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Timeline December 2007
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Wren family feuds
(The Age)
December 27, 2007

John Wren, the infamous tote king of Collingwood in the 1890s, is one of Melbourne's most enduring rogue-heroes. But even he would probably be stunned at the feud that is tearing apart the family's third generation.

Two weeks ago one of Wren's grand-daughters, Susan Wardlaw, died of cancer in Malvern's Cabrini Hospital. Her husband, Greg Wardlaw, says Susan's two brothers, John Wren jnr and Michael Wren, claimed the body and buried her privately without notifying him. "I am the next of kin," he told The Age. "They had no right to do that. I still don't know where my wife is buried."

Mr Wardlaw, the son of the late Sir Henry Wardlaw, also has terminal cancer and has been in Calvary Healthcare Bethlehem in Caulfield for the past three weeks.

Mr Wardlaw said the Wren brothers had changed the locks on the Wren-owned house where he and Susan had lived in Hawthorn. They had sent a demand that his belongings were to be moved within 24hours. "I am in hospital," Mr Wardlaw said. "I told them it was not possible. They have since emptied the house. I don't know where the stuff has gone."

Asked about these claims yesterday, John Wren jnr said he had no comment, but another Wren grand-daughter, Jenny Kurg, said the aftermath of Susan Wardlaw's death had been "just horrible". Ms Kurg cut off communication with the Wren clan in 2004 after publication of the book John Wren: A Life Reconsidered, which she says was written at the behest of the Wrens to clear John Wren snr's name.

The book made adverse comments about her mother, Nora. On page 22 it says that Jenny Kurg's father, Anthony Wren, died in 1945 "after falling from his bedroom window onto the sandstone path below … Letters from his widow, Nora, to his brothers reveal some 'transgression' by her and probably him which caused his parents at least to snub her — so that the only provision in their wills for her was indirectly through her children."

Eight years after Anthony Wren died (believed to be suicide) his son Anthony jnr, a 20-year-old poet, died after falling from a cliff near Hobart. Jenny Kurg says that also was suicide.

Ms Kurg said she had previously had a close relationship with Susan, her cousin. "I used to see a lot of her but after the publication of that book I really didn't want anything to do with any living members of my father's family. My mother's reputation was damaged irrevocably and I know why and I think it is appalling. I decided there and then I did not want to see them. I have sent Greg a card and we have had quite a long talk."

Greg Wardlaw said the friction began 18 years ago when he married Susan. "Her two brothers were against the marriage from the start. It's all about money. They (told her) I was a scoundrel and all I wanted was the money, but all they wanted was the inheritance from their father. They had been very happy that she was in her 40s and never married.

"It was: 'Hell, we've got to stop this.' For 18 years I put up with it. My wife was afraid of them. They took her aside and told her all this rubbish. They got a private detective to follow me. He got evidence from my ex-wife and a guy I sacked.

"They were always getting her to sign things. Eventually she signed everything (over) to them. When she was in hospital over the past four years John Wren (jnr) would go and see her privately, never with me there, and she would ring me up with hysterical phone calls: 'You're no good, you're a bum.' Then it would all calm down."

Susan and her brothers are the children of John Francis Wren, son of the original notorious John Wren who built a business empire from his illegal Collingwood tote. John Wren, who died in 1953, was parodied in the 1950 Frank Hardy novel Power without Glory for which Hardy was tried (unsuccessfully) in 1951 for criminal libel.

James Griffin's A Life Reconsidered counters the portrayal of "John West" (aka Wren) as a racketeer, saying that "while John Wren was no saint, he was fair in his business dealings, a committed social democrat of a conservative hue, puritanical in his personal habits and relationships and a genuine philanthropist".

Griffin's book brands author Frank Hardy a "literary hoodlum" and — ironically, considering the current claims about the Wrens — says that the brothers of Frank Hardy's mother, Winifred, "had opposed her marriage" to Hardy's father, Tom.

Jenny Kurg said: "I got a very annoying letter from John Wren (jnr) early this month telling me that Sue was close to death and I owed it to her to go and visit. I wrote a reply saying I would not go because of what had happened to my mother.

"I liked Sue very much and knew how much Greg meant to her but the brothers did not care for him and had no contact. It was pretty horrible. But as Greg said, she played bridge and we are quite sure her bridge friends will get together and have a wake."

