Gangland Robbers
Page 28
A former inmate rather dismissed: ‘The Slimming Tablets that Didn’t Reach a Murderess,’ Truth, 25 April 1954.
p. 98
The number has grown alarmingly: Argus, 15 December 1950.
p. 98
Outside the jail, part of the crowd: Alan Dower, Deadline; Vince Kelly, The Charge is Murder; David Hickie, Chow Hayes, Gunman; ‘Jean Lee Hangs on Monday’, Courier Mail, 16 February 1951; ‘He Saw Jean Lee, Clayton and Andrews Hang’, Mirror (Perth), 3 March 1951.
CHAPTER 9
p. 101
He lost an appeal, based on: Woon v R [1964] HCA 23; (1964)109 CLR 529; Oscar Roos, ‘The Trouble with Woon: The Selective Answering of Police Questions and the Right to Pre-Trial Silence’ [2006] UNELawJ 1; (2006) 3(1) University of New England Law Journal; Canberra Times, 22 July 1964.
p. 102
The team included another Painter and Docker: Nittes, who sometimes used the aliases Mohr and Snow, had a mixed criminal career. On one occasion, so it is said, when he had tried to avoid being dealt with by a particular judge, his lawyer applied for an adjournment, saying Nittes was ill. The judge graciously granted the request, saying the case could be tried in a month’s time. At the rescheduled hearing, the barrister claimed Nittes had suffered a relapse. The judge was sorry to hear it and said he would again wait. When on the third occasion there was still no defendant, he demanded an explanation and was told Nittes had been shot that morning.
p. 103
By then, he had been involved: Even the Toecutters, or some of them, seem to have had some principles—Driscoll, for example, was said to refuse to operate on genitalia, and when it was suggested to him that they should pay close attention to the legendary Melbourne safecracker Donny Alexander, he was horrified.
p. 103
According to robber Neddy Smith: Neddy Smith, Catch and Kill Your Own; Canberra Times, 13 November 1970, 1 July 1971; Age, 16 February 1987.
p. 104
A retrial was ordered: Driscoll v R [1977] HCA 43; (1977) 137 CLR 517.
p. 105
Buchanan said they stole only: Age, 20, 24 November 1978.
p. 106
Born in a Richmond slum, Kinniburgh: He was also thought to have been the organiser of a bullion snatch in Queensland. Early in his career, he was charged with receiving stolen property from a burglary at the home of trucking magnate Lindsay Fox. When the police raided Kinniburgh’s home, he was found to have a unique pendant owned by Mrs Fox in a coat pocket, as well as $4500 in cash in a drawer. He offered the police the cash if they did not charge him but they declined. He was charged with both the burglary and the bribery but had an identical pendant made in Hong Kong, so casting sufficient doubt in the jury’s minds that the Fox pendant was unique.
p. 107
Others would have none of it: John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Underbelly; James Morton and Susanna Lobez, Gangland Australia.
p. 107
During his long and overall: Blewitt v R [1988] HCA 43.
p. 110
‘When you think about it: Daily Telegraph, 9 June 1998.
p. 110
Some of the profits went into the purchase: ‘Bookie Robbery Mobster Finally Runs Out of Lives’, Age, 1 September 2010.
p. 111
But, says one lawyer who watched: Conversation with JM, 13 March 2009.
p. 112
Prendergast had a brother, Billy Lewis: VSR Inquest 1979/1955.
p. 112
On 21 September, after retiring: VSR Inquest 1979/1955.
p. 114
Regarded as one of the great robbers: Mark Buttler and Anthony Dowsley, ‘Melbourne Gangland Figure Dies’, Herald Sun, 12 October 2010.
p. 114
Then, even more recently, the name: VSR Inquest 1983/1635; Herald Sun, 30 September 2012. For a full account of the bookie robbery, and the Bennett-Kane quarrel and killings, see James Morton and Russell Robinson, Shotgun and Standover.
p. 116
He’s one of the gentlest guys I know: Glebe & Inner Western Weekly, 2 August 2000.
p. 116
As for Kalache, he was pleasantly: R v Kalache [2000] NSWCCA 2.
