PerthMintSwindleTheMovie


The Perth Mint Swindle


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). As of 8 January 2018, the value of the 68 kilograms of gold would approach AUD $3.7 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.

Note: Some Information on the Perth Mint Swindle not mentioned in Wikipedia

The Late and former Detective-Sergeant Don Hancock, who was later promoted to head of the State Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB)
came around to a person's apartment in Perth ( before the police tried to frame the Mickelbergs) at 6 am a few days after the 22nd June, 1982 with two car loads of detectives, to search this person's house and take him away to try and frame him for the Perth Mint Swindle. Because it seemed that it would be too difficult to frame this person for the Perth Mint Swindle, the WA Police headed by Late and former Detective-Sergeant Don Hancock, decided that the Mickelberg brothers were easier to frame for the Perth Mint Swindle, for a number of reasons. The full story is being published in a new book called..
The Dark Secrets in the History of Perth, Western Australia (The Untold Story).


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Mint_Swindle

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". 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-engined Aero Commander he was flying ran out of fuel near Canning Dam on the outskirts of Perth. 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 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

Police Officers

Don Hancock

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). Hancock and a friend, Lou Lewis, died in a bomb explosion outside Hancock's home in Lathlain in September 2001. Hancock was murdered by Gypsy Joker Sid Reid in revenge for the murder of Billy Grierson, allegedly by Hancock after Grierson "made obscene comments in front of his daughter." A subsequent (2003) prosecution of an alleged accomplice was unsuccessful. 

At the 2006 inquest into the October 2000 shooting death Billy Grierson, the coroner stated: "There is a significant body of evidence which suggests Mr Hancock may have been the shooter," but the Gypsy Jokers "could have a large number of enemies." he was unable to determine who Grierson's killer was because Hancock was now dead, police had failed to conduct routine forensic science tests and had failed to search Hancock's home. The relevant senior investigating officer was Kim Gage, head of Kalgoorlie detectives, who had reportedly spent the day drinking with Hancock and others. Reid was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in jail which was reduced to 15 years for helping police in the failed second prosecution.

Tony Lewandowski

In 2002, midway through a State Royal Commission into police corruption, a retired police officer, Tony Lewandowski, who had been at the centre of the case, 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. The two were the only people present at the brothers' interviews following the Mickelberg arrests. 

"(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 so-called confessions was false." —Statement of Tony Lewandowski

Lewandowski was subsequently charged with attempting to pervert the course of justicemaking false statements, fabricating evidence and perjury.  In May 2004, just before facing trial, Lewandowski apparently committed suicide,  but there has been some speculation as to whether or not that may have been staged to cover his murder.  Although now dead, Lewandowski's confession directly implicated Hancock in fabricating evidence in the Mickelberg case. 

Convictions Quashed

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.[10]

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".  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.

Books on 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.  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 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,  at about the same time that Antonio Buti wrote on the subject.


In Popular Culture

Two telemovies based on the swindle have been made.

  • The Great Gold Swindle (1984), directed by John Power and written by David White; featuring John Hargreaves (Ray Mickelberg), Tony Rickards (Peter Mickelberg), Robert Hughes (Brian Mickelberg), Bryan Marshall (Hancock), Chris Haywood (Peter Duvnjak), Steve Jodrell (Chris Hunt), Robert Faggetter (Det. Sgt. Hooft) and Bill McCluskey (Terence Henry). This version was also broadcast in Brazil, under the title A Grande Fraude, and was released on video in France as Les mercenaires de l'or.
  • The Great Mint Swindle (2012), directed by Geoff Bennett, written by Reg Cribb and Paul Bennett; featuring Grant Bowler(Ray Mickelberg), Todd Lasance (Peter Mickelberg), Josh Quong Tart (Brian Mickelberg), Shane Bourne (Hancock), John Batchelor (Lewandowski), Maya Stange (Sheryl Mickelberg) which aired on 11 March 2012.