A great Xmas gift idea! December 24, 2007 A popular way of giving Christmas gifts over the last few years has been to burn a selection of your favourite songs on to a CD and give them to your mates. It has also become customary to do a professional job and print up the covers and the discs themselves. This year, a man linked to several notorious identities has made a beauty and circulated copies to his varied group of friends. They're stoked too. Not just because of the great music but also because of the babe he has put on the cover. Yep...Zarah Garde-Wilson. Merry Christmas all!

Taskforce examines Melbourne mafia (The Age)
December 24, 2007

The Purana gangland taskforce has launched a long-term investigation into Italian organised crime, including several unsolved murders.

Detectives are looking into five "hits" they suspect may have been ordered by leading Italian-Australian gangsters. These include the murders of Vince Mannella, his brother Gerardo, Joe Quadara, Frank Benvenuto and Victor Peirce.

The cases have been officially switched from the homicide squad to Purana.

The first phase for the taskforce was to concentrate on the murders ordered by drug dealer Carl Williams. Williams was earlier this year sentenced to 35 years' jail for the murders of Jason Moran, Michael Marshall, Lewis Moran and Mark Mallia.

The second Purana phase was to investigate Tony Mokbel's drug syndicate, uncover his hidden financial network, and find him. On June 5 this year Mokbel was arrested in Greece and charged with two murders and a string of drug offences. He is expected to be extradited by mid-next year.

Detective Superintendent Richard Grant said Purana would take on new targets next year. He said intelligence files were being checked to identify a new crime ring that required long-term investigation.

Meanwhile, homicide investigators have found that a hitman who worked for Williams also worked for Italian gangsters. Andrew "Benji" Veniamin was considered to be Williams' loyal lieutenant, but police now believe he carried out three contract killings for Italian gangsters before Williams recruited him.

They believe his first known victim was Joe Quadara, and he remains the suspect for the murders of Frank Benvenuto and Victor Peirce.

Police suspect Veniamin was the gunman in seven underworld murders. They say he shot dead Dino Dibra, on October 14, 2000, Paul Kallipolitis, whose body was found on October 25, 2002, and was the main suspect in the murder of standover man Nik Radev, who was shot dead on April 15, 2003. Radev had an appointment to see Veniamin on the morning he was murdered, and was also part of the torture team that grabbed and killed Mark Mallia in August 2003.

Police say that both Peirce and Veniamin worked for Benvenuto at different times when the apparently respectable businessman felt the need to intimidate enemies at the wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

Veniamin was shot dead by a Melbourne identity, Mick Gatto, on March 23, 2004 in a Carlton restaurant. Gatto was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defence.

Purana detectives working on the Italian murders have arrested a man they allege was the driver when Veniamin ambushed Peirce in Bay Street, Port Melbourne.

Purana eyes Mokbel's millions
(The Age)
December 24, 2007

The Purana gangland taskforce will begin investigating a new set of crime figures in the new year after it has successfully dismantled much of Tony Mokbel's drug syndicate.

But police say Mokbel, who was arrested in Athens in June and continues to fight his extradition, still has secret sources of income that fund his legal team in Greece.

Detective Superintendent Richard Grant (crime strategy group) said that while the Mokbel syndicate had been smashed, splinter groups continue to operate.

"We would not say it has collapsed but it is collapsing. These people do not give up. They are very resilient. There is so much money to be made that they continue to operate even when they are under investigation," he said.

Detective Superintendent Grant said while work continued on preparing for a series of Mokbel-related court hearings, the taskforce was set to launch a series of fresh investigations into new targets. He said any future investigations would use the same methods developed by Purana and would involve other enforcement bodies, including the Australian Crime Commission and the Taxation Department. While taskforce policing was expensive and drains resources, Detective Superintendent Grant said a joint study by Victoria Police, the ACC and Macquarie University showed Purana more than paid its way.

The joint study found Purana Phase One — which investigated underworld murders — cost $11.3 million but returned $60.5 million. Detectives seized drugs valued at $300,000, proceeds of crime ($2.5 million) and closed five commercial amphetamine labs. The disruption of crime by the arrests of the major players is estimated to have saved $57.7 million.

"The closing of clandestine labs resulted in drugs not hitting the street and as a consequence there were substantial savings to the community and health services through harm avoided," he said. The study estimated the disruption of drug production for 12 months resulted in a return on investment of 536%. Detective Superintendent Grant said the State Government had committed $92 million over six years to fight organised crime and police had to provide a business model to show that the money was used efficiently.

Purana phase one was the highest priority investigation in Victoria and virtually monopolised the police electronic and physical surveillance capacity — bugging 500,000 telephone conversations, taping 53,000 hours of conversations with secret listening devices and conducting 22,000 hours of physical surveillance. As a result, 58 offenders were charged with 298 offences and six key underworld figures became prosecution witnesses.

