual assault case against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, into a "show trial", his lawyers claimed.

    Mark Stephens attacked the decision by the Swedish authorities to appeal against a judge's ruling to grant the 39 year-old Australian bail. 
    He said their decision was now a "'persecution" rather than a prosecution and was politically motivated. 
    He accused the authorities of stopping at nothing to have the Wikileaks founder behind bars, a claim they denied.

     

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is refused bail
    15 Dec 2010
    WikiLeaks: summary of the latest disclosures
    15 Dec 2010
    Julian Assange: is 'Wikileaker' on a crusade or an ego trip?
    15 Dec 2010
    Julian Assange: Jemima Khan comes to aid of Wikileaks founder in Swedish extradition fight
    15 Dec 2010
    Julian Assange: 'don't shoot the messenger'
    15 Dec 2010

    Julian Assange: 'don't shoot the messenger' 
    Governments around the world must not "shoot the messenger" by attacking disclosures by WikiLeaks, Julian Assange said on Tuesday. 
    Julian Assange says his whistle-blowing website deserves protection and has not cost a single life despite the claims of critics

    The former computer hacker said his whistle-blowing website deserves protection and has not cost a single life despite the claims of critics.
    Writing for The Australian newspaper, Mr Assange quoted its founder, Rupert Murdoch, as once saying the truth will inevitably win over secrecy.
    He said: "Nearly a century later, WikiLeaks is also fearlessly publishing facts that need to be made public."
    Mr Assange said WikiLeaks has coined "scientific journalism" that allows readers to study the original evidence for themselves.
    He added: "Democratic societies need a strong media and WikiLeaks is part of that media. The media helps keep government honest.
    "WikiLeaks has revealed some hard truths about the Iraq and Afghan wars, and broken stories about corporate corruption."
    The campaigner denied he is anti-war, but said Governments must tell the truth about their reasons for fighting.
    He claimed the United States, supported by its "acolytes", has attacked WikiLeaks instead of other media groups because it is "young and small".
    Branding the website "underdogs", he accused Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard of "disgraceful pandering" to the Americans.
    He said: "The Gillard government is trying to shoot the messenger because it doesn't want the truth revealed, including information about its own diplomatic and political dealings."
    Mr Assange highlighted some of the most high-profile revelations made by his website over the last week.
    He added: "The swirling storm around WikiLeaks today reinforces the need to defend the right of all media to reveal the truth."

    In news
       
    The WikiLeaks bunker 
       
    WikiLeaks: 10 greatest scoops 
       
    WikiLeaks: do they have a right to privacy? 
       
    The key WikiLeaks revelations 
       
    Why law is powerless to stop WikiLeaks

     

    WikiLeaks 'will continue releasing documents'
    15 Dec 2010

     
    Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is driven into Westminster Magistrates Court in London Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA
    WikiLeaks 'will continue releasing documents'
    WikiLeaks has pledged to continue releasing confidential documents after Julian Assange, the website's founder and chief, arrived at court for an extradition hearing.
    Wednesday 15 December 2010

    Richard Edwards and Nick Collins 2:53PM GMT 07 Dec 2010 
    Mr Assange handed himself over to police in central London on Tuesday morning after a warrant was issued for his arrest on rape charges. 
    But ahead of his first court appearance a spokesman for the website insisted the arrest would not prevent the planned release of further cables on Tuesday evening. 
    The spokesman wrote on Twitter: "Today's actions against our editor-in-chief Julian Assange won't affect our operations: we will release more cables tonight as normal."