One actor, Caroline McKenzie, appeared in both features, playing Detective Ljiljana Cvijic in the 1984 version and Peg Mickelberg in 2012.



THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE: Trailer

CJZ

Published on 28 Feb 2012

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegreatmint...

Twitter:https://www.twitter.com/mintswindle 

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCNwLbPkZow  





 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 1


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 2


 


THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 3


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 4


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 5


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 6

 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 7

 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 8


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 9

 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 10

 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 11

 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 12

 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 13


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 14


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 15


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 16


 

THE GREAT MINT SWINDLE - The Movie Part 17






Peter Mickelberg-After 34 years of fighting for justice, Peter Mickelberg just wants to be left alone.CREDIT-NINE NEWS PERTH




Michael Mischin, Previous Western Australian Attorney General  has a long history with the Mickelbergs.CREDIT-NINE NEWS PERTH



The ex gratia deal that stipulated the State pay for the Mickelbergs' Legal Aid was mentioned in this 2008 press release from Attorney General Jim McGinty.




Peter and Ray Mickelberg exit court after another battle.CREDIT:NINE NEWS PERTH


Ray Mickelberg at Fremantle Prison, describing the area where his finger was bitten off completely.CREDIT:NINE NEWS PERTH


Ray and Peter Mickelberg forced to fight another day after Legal Aid bombshell

 

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/ray-and-peter-mickelberg-forced-to-fight-another-day-after-legal-aid-bombshell-20160311-gngwpx.html

 

And

http://inlnews.com/PerthMintSwindleTheMovie.html

BDavid Prestipino

March 12, 2016

 

 

The Mickelberg brothers are back... back in the news, back in court and reluctantly back in the spotlight again as bad boys in the eyes of their usual enemies in the legal fraternity.

Framed by corrupt WA police for the 1982 Perth Mint Swindle and wrongly convicted and jailed (Ray for eight and a half years and Peter for just short of seven years), the brothers were given an ex-gratia payment in a 2008 deal made with then Labor attorney-general Jim McGinty on behalf of the state, which included payment of the Legal Aid fees the Mickelbergs needed to clear their names.

"The brothers will receive $500,000 each, which is in addition to the $658,672 they have already received to pay for legal representation during their appeals in 1998 and 2004," Mr McGinty said in a statement in January 2008.

But on March 30, Legal Aid will take Ray Mickelberg to court (Peter is also in its sights), in an attempt to recover $141,000 in payments used to clear his name.

A writ was issued more than two years ago in the District Court but served only recently.

The Mickelbergs are not the mafia but, just when they think they're out, the state pulls them back in.

Legal Aid told WAtoday it would reconsider its action against them if the the Deed of Settlement between the State and the Mickelbergs – missing since the 2008 deal was signed – indicated the funds owed to them were settled as part of the agreement.

This week, a copy of that deed landed in the hands of the Mickelbergs for the first time, via their lawyer Malcolm McCusker QC.

It confirms that Ray and Peter Mickelberg's Legal Aid fees would be paid as part of the deal with the State, a fact Mr McGinty confirmed in a radio interview last week.

"When we determined an ex-gratia payment be made to the Mickelbergs, we took into account the amount of money they had already received by way of Legal Aid to enable them to clear their names, that was about $650,000 and then on top of that we made a payment of $500,000," Mr McGinty said.

"A lot of people at the time thought that was a modest amount for eight-and-a-half years in prison, and that is true because, you need to add to that the amount of money that was paid to them for Legal Aid.

"To see the State now trying to recover part of the settlement that was made by the Mickelbergs.. I was very surprised by that... in fact I find it quite extraordinary they would try to do that."

Perth Mint Swindle investigator Tony Lewandowski and WA police involved in the Mickelberg conviction confessed prior to Lewandowski's suicide that they had perjured themselves in the trial.

"Ex-gratia payments are not often made but when they are they're made because of some horrible wrongdoing by a State official... and in this case it was the fact the police perjured themselves in order to get the conviction of the Mickelberg brothers and that was subsequently confessed to by the police," Mr McGinty said.