p. 117
The judge stopped the trial: R v Taousanis [2001] NSWSC 57; Herald Sun, 14 November 1999.
p. 118
Other versions have him returning: Roger Rogerson, The Dark Side; Sydney Morning Herald, 12 June 1968.
p. 118
Others are less convinced: James Morton and Susanna Lobez, Gangland Australia; Neddy Smith, Catch and Kill Your Own.
p. 119
In March 1975, amid allegations: Canberra Times, 17 May, 3 July 1974, 25 March 1975.
p. 120
I guess you can’t argue with that. ‘A Turnkey’s Tribulations’, laurie27wsmith.wordpress.com
p. 120
He was sentenced to ten years: Sydney Morning Herald, 24 November 1987.
p. 120
He said Wilson had told him: Sydney Morning Herald, 5 February 2005.
p. 120
From then on, he led the flamboyant: Cornwell v R [2010] NSWCCA 59. For an account of the lives of the three men to 1984, see David Wilson and Lindsay Murdoch, Big Shots.
p. 121
It was suggested that whoever: Kate Askew, ‘A God Walks Among Us’, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 February 2005.
p. 121
I pissed it all out the window: Conversation with JM, October 1985.
p. 122
He was also a major importer of drugs: David Wilson and Lindsay Murdoch, Big Shots.
p. 122
Five o’clock in the morning tends: John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Tough.
p. 123
His criminal career began: Michael Robotham, ‘Year End Review: Why Crime?’, 31 December 2010, Mulholland Books website.
p. 123
On 15 July 1988, his earlier escapes: Hansard NSW, 12 November 1991.
p. 124
As well, he dobbed in Roy: Pollitt v R [1992] HCA 35; Alex Mitchell, ‘Denning’s Great Escape’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 1991.
p. 124
In April 1991 Judge Wood stated: Sydney Morning Herald, 12 June 1993.
p. 125
As is often the case: ‘Coroner’s Finding Upsets Family’, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 August 1994.
p. 125
She was also charged with two: NSW Ombudsman, Raymond Denning: Withdrawal from the Witness Protection Scheme; Donald Catchlove, Ray Denning: My Life and Times; John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Tough.
p. 125
Amid a political row, but supported: Cox v The Queen S79/1997 [1998] HCATrans 154; The Application of Russell John Cox [2004] NSWSC 1341; Sydney Morning Herald, 17 October 2004; Mark Brandon Read, Chopper.
CHAPTER 10
p. 126
He was a great safe blower: Brian Bourke, Victorian Bar Oral History, 10 October 2005.
p. 127
The judge, perhaps charitably: Hugh MacMaster, Mostly Murder 2.
p. 128
When the wife expressed distress: R v Murray [2000] NSWCCA 159.
p. 128
When counsel asked how much: Mick Gatto, I, Mick Gatto; Paul Heinrichs, ‘The Oldest Kid on the Block’, Age, 13 May 2007.
p. 129
Throughout the trial, he denied: Kidd v Chief Executive, Department of Corrective Services (2000) QSC 405;Robert Douglas Kidd v R [2009] NSWCCA 229; Kidd v R [2014] NSWCCA 319; James Morton and Susanna Lobez, Dangerous to Know; Sydney Morning Herald, 5 July 2003; Sunday Telegraph, 12 December 2004; Kate McClymont, ‘“It takes a Crook to Catch a Crook”: How a Jailed Armed Robber Pursues His View of Justice’, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 February 2010.
p. 129
The court decided that the evidence: Kidd v R [2014] NSWCCA 319.
p. 130
It’s just paper—I think: Janine Cohen, ‘Interview with Bernie Matthews’ on Four Corners, 23 February 2004.
p. 132
His efforts to obtain compensation: Steve Warnock, ‘Nine Months Behin
d Bars for a Robbery He Didn’t Do’, Sun Herald, 22 December 1991; Bernie Matthews, ‘How to Rob a Bank’, Bulletin, 26 January 2006.
p. 132
Then, in April 2008, he was: Dang v R & Matthews v R [2013] NSWCCA 326; Sun Herald, 22 December 1991.