    The 39-year-old Australian was due to appear before a district judge at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday afternoon, where his lawyers were expected to fight extradition proceedings. 
    A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Officers from the Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit have this morning arrested Julian Assange on behalf of the Swedish authorities on suspicion of rape. 
    "Assange is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court today." 
    Supporters of Assange were told to protest against censorship outside the Horseferry Road court house on several websites. 
    His arrest came after an Australian newspaper published an editorial written by Assange, in which he urged governments around the world not to "shoot the messenger". 
    He wrote: "Democratic societies need a strong media and WikiLeaks is part of that media. The media helps keep government honest." 
    He accused the Australian government and prime minister Julia Gillard of "disgraceful pandering" to the Americans, adding: "The Gillard government is trying to shoot the messenger because it doesn't want the truth revealed, including information about its own diplomatic and political dealings." 
    Mr Assange has not been seen publicly for 31 days, since an appearance in Geneva, and was believed to have been in hiding in the south-east of England as the latest tranche of WikiLeaks material was released. 
    A European Arrest Warrant was issued by the Swedish last month but could not be acted upon because it did not contain sufficient information for the British authorities. A spokesman for Marianne Ny, the Swedish prosecutor, said the extra details were sent last week. 
    Police processed the warrant yesterday and arrangements were made with Mark Stephens, Mr Assange’s British lawyer, for the Wikileaks founder to attend a central London police station. 
    Mr Stephens said his client was keen to discover what allegations he was facing so he could clear his name. 
    "It's about time we got to the end of the day and we got some truth, justice and rule of law," he said. 
    "Julian Assange has been the one in hot pursuit to vindicate himself to clear his good name. 
    "He has been trying to meet with her (the Swedish prosecutor) to find out what the allegations are he has to face and also the evidence against him, which he still hasn't seen." 
    The 39-year-old Australian has been under intense pressure since the release of thousands of secret documents in recent weeks. 
    Kristinn Hrafnsson, spokesman for WikiLeaks, said Mr Assange had been forced to keep a low profile after several threats on his life. 
    Sweden’s Supreme Court upheld a court order to detain Mr Assange for questioning on suspicion of “rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion” after he appealed against two lower court rulings. He denies the allegations. 
    His details were also added to Interpol’s most wanted website, alerting police forces around the world. 
    Mr Stephens said he would fight any bid to extradite his client. He added that Mr Assange “has been trying to meet with the Swedish prosecutor since August this year”. 
    Mr Assange’s troubles deepened when his Swiss bank account was shut down after it was found he had given a false address. Postfinance, the financial arm of Swiss Post, said: “The Australian citizen provided false information regarding his place of residence during the account opening process.” 
    Mr Assange had allegedly told Postfinance he lived in Geneva but could offer no proof that he was a Swiss resident. 
    News of his potential arrest came as WikiLeaks was criticised for publishing details of hundreds of sites around the world that could be targeted in terrorist attacks. 
    Among the British sites listed are a transatlantic undersea cable landing in Cornwall; naval and motoring engineering firm MacTaggart Scott, based in the small Scottish town of Loanhead; and BAE Systems sites, including one in Preston, Lancashire. 
    The revelations prompted Sir Peter Ricketts, David Cameron’s national security adviser, to order a review of computer security across all government departments.
    Julian Assange: Jemima Khan comes to aid of Wikileaks founder in Swedish extradition fight
    Jemima Khan appeared in court to lend her support to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as he was put behind bars over sexual allegations originating from Sweden. 
    By Andrew Hough, and Caroline Gammell  07 Dec 2010

    Khan, the socialite and charity worker, offered to provide a £20,000 surety to prevent the 39-year-old Australian from being remanded in custody in Britain over the claims. 
    Swedish officials want him extradited to answer questions over the alleged rape of one woman and molestation of another while he was in Stockholm this summer. 
    Mr Assange, who was also supported in court by film director Ken Loach and four others, has repeatedly denied the claims.

    The 36-year-old former wife of Imran Khan said she would pay “whatever sum was required” to ensure he was granted bail. 
    However, a district judge at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court decided he was too much of risk as it emerged that there was no record him ever arriving in Britain. 
    During Tuesday's hearing he was accompanied by officials from the Australian High Commission after asking for consular assistance. 
    Outside court, Khan said: “I am not here to make any kind of judgement on the Julian Assange as an individual as I do not know him and I have never met him. 
    “I am here because I believe in the principle of the human right to freedom of information and our right to be told the truth.” 
    Mr Assange’s supporters believe his arrest is a political stunt to detract from the revelations being made on a daily basis on the Wikileaks website. 
    Geoffrey Robertson QC, a prominent Australian human rights barrister who was a defending lawyer at the Brighton Bombing trial in the mid 1980s, has reportedly agreed to act for Mr Assange in future hearings. 
    The former computer hacker claims he had received several death threats since the secret documents were published and that someone had called for the kidnap of his 20-year-old son in Australia.