"So to try and recover in those circumstances I think is quite extraordinary.

"The State should acknowledge the Legal Aid funding was part of the consideration of the ultimate settlement and drop any recovery action against the Mickelbergs.

"I suspect if it does go to court it will be found to be part of an ex-gratia payment that was made to them and the court will throw out the application by the State to recover this money in any event.

"Why the State would want to put the Mickelbergs, the justice system, through that sort of process, frankly is beyond me."

So who has the power to prevent this latest legal action against the brothers?

"Political responsibility rests with the Attorney General, Michael Mischin, and he should make that call," Mr McGinty said.

"Alternatively the Legal Aid Commission should have a good look at the case and determine they've got no real prospect of success - and it's wrong to proceed in any event - and withdraw the application for recovery."

Mr Mischin, who prosecuted the Mickelbergs when he worked for the Director of Public Prosecutions in the 1980s and 1990s, refused to comment on Legal Aid's recovery efforts.

Peter Mickelberg says Mr Mischin has "a gross conflict of interest" because he prosecuted them and met with Legal Aid prior to them serving the writ against Ray.

"Why did Legal Aid feel the need to approach the Attorney General before issuing action against Ray?" Peter said.

In a letter sent to WAtoday last week, Legal Aid claimed Ray Mickelberg wasn't aware of its attempts to recover the debt until he learned of the writ, but had paid them $5000 in 1994 following written correspondence.

"That statement ... is patently false," Peter told WAtoday.

"[We] are both aware of the demands made by the Legal Aid Commission that we repay alleged debts.

"In fact, I met with (Legal Aid director) George Turnbull and said the alleged debts were not owed by Ray or I, rather they were the responsibility of the corrupt police who fabricated the evidence that saw us jailed for a crime we did not commit.

"The $5000 payment referred to was not paid by Ray. The funds were sent from a lawyer's trust account against Ray's wishes in 1994."

Why Legal Aid did not seek to obtain a copy of the Deed of Settlement remains a mystery.

"We were only supplied with a copy of the deed on Wednesday so there was no opportunity to supply it to the Legal Aid Commission," Peter said.

"Legal Aid, however, has been in direct contact with the Attorney General's office and the office of the Solicitor General and it would have been easy for them to have obtained a copy, if it desired to do so."

The brothers are also perplexed as to why Legal Aid did not contact Mr McGinty, the Attorney General at the time, and the State to inquire about the outstanding alleged debt.

"The issue of whether Mr McGinty considered that the Legal Aid expenses were covered by the ex-gratia consideration is clearly settled by reference to the recent public remarks he made," Peter said.

"Mr McGinty is unequivocal in his public comments, saying that the deal he struck included all legal expenses.

"That deal was formalised by a deed signed by us and Mr McGinty in his capacity as Attorney General and it is open to the Legal Aid Commission to contact Mr McGinty directly and to also make inquiries of the State in relation to this issue."

Peter stressed the brothers were not playing victim but said the action by Legal Aid was distressing for his family.

"I am sure that many people do repay Legal Aid as they should," Peter said.

"I doubt they were victims of a serious miscarriage of justice and received an ex-gratia payment from the state that ... dealt with all outstanding legal matters including Legal Aid."

While Peter's two daughters, aged 19 and 23, have watched their father continually battle law and order authorities their entire life, the stress and drama are new for his five-year-old son.

"He ran to his bedroom crying after seeing a news report that said his father had been in jail," Peter said.

"I know we sound like victims but.. I've got two children who grew up with this crap, and all of a sudden it's back.

"We didn't ask to be treated the way we were by police. They simply do not care about the effect on human life."

Legal Aid silent on accuracy of records

Legal Aid again refused to comment to WAtoday after we challenged several points it raised in the initial letter it sent us about the Mickelberg action.

When Peter Mickelberg met Mr Turnbull on several occasions in 2008 to discuss the Legal Aid debt (before the ex-gratia deal was made), he claims he was told there were no records of their Legal Aid applications on file.