Buckley sues Herald Sun
(The Age)
December 22, 2007

Peter Sean Buckley seeks more than $2 million damages in a defamation action over Herald Sun articles linking him with drug fugitive Tony Mokbel.

Mr Buckley, proprietor of the car service company UltraTune and majority owner of champion sprinter Miss Andretti, said yesterday that he was wrongly accused of having a fraud conviction, and a criminal association with Mokbel.

"I don't know him well at all. I never went to his birthday parties, I never went to his house," Mr Buckley said outside the Supreme Court.

When asked about allegations of criminal involvement with Mokbel, Mr Buckley replied: "It's just so untrue it's not funny. To say this man was getting large sums of money off me — $1 million cash — is just fanciful."

A writ lodged at the court yesterday alleges that four articles, published in the newspaper and on its website, injured Mr Buckley's reputation as a businessman and racing identity.

The writ alleged that the first article, published on December 5, suggested Mr Buckley was criminally involved with Tony Mokbel, and secretly paid him $1 million cash. It defamed Mr Buckley by suggesting he acted as a commercial thug, was a close friend of Mokbel and acted as a "stooge" for Mokbel's ownership of Miss Andretti, and concealed illicit and illegal payments to him through false contracts, it said.

Mr Buckley has claimed $250,000, plus indexation, in general damages for each article, and more than $1 million special damages. He also seeks unlimited aggravated damages, in part because it it alleged the Herald and Weekly Times and journalist Russell Robinson knew that meanings resulting from the stories were untrue, or were reckless about the truth of them.

It was also alleged Mr Buckley's lawyers wrote to the publisher and journalist that the main gist of the articles was false.

"The defendants chose to publicise the identity of (Mr Buckley) in reference to Tony Mokbel in order to sensationalise the story by reference to their association," the writ said.

Herald Sun editor-in-chief Bruce Guthrie said the newspaper stood by its reports. "Any legal proceedings (will) be defended vigorously," he said.

The writ seeks a trial by judge and jury. A directions hearing is scheduled for March 3 next year.

Strawhorn loses super
(Herald Sun)
December 21, 2007

A corrupt detective who was jailed for selling drugs has been ordered to forfeit $68,000 of the superannuation he accrued while working in the force.

Strawhorn had been a member of the police force for more than 25 years when he was arrested and charged in March 2003.

The Supreme Court heard he used his position as head of the drug squad's chemical diversion program to traffic 2kg of drugs to Moran for $12,000 in May 2000.

A jury found him guilty of trafficking a commercial quantity of pseudoephedrine.

Prosecutors made an application before the Supreme Court for Strawhorn's sentence to include a "fine" made up of his superannuation.

The penalty is designed as an extra punishment for people who have abused their position in public office.

Justice David Habersberger today ruled Strawhorn should pay $68,000 - the portion of his superannuation contributed by his employer between the time of his offending and his arrest.

He said he took into account that Strawhorn had significant debts, a teenage daughter to support, had not earned an income since 2003 and would find it difficult to work and support himself upon his release.

Justice Habersberger said he also considered that for the large portion of his career Strawhorn was a respected and decorated policeman.

Buckley's chance with Mokbel
(Herald Sun)
December 21, 2007

At first glance, the three men sitting in the Fitzroy cafe would not have attracted undue attention from passers-by. After all, they were middle-aged, neatly dressed and clearly enjoying the conviviality of their own company.

What's more, they'd been meeting regularly for some time. But keen observers would have noted that the men were rarely alone.

There would always be someone standing in the door, usually with heavily tattooed arms, who kept a silent vigil, alert to any unfamiliar or sudden movements.

What's more, they would've seen the black Mercedes, with the tinted windows, parked a few doors up Victoria Parade in a no-standing zone. The engine would often be left running.

To these men security was paramount, even down to the use of mobile telephones.

When the men met, the phones would be placed on the table and then stripped of their batteries.

To those who ventured closer to the corner table at the Tuscany Terrace Cafe the purpose of the meetings would become more apparent once the identity of one of the men became known.

It was Antonios Sahij Mokbel, a notorious drug trafficker and underworld identity -- a man to be feared.

The other man was Peter Sean Buckley, the multi-millionaire owner of the UltraTune car-care chain and high-profile racehorse owner. And the third member was a man known as David, a manager at Mr Buckley's hair restoration empire, Ultra Hair Studios.

