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Speaker 1: Apote production.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to Real Crime with Adam Shand, I'm your host

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Speaker 2: Adam Shand. Operation Afghan was an undercover operation by Victoria

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Speaker 2: Police in the mid nineteen nineties. The took down Antonio Romeo,

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Speaker 2: a rising member of the Calabrian mafia in Griffith, New

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Speaker 2: South Wales. Romeo did eight years jail for conspiring to

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Speaker 2: import cannabis. But if he thought he was going back

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Speaker 2: to business after his stretch, he was wrong.

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Speaker 3: In July two thousand and two, six weeks after getting

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Speaker 3: out of jail, Antonio Romeo was taken out by a

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Speaker 3: sniper from long range while pruning peach trees in his

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Speaker 3: family's orchard.

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Speaker 2: To understand why this happened, you have to delve into

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Speaker 2: the undercover operation that took down his empire, and that's

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Speaker 2: been told through a successful book, Infiltration, written by former

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Speaker 2: operation member Colin McLaren.

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Speaker 3: Former Detective Colin McLaren's bestseller Infiltration detailed how he posed

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Speaker 3: as art dealer Cole Goodwin to penetrate the Griffith mafia.

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Speaker 2: My guest today, retired Detective Senior Sergeant Peter Coss, who

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Speaker 2: ran the operation, has written his own account of Operation Afghan,

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Speaker 2: McLaren and his pretend brother, under cover cop Damien Marritt,

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Speaker 2: did an amazing job, but there were others involved. Let's

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Speaker 2: start by trying to understand what this operation was all

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Speaker 2: about and who the targets were. Peter Coss, Welcome to

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Speaker 2: the show. What was Operation Afghan all about? All?

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Speaker 4: Operation Afghan was the next part of a series of

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Speaker 4: earlier operations. I was working at the Drug Squad and

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Speaker 4: the Drug Squad established a task force called the Rover

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Speaker 4: Task Force, which was a joint task force between Victoria

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Speaker 4: Police and the National Crime Authority and we were all

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Speaker 4: made members of the National Crime Authory so we could

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Speaker 4: use their powers. And it was run separately from the

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Speaker 4: Drug Squad in a separate secure office, and our task

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Speaker 4: was to investigate it tea an organized crime and determine

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Speaker 4: the extent of it and that sort of thing. So

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Speaker 4: the NCAA had set up a number of or identified

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Speaker 4: a number of targets for investigation and we began on

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Speaker 4: those targets. An early operation we did was targeting the

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Speaker 4: Miroatore family, Alfonso Mauriture, Yes, Olfonso Mirotare and Vince Murrature.

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Speaker 4: And as a result of that operation and we were

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Speaker 4: starting at the bottom. We're looking at low level drug dealers.

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Speaker 1: Here.

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Speaker 4: We ran an undercover operation on Vince Mirature that led

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Speaker 4: us to his supplier of what he was, a low

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Speaker 4: level cannabis dealer, So it led us to his supply

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Speaker 4: who was dealing not in ounces and grams, that he

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Speaker 4: was dealing in like pounds and kilos. So once we'd

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Speaker 4: made that connection, we'd moved up the tree. We left

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Speaker 4: in slone and we started looking at this other bloke

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Speaker 4: who I will call mister Valencia. Mister Valencia, we worked

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Speaker 4: on him for fairwhile, and these operations, these operations prior

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Speaker 4: to that, we came under the heading of our Operation Reactor.

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Speaker 2: So we then to come up with these names.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, well you know, you can choose your name sometimes

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Speaker 4: and other times they're given to you. Interestingly enough, the

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Speaker 4: Rover Task Force was called Rover because the National Crime

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Speaker 4: Authority's name for investigating own organized crime was Operation Cerberus.

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Speaker 1: The three headed dog.

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Speaker 4: Vadi's Yeah, so all our jobs were meant to be

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Speaker 4: named after dog. So we were the Rover Task Force,

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Speaker 4: hence Operation Afghan Lad on Afghan Dog. We worked on

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Speaker 4: mister Valencia for a while and mister Valencia. We established

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Speaker 4: that he was being supplied his cannabis from his Italian

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Speaker 4: friends in Griffith.

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Speaker 2: In New South Wales. When did you first identify Antonio

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Speaker 2: Romeo as a suspect.