"[But] anytime you get Legal Aid, you are granted a certificate which details how much [the debt is], what it's for and for how long," Mr Mickelberg said.

"Now they have the records, when before they didn't?

"This action by Legal Aid is a gross waste of the public's dollar. Here they are, trying to recoup $141,000 for a case we won based on police corruption."

Peter also claims the March 30 hearing should never have proceeded because the two-year deadline to prosecute the writ to his brother Ray had passed in December 2015.

"Ray rang the court the day it expired and the District Court told him they had struck it off," Peter said.

"But in January 2016, the State Solicitor's office reopened the matter, which it can only do under 'extraordinary circumstances'."

WAtoday understands those "extraordinary circumstances" involve a clerk from the State Solicitor's office who forgot to take relevant documents to the District Court before the deadline passed.

How other victims of WA police corruption fared

While $500,000 seems a lot of money for a wrongful conviction, it's not when you consider the lengths police took to frame Ray, Peter and their other brother Brian.

Brian was released on appeal after nine months in jail but later died in a plane crash; Ray spent eight-and-a-half years in prison and had his finger completely bitten off in the process, while Peter spent almost seven years behind bars – all terms served at the notoriously-violent Fremantle Prison.

The trio weren't cleared until former detectiv Lewandoski confessed in 2002 that he, his boss Don Hancock and other colleagues fabricated evidence and lied in police statements in order to convict the brothers.

"He was a very courageous man, for all his faults... Lewandowski stood up and told the truth, and he paid the ultimate price," Ray told Nine News Perth a few weeks ago.

Though it's been 34 years since the Perth Mint Swindle, there are still people in WA's law and order system who refuse to let the Mickelbergs live in peace.

"The State needs to let this go," prominent lawyer John Hammond told Nine News.

"It's mean-spirited, particularly in light of the deal that was done between the State Government and the Mickelbergs."

Opposition spokesman and lawyer John Quigley said his Liberal counterpart, current Attorney General Michael Mischin, should put an end to the brothers' ordeal once and for all.

"Obviously he'd be biased because he spent so much of his time as a lawyer keeping the Mickelbergs wrongfully imprisoned - on instruction of course - and he should come out and stop this," Mr Quigley told Nine News.

Legal Aid said the Attorney General did not influence its decision to pursue the Mickelbergs because its independence as a statutory authority was "necessary to avoid any conflict with a role which includes providing legal representation for persons who are being prosecuted by the state".

When you consider other ex-gratia payments the State has made to victims of police corruption, you can understand why the Mickelbergs should be livid at this latest action against them.

Andrew Mallard was wrongfully convicted of the 1995 murder of Pamela Lawrence after police withheld vital information from his defence team. He received an ex-gratia payment of $3.25 million from the State in 2009 after losing 12 years of his life behind bars. WAtoday understands Mr Mallard used Legal Aid to help clear his name and was not required to repay it.

Prominent barrister Lloyd Rayney also has a Legal Aid debt of $2 million but was not required to repay it after he was named the "prime and only suspect" in his estranged wife Corryn's 2007 murder, of which he was cleared after a high-profile trial in 2012.

Darryl Beamish ($425,00 for 15 years' jail) and John Button ($460,000 for five years' jail) are other victims of corruption who received ex-gratia payments from the State.

"The terms we made in 2008 with Mr McGinty were that if you don't pursue us, we won't pursue you," Peter Mickelberg said.

"We were preparing to sue the State but they said 'take the $500,000 and we will leave it there'."

Mickelbergs appeal to public for justice

One of Peter's daughters recently set up a Facebook page - Justice for the Mickelbergs - after they learned about the writ against Ray. She hopes crowdfunding will help her father and brother defend the Legal Aid action and avoid Ray Mickelberg losing the family home.

"Your generosity and support is giving Ray and Peter strength to keep up the fight in what is a tough time for both them and their families," the Facebook page says.