When the lunches concluded, the mobile phones were reassembled, and Mr Buckley settled the bill.

"Sean always paid, and he'd always put it on the company account," a former employee told the Herald Sun this week.

"Tony would come to the studio almost always weekly, and if it wasn't weekly it'd be once a fortnight or twice every three weeks. That's how it always happened. Tony would arrive and say 'Hi' to the girls, give them a racing tip, then go upstairs with Sean. They'd shut the door. Sometimes David would be with them.

"After a while they'd come down and then go to the cafe, two doors up. Everyone saw them. It was no secret, and Buckley would always brag to everyone how he and Mokbel were good mates."

Another source told the Herald Sun the three men preferred to sit inside the cafe, in a corner, with Mokbel facing the window.

"He'd always have a bodyguard who'd stand off from the group, always in the doorway. The guards were never the same," the source said. "The phones were Mokbel's idea. He had it in his head that the feds (police) could monitor their conversations even with the phones turned off.

Last week, the Herald Sun revealed that Mokbel, while on bail at the time over serious drug charges, regularly went to the Ultra Hair Fitzroy Studio, where the car-care king had his office.

The drug tsar would be handed cash amounts ranging from $15,000 to $25,000, and sometimes $50,000, which were collected from one of the UltraTune outlets owned by Mr Buckley.

SOURCES estimate that about $1 million was handed over.

The cash was often collected by prostitutes -- two of them of went by the names Cassie and Gambol -- who would take it to UltraTune's Box Hill headquarters. The money was the transported by a trusted employee to Fitzroy.

Sources have told the Herald Sun the cash was never counted by Mokbel and receipts were never given. As well, in a ruse to hide his association with Mokbel, Mr Buckley personally arranged for a bogus laser hair contract to be drawn up.

A former studio worker explained it this way: "Mokbel came in one day and Buckley asked for a laser contract to be filled in with Mokbel's signature.

"He said, 'Make sure Tony signs it, and don't take any money off him'.

"When asked why, he said: 'Just in case the feds come in asking questions.'

"Mokbel never had any treatment. He wasn't even interested in a wig. He'd say, 'No way, mate. I'm not interested. I don't want that s--t on my head'.

"He just didn't like it."

Sean Buckley, owner of the glamour international sprinter Miss Andretti, denies having had any association with Mokbel, and has threatened this newspaper with legal action.

In a recent interview on Channel 9's A Current Affair, he said the cash payments involved a farm he claimed to have inadvertently bought from Mokbel.

Mr Buckley maintains he chanced upon the Kilmore farm not knowing it was Mokbel's and it was part of a seizure of assets.

The farm was included in an estimated $20 million in assets frozen in 2001, after his arrest in Victoria's biggest drug operation.

"It was pursuant to a lease agreement that the lawyers, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the bank negotiated, where I paid him to lease the property until the property I'd purchased was settled," Mr Buckley said.

Asked why he'd paid in cash and not used bank transfers, Mr Buckley said that that was what Mokbel wanted, and claimed the transactions had been approved by the DPP.

He claimed the sale contract was specific: the cash was to be personally collected by Mokbel. "That's the way he wanted it, and the contract was specific," he said.

Mr Buckley paid $1 million for the horse farm, but according to his former associates it was worth three times as much.

The sale was signed off by the DPP's office.

The Herald Sun has asked the DPP if Mr Buckley's -- claim that it had approved unaccounted-for cash payments to a convicted criminal on bail awaiting trial on drugs charges -- was true.

The DPP will not comment.

Mr Buckley, a discharged bankrupt, also denies he regularly lunched with Mokbel.

On television last week he claimed: "I did have a cup of coffee and a sandwich one day with him."

But the Herald Sun has been told the two would also breakfast together in a Malvern restaurant.

Sources estimate the pair lunched more than 20 times in the Victoria Parade cafe.

"Mokbel would have toasted cheese-and-tomato sandwiches, while Buckley would have tuna salad -- finished with either a pink or a pineapple doughnut," a source said.

Mr Buckley also claims his association with Mokbel was based on coincidences, from the Kilmore farm to the luxury apartments he and the drug tsar owned in the same Southbank building.

Mokbel's unit was the two-level penthouse directly above his.

The Herald Sun reported that Mokbel had extensive use of Mr Buckley's apartment, as well as his Gold Coast holiday pad.

Mr Buckley denies this, and last week on television stated that Mokbel had his apartment "well before me, and I didn't know him at the time I bought my apartment".