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Speaker 4: We identified Tonio Romeo first as a suspect as a

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Speaker 4: result of our work on mister Valencia, and he was

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Speaker 4: identified around about the September October of nineteen ninety two.

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Speaker 4: So there were three teams on the task force. Each

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Speaker 4: team had a sergeant, a detective sergeant and a crew

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Speaker 4: of three or four detectives, and our hierarchy about that

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Speaker 4: we had one senior sergeant. In the end, it started

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Speaker 4: with two book we had one senior sergeant and then

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Speaker 4: we had a chief inspector, Rod Collins.

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Speaker 2: Okay, let's set the scene here and where Romeo fits in.

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Speaker 2: We're talking about the Griffith Mafia, the Calabrian Indra Guita

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Speaker 2: as people call them, and they were the nucleus of

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Speaker 2: people that I guess Donald McKay was complaining about in

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Speaker 2: the seventies, which possibly led to his abduction and murder

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Speaker 2: in nineteen seventy seven. But we're now seeing a changing

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Speaker 2: of the guard. The old Giovanni surgery Joe, who was

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Speaker 2: probably the nominal head of the group down there. He

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Speaker 2: was now giving way to Antonio Romeo, who was from

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Speaker 2: Platy and he married into the family.

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Speaker 1: I believe that's right.

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Speaker 4: So in Griffith at the time, because well prior to

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Speaker 4: Colin arriving, I'd been to Griffith. I made contact with

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Speaker 4: the analysts at the Griffith Police station, and also I

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Speaker 4: made contact with the organized crime unit in Sydney. And

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Speaker 4: there were four crime families operating or known to be

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Speaker 4: operating out of Griffith. One of them was headed by,

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Speaker 4: as you said, Giovanni Sergei, and he was becoming an

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Speaker 4: old man and his daughter Maria had married a guy

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Speaker 4: called Antonio Romeo. So Antonio Romeo was the son in

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Speaker 4: law of old mister Sergi. Mister Sergei or Giovanni Sergei

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Speaker 4: had his own sons, but Romeo was the guy who

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Speaker 4: fit the bill as the guy to next in.

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Speaker 1: Line to take over.

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Speaker 2: Why do you think.

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Speaker 4: I don't know exactly why, but he probably was the

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Speaker 4: sort of guy that had the smarts about him. Maybe

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Speaker 4: maybe he was all that way incline then Sergey's own sons.

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Speaker 2: And he'd also been born in Platy, that's right, and

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Speaker 2: one would assume he had some connections back to the

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Speaker 2: main headquarters of Indida Guita, the Callabria of mafia.

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Speaker 1: That's right.

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Speaker 4: So just by the way, on the at rover, we

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Speaker 4: never actually referred to them as mafia or in drink.

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Speaker 4: It was always attained organized crime. But those words pop

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Speaker 4: up quite often in Colin's book. With what I'm doing,

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Speaker 4: those words really appear.

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Speaker 1: Well.

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Speaker 2: I think you're right, because when I read your book

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Speaker 2: and seen all the other material on this, I mean,

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Speaker 2: you'd have to say that it's small m mafia rather

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Speaker 2: than big m because these are local entrepreneurial groups that

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Speaker 2: don't seem to have any day to day connection. It's

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Speaker 2: more like a franchise operation rather than the reconnection.

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Speaker 4: Call it the poor man's version of the mafia, right

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Speaker 4: in a sense, if we can put it that way.

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Speaker 2: We've identified Romeo as the main suspect, and at this

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Speaker 2: time Victoria police and the NCAA was getting interested in

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Speaker 2: the Italian organized crime, as you call it, and you

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Speaker 2: were looking at the extent of the tentacles there. This

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Speaker 2: is also the post Mackay world as well.

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Speaker 1: That's right.

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Speaker 2: What were you looking for in that investigation.

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Speaker 4: Well, we're looking for evidence of criminal activity. I suppose

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Speaker 4: it didn't matter what sort of criminal activity that was.

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Speaker 4: Whether it would be drug trafficking, which was their main

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Speaker 4: source of income, mainly trafficking in large quantities of cannabis,

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Speaker 4: but as the job moved on, they were definitely dealing

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Speaker 4: in cocaine as well. It could have identified other things

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Speaker 4: such as murders because leading up to this in Melbourne

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Speaker 4: you had the fruit and vegetable market murders going on,

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Speaker 4: Mirrotare murtures. Alfonse had been well, he hadn't been shot yet.