On the public appeal on social media, Peter Mickelberg told WAtoday:

"It's totally transparent. It is our intention that if associated costs needed to utilise this are no longer required, we intend to return all the money. "



$1m for brothers framed in 1982 Perth Mint Swindle

The Sunday Times - January 15, 2008

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/m-compo-for-framed-brothers/news-story/1a6afd18675499dd5ce8264e93833ab0

THREE brothers who were wrongfully jailed for the 1982 Perth Mint Swindle will get $1 million because police lies and fake evidence framed them.

Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were framed by police and convicted in 1983 for defrauding the mint of $653,000 in gold bullion in exchange for worthless cheques, the WA attorney-general says.

The convictions of Ray and Peter were quashed in 2004 after they had served eight years and six years respectively behind bars over the scam.

Brian, who died in a light plane crash in 1986 after serving nine months in jail, also had his conviction quashed.

Today, WA Attorney-General Jim McGinty said the state would give Ray and Peter $1 million in ex gratia payments related to their acquittal by the Court of Criminal Appeal in July 2004.

"The brothers will receive $500,000 each, which is in addition to the $658,672 they have already received to pay for legal representation during their appeals in 1998 and 2004," Mr McGinty said.

"The aim of an ex gratia payment is to provide some recognition for the injustice that has been done, without attempting to provide full compensation.

"There is no legal entitlement to ex gratia compensation and there must be special or extraordinary circumstances before an ex gratia payment will be considered.

"Former Detective Tony Lewandowski admitted that police had fabricated statements and committed perjury which resulted in the jailing of the Mickelberg brothers.

"What the police officers were found to have done, can only be described as a perversion of the system of justice of the worst kind.

"No amount of money could ever compensate the Mickelbergs for the treatment they have received within the justice system."

Moments after the West Australian Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the convictions on July 2, 2004, then assistant police commissioner Mal Hay expressed his disappointment at the decision, still blaming the brothers.

Last year, WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan apologised to Ray and Peter as part of a confidential defamation settlement over those statements that was reached between the brothers and the state government.

Mr McGinty said the Mickelberg brothers want more substantial compensation - but this would not happen.

The attorney-general said the brothers were free to pursue civil claims against other individuals who were involved in the investigation of their case.



The knots in the Mickelberg stitch

https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-knots-in-the-mickelberg-stitch-20020612-gduakf.html

The Age - Melbourne- Australia

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.


The Perth Mint Swindle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Mint_Swindle.

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). As of 8 January 2018, the value of the 68 kilograms of gold would approach AUD $3.7 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.

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.[1] 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".[2] 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-engined Aero Commander he was flying ran out of fuel near Canning Dam on the outskirts of Perth.[3] 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 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.[4]

Police Officers

Don Hancock

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). Hancock and a friend, Lou Lewis, died in a bomb explosion outside Hancock's home in Lathlain in September 2001. Hancock was murdered by Gypsy Joker Sid Reid in revenge for the murder of Billy Grierson, allegedly by Hancock after Grierson "made obscene comments in front of his daughter." A subsequent (2003) prosecution of an alleged accomplice was unsuccessful.[5]

At the 2006 inquest into the October 2000 shooting death Billy Grierson, the coroner stated: "There is a significant body of evidence which suggests Mr Hancock may have been the shooter," but the Gypsy Jokers "could have a large number of enemies." he was unable to determine who Grierson's killer was because Hancock was now dead, police had failed to conduct routine forensic science tests and had failed to search Hancock's home. The relevant senior investigating officer was Kim Gage, head of Kalgoorlie detectives, who had reportedly spent the day drinking with Hancock and others.[5] Reid was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in jail[6] which was reduced to 15 years for helping police in the failed second prosecution.[5]

Tony Lewandowski

In 2002, midway through a State Royal Commission into police corruption, a retired police officer, Tony Lewandowski, who had been at the centre of the case, 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. The two were the only people present at the brothers' interviews following the Mickelberg arrests.[7]