Property searches reveal that Mr Buckley, through UltraTune Australia Pty Ltd, bought unit 2501 in the Century Tower, in December 2002.

The Herald Sun was told during their association from 2004 to 2006, Mr Buckley told staff Mokbel had purchased an apartment in his block.

"I remember Buckley telling everyone: 'Tony's bought the apartment above me. We're going to be neighbours'," a source said.

"He bragged about introducing Mokbel to the former owners."

The controversial car-care tycoon has trod a rocky path to his present corporate success, leaving in his wake many sworn enemies, despair and broken lives.

UntraTune Systems Australia was predominantly owned by about 120 franchisees, owned by about 20 shareholders. There was not much business expertise.

It was suggested for the business to survive the board needed real firepower.

Sean Buckley's father, Peter, ended up as chairman. A key recommendation was to sell the shareholdings to give the operation more commercial muscle.

After a number of failed attempts to float the business, it was sold for $450,000 to a company controlled by two sisters.

One of them was Sean Buckley's de facto wife.

AFTER that the original company was placed into voluntary administration, then into liquidation in December, 1994.

The liquidators alleged the business was worth $3 million more than its sale price, stating it was essentially sold for nothing.

They took legal action alleging the business was sold for under value, and the process involved an allegedly undisclosed related party transaction.

It became a series of major Supreme Court battles, in Victoria and in New South Wales.

There were also allegations of the use of company funds on prostitutes, bugged meetings and threatening phone calls.

But the Supreme Court ruled that it had been an arm's-length sale, and that the company had poor earnings.

Mullett sues Nixon
(Herald Sun)
December 21, 2007

Suspended police union boss Paul Mullett is suing Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon in a dramatic escalation of their power struggle.

A Federal Court writ issued late yesterday aims to force Ms Nixon into the witness box to answer accusations of interference in the affairs of the Police Association.

The Police Association and the Police Federation of Australia have sued Ms Nixon and the State of Victoria under freedom of association provisions of the Workplace Relations Act.

They claim Ms Nixon acted unlawfully by suspending Sen-Sgt Mullett as a police officer because of his activities as a union official.

The writ seeks the imposition of a financial penalty on Ms Nixon for breaching the Act, a declaration that Sen-Sgt Mullett's suspension was invalid and an injunction restraining Ms Nixon and the state from giving effect to his suspension.

Sen-Sgt Mullett said the legal action against Ms Nixon was "the maritime union dispute all over again".

In 1998, the Maritime Union of Australia successfully took action against Patrick Stevedores under the same section of the Act over the sacking of workers during the waterfront dispute.

A spokeswoman for Ms Nixon said she was seeking legal advice on an application to have the matter struck out.

"The decision to suspend Mr Mullett was based entirely on his position as a member of Victoria Police, and had nothing whatsoever to do with his position as secretary of the Police Association," the spokeswoman said.

Sen-Sgt Mullett was barred from police buildings throughout the state when he was suspended on full pay after giving evidence at an Office of Police Integrity hearing last month.

Premier John Brumby has also directed that no one in government deal with Sen-Sgt Mullett.

It was alleged during the OPI hearing that Sen-Sgt Mullett thwarted a secret murder probe by tipping off a detective, who was a union delegate, that he was a suspect in the underworld killing.

He was also accused of breaking the law by discussing telephone taps and a confidential OPI hearing.

When asked yesterday if he expected to be charged, Sen-Sgt Mullett said: "I've done nothing wrong."

"The only crime Brian Rix (the association's president) and I have committed -- and we don't apologise for it -- is we've been too passionate in representing our members," he said.

Sen-Sgt Mullett and Insp Rix are among five people who have been formally warned they are likely to have adverse findings made against them when an OPI report goes to parliament next February.

Former assistant commissioner Noel Ashby, police media director Stephen Linnell and media liaison chief Insp Glenn Weir also face adverse findings and possible criminal charges.

Mr Ashby and Mr Linnell resigned after the OPI hearing, while Insp Weir and Sen-Sgt Mullett were suspended on full pay.

The Police Association's writ was issued by law firm Slater & Gordon and served on a representative of Ms Nixon late yesterday at the Victoria Police Centre.

The statement of claim alleges Sen-Sgt Mullett's employment has been injured or prejudiced because:

HIS standing and reputation among members of the force is damaged.

HE is restricted in his access to police premises.

HE is restricted in his dealings with members of force command.

The writ outlines a list of industrial disputes involving the association and Ms Nixon and details of the association's internal political conflict.