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Speaker 4: That was still come during that That happened while we

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Speaker 4: were investigating, but it had a number of murders going

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Speaker 4: back over a decade or two with the teams trying

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Speaker 4: to control the fruit and vegetable market at in footscrape.

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Speaker 4: In other parts of the country you had things such

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Speaker 4: as the Donald mckaye incident, and there were other crimes

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Speaker 4: being committed throughout Australia anyway.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think what was obvious in those days

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Speaker 2: it was sort of quaint in a way because you're

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Speaker 2: looking back at the era when there was large outdoor

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Speaker 2: crops of cannabis, being grown in the Griffith area and

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Speaker 2: this was incredibly successful and financially lucrative for these four families.

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Speaker 2: So you start to see the growth in the power

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Speaker 2: of these families and the ability to act lawlessly, to

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Speaker 2: rub out competitors, to corrupt politicians. That was always talked

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Speaker 2: that the Griffith Mafia had corrupted ol Grasby, for instance,

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Speaker 2: the Ministry of Immigration and through that means had got

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Speaker 2: crooks into Australia. So the stakes were pretty high. There.

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Speaker 2: You are Victoria Police drug squad, You've got virtually no

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Speaker 2: resources and you think you're going to take on the

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Speaker 2: Calabrian mafia. You had a bit of h bit of gumption.

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Speaker 4: A bit of gumption, but it was sort of like

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Speaker 4: this is just another job.

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Speaker 1: We took it on.

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Speaker 4: It was something different, something special, and our resources were

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Speaker 4: increased slightly. We had our own dedicated team of dogs,

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Speaker 4: dogs playing surviolence operatives, people who follow you around in cars,

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Speaker 4: on foot, that sort of thing. At the time, in

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Speaker 4: Victoria police didn't have the ability to intercept mobile telephone calls,

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Speaker 4: so mobile phones were a new thing when the task

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Speaker 4: force started. We were still all using pages. Mobile phones

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Speaker 4: were something that you found in your car basically bolted

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Speaker 4: down in the console area. They weren't the sort of

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Speaker 4: thing you carried around on your person. But a year

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Speaker 4: or so down the track, when Afghan started, which was

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Speaker 4: around about January or February of ninety three, mobile phones

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Speaker 4: started to come in and they were the big bricks

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Speaker 4: that people used to carry around.

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Speaker 1: You might recall those.

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Speaker 4: But more importantly, Victoria Police didn't have the capacity to

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Speaker 4: intercept mobile phones at that time. Our special operations could

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Speaker 4: intercept landlines, but not mobile phones, but the National Crime

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Speaker 4: Authority could and they could do it through their Sydney office.

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Speaker 4: So we actually had Tony Rameo's phone off which is

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Speaker 4: intercepted prior to McClaren actually arriving at the Task force,

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Speaker 4: right yeah, and we had a couple of other phones

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Speaker 4: off as well.

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Speaker 2: Some backgrounds needed here because the picture you painted, the

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Speaker 2: resources and the technology and so forth. That it's a

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Speaker 2: wonder you caught any drug crooks at all. I mean,

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Speaker 2: and you did pretty well. But there was also a

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Speaker 2: decision by Victoria Police to become a bit more entrepreneurial,

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Speaker 2: shall we say, in this era, and to do things

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Speaker 2: you hadn't done before. For instance, Operation Chances had happened

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Speaker 2: before this where you were delivering precursor chemicals into the

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Speaker 2: underworld through informers to now bust these clan labs as

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Speaker 2: they were called back in the day, because you had

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Speaker 2: an explosion of drugs in Melbourne at that time. So

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Speaker 2: Victoria Police was now getting more entrepreneurial. I've got some

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Speaker 2: issues with some of the these methods. I have to

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Speaker 2: tell you where this discussion before, because I think it

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Speaker 2: does fall into the trapment in some ways.

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Speaker 4: I think it depends how you look at it. Operation Chances.

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Speaker 4: That was a job that my crew ran in ninety one.

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Speaker 4: I actually put the broof of evidence together for that.