p. 133
The Director of Public Prosecutions: R v Orchard and Sullivan, [1992] QCA 106.
p. 135
Police in this State and: ‘“Jockey” Smith in Nowra: 10 Charges’, Canberra Times, 15, 16 September 1977.
p. 135
The same month he was charged: Age, 17 December 1977.
p. 136
Francis Montgomery, who pleaded guilty: Canberra Times, 1 March 1979; 20 January 1980.
p. 137
He left the indelible impression: Arjun Ramachandran, ‘How Bikie Peter Zervas Survived Hail of Bullets’, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 March 2009.
p. 137
The killing was thought to be: James Morton and Susanna Lobez, Dangerous to Know, pp. 267–8; Sydney Morning Herald, 5 July 2003; Sunday Telegraph, 12 December 2004.
p. 138
He could’ve used that mace rather: Bryan Cockerill, ‘Tough Nuts 2’; John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Leadbelly; John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Tough; Sydney Morning Herald, 13 February, 13 June, 7, 8, 20 December 1992, 26 July 1994, 30 May 1998; Sun-Herald, 20 December 1992.
p. 138
An associate commented that: Chris Murphy, ‘Inside Jockey Smith’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 December 1992.
p. 139
He thought fellow prisoner and: John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Tough.
p. 141
By then, Binse’s container: John Silvester, ‘Meet Badness, the Man Behind the Siege’, Age, 23 May 2012.
p. 142
Justice Weinberg thought that: Binse v The Queen [2014] VSCA 329.
p. 142
This time, he was given leave: Earlier in the year, in August, his long-time enemy Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston had been sentenced to eleven years for killing drug dealer Adam Khoury, after pleading guilty to a charge of defensive homicide.
p. 142
On 26 February 2016 Binse: Christopher Binse v Clive Williams (As Governor of HM Prison Barwon) and John Van Groningen (Correctional Services Commissioner of Victoria) [1997] VSC 12; Binse v The Queen [2014] VSCA 329.
p. 143
His team, which over the years: Sydney Morning Herald, 30 January 2007.
p. 143
He was put on an identification: New Straits Times, 22 October 1980.
p. 144
No charges were ever brought: Times, 24 August 2006.
p. 144
At the time of his death: Daily Telegraph, 20 June 2001; Kate McClymont, ‘Slipping the Net’, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 January 2007; Clive Small and Tom Gilling, Smack Express, p. 184 et passim.
CHAPTER 11
p. 146
Cody received six years: Age, 17, 19, 20 August 1932.
p. 146
This meant that only after: Maryborough Chronicle, 5 December 1938; Age, 3, 21 December 1938.
p. 148
His appeal failed, and whether: ‘What Happened to the £28,985 Which Vanished?’, Mirror (Perth) 14 August 1954.
p. 149
Standing slightly apart from the others: Brian Hansen, The Awful Truth.
p. 149
Turner had a diamond in his front tooth: Tom Prior, The Sinners’ Club.
p. 149
Now Turner was warned that: Argus, 19 July 1952.
p. 151
He was killed when his car: Mike Ryan and Don Greenlees, ‘Joey Stays One Jump Ahead’, Sunday Press, 5 September 1982.
p. 151
He died in 2014, aged: Brian Carroll, Hurry Back, An Illustrated Centenary History of Mayne Nickless, Mayne Nickless, Melbourne, 1986.
p. 152
Before he left Australia, he supplied: Mark Buttler and Andrew Rule, ‘Inside Melbourne’s Perfect Heist’, Herald Sun, 1 May 2016.