    Julian Assange in British prison on rape charge 
    08 Dec 2010 
    Julian Assange: Extradition case involving Wikileaks founder could last many months 
    08 Dec 2010 
    Julian Assange: question of consent 
    08 Dec 2010 
    Julian Assange: 'don't shoot the messenger' 
    07 Dec 2010 
    The Scarlet Pimpernel of cyberspace 
    07 Dec 2010 
    US Attorney General taking 'significant' action 
    07 Dec 2010

     

    Julian Assange: is 'Wikileaker' on a crusade or an ego trip?
    Julian Assange, the man who published the Afghan war files on his Wikileaks website, is unlikely to be chastened by Admiral Mike Mullen’s claims that he might now have “blood on his hands”.
    Julian Assange outside court in Melbourne in 1995, where he was later convicted of hacking offences.

    Julian Assange, pictured in London this week, relies on donations and the hospitality of wellwishers as he travels the globe.

    WikiLeaks: summary of the latest disclosures
    The latest round of WikiLeaks releases disclose more detail about the US's relationships with allies and foes across the globe. Here is a round-up of today’s headlines.

    Britain 
    Prince Andrew criticised a variety of governments, including those of Britain and America, as corrupt, stupid and backward in a conversation with a US diplomat. 
    In his wave of “almost neuralgic patriotism”, the Duke also made the bizarre claim that British geography teachers are the best in the world.

    Families of British servicemen killed in Sangin, Afghanistan have reacted furiously after it was claimed WikiLeaks would disclose dismissive remarks by US commanders on British efforts to secure the town. 
    The Welsh family of Bradley Manning, the US soldier suspected of handing the classified documents to WikiLeaks, have flown to America but been prevented from visiting him in prison. 
    The internet has been rife with speculation about which former Labour minister was labelled “a bit of a hound dog” with women by an American official. 
    David Cameron was seen as “lightweight” by Barack Obama after the first meeting between the two leaders, leaked files will show. 
    Prince Charles does not command the same respect as the Queen, according to a senior Commonwealth official. 
    International 
    Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, dismissed claims that Arab countries had asked the US to attack his country as a deliberate attempt by the US to destabilise the Middle East. 
    Released Guantánamo Bay prisoners should have electronic tagging devices implanted so that they can be followed by security officials, the King of Saudi Arabia suggested to a White House official. 
    Silvio Berlusconi responded to leaked claims by American diplomats that he has a penchant for “wild parties” by claiming he only throws parties in a “proper, dignified and elegant way”. 
    One of the more unlikely stories to surface from the leaked documents was that of a 77-year-old American dentist who fled Iran on horseback after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 
    American officials suspect that North Korea has been secretly aiding Iran in its attempts to build nuclear weapons under the auspices of the Chinese government. 
    Colonel Gaddafi was believed to be very close to a “voluptuous” Ukrainian nurse who followed him everywhere he went, a US cable claimed. 
    An exile from Iran was living in London when he was targeted in an assassination plot by an Iranian agent, who was later arrested in America. 
    Hillary Clinton asked US diplomats in Argentina about the mental health of President Cristina Kirchner and questioned whether she was using medication to help her “calm down”. 
    The White House has told federal agencies to tighten security around the US military computer network following the leaking of classified information. 
    China would support a unified Korea controlled from Seoul because it believes the North is behaving like a “spoiled child”, documents show. 
    Sarah Palin has accused Barack Obama of taking insufficient action to prevent the release of the latest batch of WikiLeaks files. 
    The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, could die within months from terminal cancer, an Iranian informant told American officials. 
    Angela Merkel is the only leader “man” enough to lead the European Union, according to American cables. 
    The United Nations has angrily hit back at American “interference” after learning that Hillary Clinton ordered what amounted to an espionage campaign on its senior officials. 
    Julian Assange 
    The WikiLeaks founder is in hiding after an international warrant was issued for his arrest on rape allegations. 
    Assange’s next target will be the banking sector, with one American bank in particular to suffer from his next revelations, which he compared to the Enron scandal. 
    Assange has accused Barack Obama of attempting to smother the freedom of the press. 
    A criminal investigation is underway into how the latest batch of documents was made public, and Barack Obama could take legal action against Mr Assange.

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