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 Tony
Juric
On February 21, 2008, the Age reported
that a secret anti-corruption taskforce
examining links between police, criminals and sex workers has raided the
Australian Croatian Association as part of inquiries into its president,
a long-serving police officer, Tony Juric.
Officers from a joint Victoria Police and
Office of Police Integrity taskforce raided the club premises in
Footscray, seizing documents and financial records.
The raids were the first overt move of a
long-running investigation into several police with suspected improper
associations, including some who have served at inner-city stations.
It is the latest in a string of
corruption inquiries to hit the force, from investigations into the
former drug squad in 2002-04, two continuing taskforces into police
links to underworld murders, and the recent OPI public hearings into the
police union chief, Paul Mullett, and a former top officer, Noel Ashby.
Mr Juric, who has been president of the
Croatian Social Club since 1995, was suspended from his role as uniform
sergeant at the St Kilda police station in October.
He was charged recently over an unrelated
matter involving an alleged attempt to cover up a traffic accident
involving a police vehicle.
Mr Juric's links with figures tied to the
crime world have caused concern among law enforcement officers.
But supporters of Sergeant Juric say he
strongly denies any wrongdoing.
They say and is a popular policeman whose
wide network stems from his role as an ethnic community leader, former
police union delegate and a former detective in the armed offenders
squad.
One of Mr Juric's closest friends is Tony
Ilija Crnac, a building union official who was sentenced to three
years in prison for his role in 2001 in a $147 million hashish
importation, allegedly tied to the Moran
crime family. In a move approved by his superior officers, Sergeant
Juric gave character testimony for Mr Crnac during his County Court
trial.
Mr Crnac, who was released from prison
last year, is an active member of the Croatian Club.
Mr Juric also gave character testimony
for a former police officer, Mario Siketa, who was sentenced to one year
in prison in September 2006 for receiving $280,000 in secret commissions
while working as a private security consultant at the Melbourne Grand
Prix.
It is believed Mr Juric's support in
court of Mr Siketa was also approved by senior police.
In a speech at a Croatian community
function in 2006, Sergeant Juric thanked the gangland identity and crane
company owner Mick Gatto, along with 19
other building industry figures, for providing free materials, labour
and equipment to renovate the Croatian association headquarters.
A June 2006 report from The Croatian
Herald quoted Sergeant Juric as saying that Mr Gatto's company was
among several whose "work, material and/or financial donations or
otherwise, enabled this great project to come to this stage".
He also thanked Mr Gatto's business
partner in the crane company, Matt
Tomas, who is a long-time friend of
Mr Juric, and also plays a prominent role in the Croatian community as
chairman of the Melbourne Knights Football Club, of which Sergeant Juric
is a former board member.
Mr Gatto was cleared of the murder of an underworld
hitman in June 2005.
The police facing charges along with Mr
Juric in relation to unrelated allegations of covering up a car crash
are Senior Constable Belinda Rampal and probationary Constable Alan
Black.
The crash was witnessed by sex workers.
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