CHAPTER 12
p. 158
When there is nobody else, where do you go? Barbara Toner, ‘Redemption of the Angel of Death’, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 July 1990.
p. 159
She never even gave up the: Peter Hansen, ‘Angel of Death’s Wild Times’, Sunday Mail (Brisbane), 23 February 2003.
p. 159
Meeting the quieter ones in these: Adrian Tame, Deadlier than the Male; Julie Wright, Angel of Death.
p. 160
Described by the judge as a: R v Kleehammer, Larraine (sic) Ann [1968] VicSC 230; ‘15 Years Gaol for Man, 30’, Sun, 5 September 1968.
p. 161
It was this case that led: Nicholas Cowdery, ‘Where Did I Leave My DNA?’, Annual DPP Solicitors Conference 2002; Canberra Times, 4 October 1986, 26 October 1989.
p. 161
Detective Walsh had also: Re Maston, Brett Ronald [1984] VicSC93.
p. 162
What this amounted to in real: R v Maston [1998] VSC 221; Age, 30 November 1995. For Maston’s subsequent career, see James Morton and Susanna Lobez, Gangand, North South & West.
p. 163
Although she was not bound: Festa v R [2000] QCA 73; [2001] HCA 72; Bernie Matthews, ‘DNA and the Justice Game’, Griffith Review, Edition 4.
p. 164
In 2000 Parr pleaded guilty: Age, 19 May 2000.
p. 164
The papers were happy: Newcastle Herald, 17 October 2008.
p. 165
The Court of Appeal: Jorgensen v The Queen [2010] VSCA 171.
p. 166
She received a minimum sentence: R v Ridden [2016] NSWDC 2.
p. 167
Arnott’s calculated that $22 million: Gold Coast Bulletin, 27 April 2002.
p. 167
When she later found a minder: Mark Russell, ‘Mother Jailed for Taking Toddler on Armed Robbery Spree’, Age, 27 April 2012.
CHAPTER 13
p. 168
In August 2008 Kurrle pleaded: Courier Mail, 17 August 2008.
p. 169
Shore received a minimum of five: R v McDonald [2003] VSCA 137; Age, 30 April 2002.
p. 170
Some escapees might disagree: Nigel Hunt, The First Police Union; John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Tough; ‘Police Let Wanted Man Off the Hook’, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 January 1982; Advertiser, 12 September 1983; Patrick McDonald, ‘Life and Crimes of Colin Creed’, Advertiser, 11 April 1996.
p. 172
In 2012 two of his plays: Ross Honeywill, Wasted.
p. 173
MacDonald indicated that he did: Australian, 6 February 1998; John Silvester, ‘Bandit Who Became Dead Man Walking’, Age, 10 October 1998; John Silvester, ‘In Identity Crisis, We’ll Always Have Paris’, Age, 22 February 2014.
p. 175
We will never forget him: Ronald Morley, Greybeard.
p. 176
In 2008 he died in a hospice: R v Nylander [2003] SASC 89, 191; Sunday Mail (Adelaide), 3 February 2008.
p. 177
For this, he received another three months. R v Beale [2003] QCA 373.
p. 177
Their guns and disguises had been sent to Perth Airport. R v Clune & Gergis [1999] SASC 45.
p. 178
In May 2003 he received a relatively modest nine years. Gold Coast Bulletin, 30 August 2002.
p. 179
The judge was told: Age, 25 August 2015.
p. 180
Hardly more successful: Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 2015.
p. 180
She had already: Anthony Prince, ‘Bank Robbery for Beginners’, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 October 2005.
p. 182
Nor was the judge: Guardian (UK), 11 July 2013.
CHAPTER 14
p. 183
It has also to be said: Zandt, Clinton R., ‘Suicide by Cop’, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.
p. 183
Eighteen-year-old Joseph Swan: Argus, 29 August 1930.
p. 184
p. 185
However, it is possible Smith: Abo Henry, A Treacherous Life; Stephen Gibbs, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 September 2005.
p. 185
He reached for a pistol and was shot: Sydney Morning Herald, 3 April 1985.
p. 186
In May 2006 a coroner ruled: Paula Doneman and David Murray, ‘Police Kill Serial Bandit’, Courier Mail, 20 October 2002.
p. 186
At the time of his death, he was wanted for robberies: Andrew Rule, ‘The Man with a Double Life: Ian Turner, The Country Bandit’ in Outside the Law.
p. 188
At the time of his death, he was suspected: John Silvester, ‘Fatally Flawed: The Death of Graeme Jensen’, Age, 4 January 2003.
p. 189
The actual robbers are now alleged: Tom Noble, The Walsh Street Killings; Adrian Tame, The Matriarch; Mark Read, Chopper from the Inside.