It also criticises Ms Nixon's role in the investigation of bullying allegations against Sen-Sgt Mullett.

The legal action, which is being funded by the association, is listed for a preliminary hearing in the Federal Court on February 8.

Sen-Sgt Mullett has been on secondment to the Police Association for the past 15 years as assistant secretary, then secretary. He is paid by the association, not the force, but retains his rank.

Sworn members of the force will no longer be able to work for the Police Association under laws to be introduced next year.

Lindstrom in plea deal
(Herald Sun)
December 20, 2007

Swedish-born waiter and socialite Charlotte Lindstrom has admitted soliciting the murder of a witness in her boyfriend's drugs trial.

But the 23-year-old will only be sentenced on one charge, after the Director of Public Prosecutions agreed to a plea bargain.

Lindstrom yesterday faced Sydney's Central Local Court on five charges, including two each of soliciting and conspiring to murder Crown witnesses.

She was accused of offering $200,000 to an undercover policeman to kill two men who were scheduled to give evidence against her boyfriend, Steven Spaliviero, in the NSW District Court.

Lindstrom allegedly told the operative that Mr Spaliviero wanted the men in the "cemetery", and that it should be made to look like a botched armed robbery.

Lindstrom handed over information, including handwritten descriptions of the men, as well as a photograph with their faces circled, and a map of the location where they were to be killed.

She also promised a $10,000 deposit, police said.

But Lindstrom yesterday pleaded guilty to just one count of soliciting to murder.

Her lawyer, Philip Stewart, said the plea was the result of discussions with the DPP.

She will have served nine months by her expected February 2008 sentence date.

Lindstrom would also give evidence against Mr Spaliviero and other co-accused, Mr Stewart said.

This, along with her strict protective custody conditions, would be taken into account in sentencing, he said.

Lindstrom, who appeared yesterday via video-link, said "thank you" as magistrate Allan Moore committed her to the NSW Supreme Court to affirm her plea on Friday.

Mokbel down to last hope to avoid extradition
(Herald Sun)
December 14, 2007

Drug lord Tony Mokbel has lost his last bid under Australian law to avoid extradition from Greece.

The High Court refused to grant Mokbel leave to appeal against an earlier judgment that his extradition papers were legal.

The ruling means his final chance to avoid being returned to Australia is in the hands of Greece's Supreme Court.

Outside court Mokbel's lawyer, Mirko Bagaric, acknowledged his client was running out of options.

Mr Bagaric said the case was due back in the Greek Supreme Court on March 4 but there was no guarantee it would proceed on that date.

He said it would be the middle of next year at the earliest before authorities could return him to Australia.

Mokbel's High Court challenge was based on a claim his extradition papers were invalid because then Justice Minister David Johnston signed them, not then Attorney-General Philip Ruddock.

Justices Michael Kirby and Susan Crennan rejected his arguments, saying Parliament envisaged any relevant minister being able to sign.

Mokbel, 42, was on bail when he fled Melbourne last year during a drug trial.

He was sentenced in his absence to a minimum of nine years in jail.

Mokbel faces 20 new charges if he is extradited, including two of murder.

The High Court ordered him to pay the Commonwealth's legal costs, which are expected to be substantial.

Samsonidis gets life in Greece
(Herald Sun)
December 14, 2007

Dimitros "Jimmy" Samsonidis has been referred to in the press as an underworld heavyweight.

Although born in Greece, he spent most of his adult life in Melbourne and was jailed in Victoria for manslaughter in the 1970s.

Police intelligence files list Samsonidis as one of Australia's most prolific heroin dealers during the late 1980s.

He allegedly used to own Carlton's Woolpack Hotel.

Samsonidis was a close associate of drug gang patriarch Lewis Moran, his son Jason and stepson Mark and also had many illegal dealings with convicted cocaine smuggler Tony Mokbel.

Police received intelligence several years ago that he helped teach Mokbel the art of turning various chemicals into speed and speed tablets.

Ironically, Samsonidis is now in the same high security Athens prison as Mokbel.

In March 2006 an undercover US DEA officer posing as a drug dealer made contact with Samsonidis.

They struck a deal whereby Samsonidis would give the undercover officer 400,000 ecstasy tablets in exchange for a tonne of ephedrine, a precursor chemical used in the manufacture of amphetamine-type substances.

Samsonidis had intended shipping the tonne of ephedrine to Melbourne, where it would have been turned into ice and an estimated 80 million speed tablets.

He planned to replace the murdered Moran drug family as Melbourne's Mr Big of speed.