"(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 so-called confessions was false." —Statement of Tony Lewandowski

Lewandowski was subsequently charged with attempting to pervert the course of justicemaking false statements, fabricating evidence and perjury.[7] In May 2004, just before facing trial, Lewandowski apparently committed suicide,[8] Although now dead, Lewandowski's confession directly implicated Hancock in fabricating evidence in the Mickelberg case.[9]

Convictions quashed

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.[10]

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".[11] 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.[12]

Books About the Great Perth Mint Swindle

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.[13] 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 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[14] 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,[15][16] at about the same time that Antonio Buti wrote on the subject[17][18]

References

1. ^ "MICKELBERG v. THE QUEEN [1989] HCA 35, opinion of Deane, J., Para 33"High Court of Australia Appeal. Retrieved 9 February 2015.

2. ^ "Mickelbergs sue policeman"ABC 7:30 Report. Retrieved 23 November 2009.

3. ^ "Mickelberg Dies"Sydney Morning Herald. 28 February 1986. Retrieved 23 November 2009.

4. ^ Liza Kappelle (11 June 2002). "Mint robbers were framed"Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2010.

5. Jump up to:a b c Marks, Kathy (30 October 2013). "Biker gang chief cleared in police murder case"The Independent. Retrieved 10 February 2015.

6. ^ "Gypsy Joker sniper shooting mystery"Sydney Morning Herald. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2015.

7. Jump up to:a b "Mint swindle officer seized"Sydney Morning Herald. 3 October 2002. Retrieved 7 September 2005.

8. ^ "Mickelberg brothers find unlikely ally"ABC 7:30 Report. 18 January 2008.

9. ^ "Don Hancock and the Perth Mint Swindle"MelbourneCrime. Archived from the original on 3 September 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2005.

10. ^ "Police apologise to Mickelberg brothers"www.ninemsn.com.au. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007.

11. ^ "Mickelberg payment satisfies neither brothers nor police"thewest.com.au. 16 January 2008. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. Retrieved 17 February2009.

12. ^ ABC News online Micklebergs cleared over Perth Mint swindle

13. ^ "This time, the stitch is by Lovell"Post Newspapers. Archived from the original on 16 August 2002. Retrieved 7 September 2005.

14. ^ Lovell, Avon (1990), Split image : international mystery of the Mickelberg affair, Creative Research, ISBN 978-0-908469-24-6

15. ^ Lovell, Avon (2010), Litany of lies : a true story of gold heists, bombings, feral cops, greed, murder & revenge, bookscope.com.au, ISBN 978-0-9808715-0-0

16. ^ See the blog overview of the book launch - http://blog.elizabethsbookshop.com.au/?p=311

17. ^ Buti, Antonio (2011), Brothers : justice, corruption and the Mickelbergs, Fremantle Press, ISBN 978-1-921888-47-2

18. ^ Sheehan, Kate (13 January 2012), "Buti, Antonio. Brothers: Justice, Corruption and the Mickelbergs.(Brief article)(Book review)"Xpress Reviews, Library Journals, LLC, retrieved 9 October 2016

19. ^ IMDb, 2012, The Great Gold Swindle (1984) TV. (30 March 2012)

20. ^ IMDb, 2012, The Great Gold Swindle (1984) TV – Release Dates. (30 March 2012)

21. ^ "Going for gold with Perth crime saga The Great Mint Swindle"The Australian. 3 March 2012.

22. ^ http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/13123839/the-great-mint-swindle/

23. ^ IMDb, 2012, Caroline McKenzie (I) (30 March 2012)



Justice for the framed and shamed

By Michael Idato

March 8, 2012 

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/justice-for-the-framed-and-shamed-20120307-1uivt.html

Show of the week: The Great Mint Swindle, Channel Nine, Sunday, 8.30pm


The wrongly convicted Mickelberg brothers (from left). Brian (Josh Quong Tart), Ray (Grant Bowler) and Peter (Todd Lasance).

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.''

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