The Samsonidis gang had already imported the first 100,000 of the 400,000 ecstasy tablets from Amsterdam and was negotiating with the undercover DEA agent to swap them for the first 250kg of ephedrine.

The agent was given 10 of the ecstasy tablets, which bore a shark logo, so he could test them for quality.

Samsonidis had made a trip back to Melbourne at the time the negotiations with the undercover American agent were coming to conclusion.

Another gang member was given a sample of the ephedrine to test and reported back to the DEA agent that it was "bloody good".

Skouras rang Samsonidis from Greece on March 2, 2006, very soon after obtaining the ephedrine sample.

AFP bugs secretly recorded the pair.

"I have good news. I have 1000 in my hands from the Americans and I am telling you this so that you can do what have to on your side," Skouras told Samsonidis.

Samsonidis replied that he would set things in place in Australia and then come to Greece. He flew to Athens soon afterwards.

By May the joint operation had gathered enough evidence to arrest Samsonidis and two of his associates.

Samsonidis and former Sydney drug dealer Konstantinos Skouras were allegedly running the company in charge of reviewing security at Greece's largest port at the time of their arrest in May 2006.

This gave them intimate knowledge of how to get around security measures at the port of Piraeus, from where the drugs were to be shipped.

DEA agent John Livanis said Samsonidis and Skouras were principals of the global drug gang.

He said the DEA and the AFP had jointly investigated Samsonidis since 2005 after receiving information about his drug dealing and money laundering.

"The information was about a network that was trafficking various kinds of drugs, based in Greece, but was in Australia in various places, in Western Europe, but also in Latin America," Mr Livanis said.

He said the investigation established that Samsonidis, Skouras and Stathopoulos were the heads of the network and that all three had extensive police records relating to drug trafficking and violence.

"During this time I met individuals from the Australian authorities in Athens who informed me they had information that Samsonidis and his network were preparing, or had prepared, a factory in Australia for the production of synthetic drugs such as amphetamines and methamphetamines," Mr Livanis said.

Samsonidis had been living the high-life in the Athens seaside resort of Lagonisi.

Greek police seized a Porsche Cayenne and property and cash worth millions of dollars from him.

When police raided Samsonidis' mansion they found a sub-machinegun, a pistol and a large amount of ammunition.

"It was a superb example of the AFP's willingness to take the fight against drugs offshore," AFP assistant commissioner Tim Morris told the Herald Sun.

"By co-operating with the DEA and Hellenic Police we have dismantled a major syndicate which was responsible for smuggling, and planning to smuggle, huge amounts of drugs around the world.

"A lot of those drugs were destined to come to Australia. This operation stopped that."

While the AFP was concentrating its efforts on the gang's money laundering, the DEA and Greek police were setting up a sting operation in relation to its drug dealing.

In November 2007 Samsonidis, then 53, was jailed for life in Athens over a plot to push ice and speed worth $4 billion on to Melbourne's streets.

In the same month the Greek Supreme Court ordered an investigation into how Samsonidis and Skouras' company, European Security, was given the government contract to review port security.

Samsonidis was nabbed in while attempting to smuggle a tonne of ephedrine into Australia.

He was in the process of setting up a factory in Melbourne to turn the ephedrine into the deadly drug ice and an estimated 80 million speed tablets.

Also given life sentences were gang members Skouras, 56, and Andreas Stathopoulos, 55, who has also spent time in Australia.

The jailing of Samsonidis enabled the Herald Sun to reveal details for the first time of his grandiose scheme to become Australia's new "Mr Big" of speed tablets.

A three-year investigation by Australian Federal Police, the US Drug Enforcement Administration and Greek police foiled Samsonidis' plan to flood Australia with amphetamine products.

It also smashed an international syndicate that was operating out of Greece and sending drugs to Australia, Latin America and several European countries.

The Greek Supreme Court is examining the role of a former Greek MP who used to be married to Skouras' sister and is now managing director of European Security.

Samsonidis was brought down by a lowly Greek clerk who became suspicious about the high number of similar money transfers from Australia.

They were all for amounts just under $10,000.

That's the amount at which transactions have to be reported to Austrac, Australia's financial intelligence unit.

The Greek bank worker thought the sheer volume of transfers for just under the $10,000 mark warranted investigation and he told his boss.

His boss told Austrac's Greek equivalent, which told Austrac and Austrac alerted the Australian Federal Police in early 2005.

The AFP followed the paper trail and identified more than 280 bank drafts sent from Melbourne to Greece over a two-year period.

They discovered Greek and Australian citizen Samsonidis was the recipient of the bank drafts, which totalled more than $3 million.

The AFP became aware that the US Drug Enforcement Agency also had an interest in Samsonidis.

They joined forces and, with the help of police in Greece, ended up arresting Samsonidis, several of his associates and smashing an international drug gang.

Supergrass arrest leads to raids
(Herald Sun)
December 13, 2007

Police have smashed a global drug ring involving six countries after 40 arrests including 14 Australians, that netted nearly 2000kg of drugs and chemicals.

The latest bust is the second alleged drug ring brought down in the past week, after the arrest of two men from Melbourne and Canberra, and the notorious supergrass, an Australian hiding in Amsterdam.

Australian Federal Police said today international law enforcement officers had seized 600kg of cocaine, 111kg of ice, 83kg of ecstasy and 1200kg of materials used to produce ice and ecstasy.

Police said the ice and ecstasy destined for Australia was worth an estimated $13.7 million on the streets.

Police had also seized $2.3 million in cash and $6.7 million worth of property.

The Australian end of the operation, launched in August after drugs were found concealed in suitcases from Canada, involved officers from Customs, the AFP, the NSW police, the Australian Crime Commission and the NSW Crime Commission.

The 14 Australian arrests were made in Sydney and Melbourne where 28.6kg of ice and 23kg of ecstasy tablets were seized since August, the AFP said.

The Australian Joint Asian Crime Group (JACG) made the first arrests in Sydney after Australian Customs Service officers discovered 15kg of ice in the lining and frames of three large suitcases.

JACG involves officers from Customs, the Australian Federal Police, the NSW Police Force, the Australian Crime Commission and the NSW Crime Commission.

JACG Coordinator Detective Chief Inspector John Lehmann said the operation had slashed the amount of drugs reaching Australian shores.

“By using the combined expertise of the various agencies which are members of the JACG we have been able to work with international law enforcement agencies to dismantle a syndicate allegedly responsible for large volumes of illicit drugs reaching Australia’s streets,” he said.

The 14 Australians have been charged with varying drug offences, including conspiracy to import and supply a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug. 
More on the supergrass.

Tapped calls put spotlight on police justice
(The Age)
December 10, 2007

Senior police may be forced to review discipline cases stretching back nine years following revelations of attempted backroom deals that may have compromised the internal justice system.

The cases under question are those heard by assistant commissioner Noel Ashby, who resigned last month while giving evidence at Office of Police Integrity public hearings.

At those hearings, damning taped telephone conversations between Mr Ashby and Police Association secretary Paul Mullett relating to a discipline hearing were aired.

In one of the calls, the men discuss the hearing, involving a policewoman whom Mr Mullett describes as "a big … supporter of mine".

Mr Ashby then promises to make inquiries with the senior officer assigned to hear the case and discusses tactics that could result in the woman avoiding the sack.

She was charged with the serious internal offence of disgraceful conduct after she became aggressive at a booze bus station in 2006 while her colleague was in the process of failing a blood alcohol test. In June this year, the policeman was sacked.

Ten days after the acting detective sergeant was dismissed, Mr Mullett approached Mr Ashby about the case against the policewoman.

Mr Ashby promised to approach the hearing officer. It is believed that while she could have been sacked, the policewoman was given a bond.

While there is no suggestion that the case discussed was compromised, it raises questions of the independence of the system.

Senior police who sit on discipline hearings are expected to follow strict procedures and disqualify themselves if there is a perceived conflict of interest. The police charged are allowed to be represented by a Police Association advocate.

Mr Ashby was Victoria's longest-serving assistant commissioner, appointed in 1998. Even if a review of cases heard by him found cause for concern, they could not be reheard on the grounds of double jeopardy.

An OPI investigation into the police internal discipline process found it was "a slow, broken, convoluted system".

"There appears to be a serious problem with the maintenance of accurate data regarding the management of the Victoria Police complaint files and discipline process," the OPI's report said.

The report recommended scrapping the system and replacing it with more efficient, transparent and just procedures.

A spokeswoman for Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe was reviewing issues raised in the OPI's public hearings, including the conduct of internal discipline hearings.

Supergrass fears for life
(Herald Sun)
December 8, 2007

The supergrass who secretly taped drug boss Tony Mokbel has told police he fears being killed if he is extradited to Melbourne.

Convicted triple murderer Greg Brazel has already been interviewed about an earlier attempt to have the supergrass executed in Barwon Prison.