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Speaker 4: We ticked off about certainly in drug traffickers. Out of

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Speaker 4: that one look that started not so much providing chemicals

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Speaker 4: through informants. We knew that certain biking groups were buying

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Speaker 4: precursor chemicals directly from the chemical companies, and the chemical

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Speaker 4: companies were aware of it, and one of them contacted

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Speaker 4: our office and said, we've got a certain bloke buying chemicals.

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Speaker 4: We think he's probably making it fedamines. At the time,

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Speaker 4: if you bought a chemical which was a precursor for

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Speaker 4: making amphetamines, you had to sign an end user's certificate

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Speaker 4: saying to the company, I'm using this for lawful purposes.

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Speaker 4: The Bikis didn't care what they signed, as long as

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Speaker 4: they got their chemicals. They would sign the bit of

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Speaker 4: paper and that was it. There was no account for it. Obviously,

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Speaker 4: legitimate businesses would sign them, and they could account for

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Speaker 4: it by making aspro and all sorts of things. So

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Speaker 4: when we found out about that, we thought, well, let's

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Speaker 4: go down to the factory. Next time they ring up

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Speaker 4: and come in. Make sure you get them to come

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Speaker 4: in at a particular time. You tell us when that is,

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Speaker 4: and we'll see what happens. And you're hiding behind the

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Speaker 4: shelves there as they're coming in the Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So we would go down there, and we had a

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Speaker 1: guy in our.

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Speaker 4: Office whose nickname was Itchy, and Itchi was a bit

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Speaker 4: of a rough look consider character. He would act as

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Speaker 4: the storman. So we would hide in the storeroom where

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Speaker 4: all the shelves and the chemicals were kept. The bike

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Speaker 4: he would come into the storeroom and he would pay

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Speaker 4: the money over the counter to Ichi, and Ichi would

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Speaker 4: supply them with his chemicals. Then we would follow them

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Speaker 4: and try and find out what they were then doing

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Speaker 4: with those chemicals, trying to locate their mphedoma labs, and

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Speaker 4: that's the way we did it in Operation Chances. We

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Speaker 4: did that for a while, but then these chemical companies

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Speaker 4: are like in the outer Southeast, and we were located

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Speaker 4: in Russell Strait, so sometimes we get the call. By

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Speaker 4: the time we get down there, the crooks are coming

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Speaker 4: early and nicked off with the chemicals. So to control that,

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Speaker 4: we suggested to the two main chemical companies that were

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Speaker 4: supplying them, we can't control these deliveries or whatever. So

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Speaker 4: what we want you to do is you need to

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Speaker 4: tell these guys you can't buy them anymore from us

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Speaker 4: because the government's cracking down on the end user agreements

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Speaker 4: and that sort of thing.

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Speaker 1: But you know a guy who's a broker.

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Speaker 4: You tell a bike is throughing this particular bloke, and

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Speaker 4: he'll be able to supply with whatever you like. So

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Speaker 4: the bloke they then started ringing was a guy in

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Speaker 4: our office called Wayne Strawn. He acted as our undercover.

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Speaker 4: Whenever they wanted chemicals, Rain would be interacting with them.

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Speaker 4: He would say, oh, look, they're after a bit of

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Speaker 4: me curate chloride. So we would then go and buy

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Speaker 4: mecurate chloride from the chemical company. We'd multiply the price

256
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Speaker 4: by three to make it look like it was a

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Speaker 4: black market sort of figure and would sell it to

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Speaker 4: him for that price. So, for the first time, probably

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Speaker 4: in the drug squad history, we were not only selling

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Speaker 4: chemicals to crooks, but we were making money. You found

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Speaker 4: the right business, We joined the right business now in

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Speaker 4: the hands of the right people, and which we were

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Speaker 4: honest and detectives and all the rest.

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Speaker 1: It worked fine until well, that's some years later.

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Speaker 2: You know what I'm talking about.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I know what you're talking about.

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Speaker 2: That's Wayne Strawn.

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Speaker 4: That's Wayne Strawn. But when we ran that job with Wayne,

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Speaker 4: and Wayne did a brilliant job. Is he undercover on

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Speaker 4: that he was a very good undercover operative. We busted

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Speaker 4: two chemical labs and all the chemicals that we gave

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Speaker 4: them were either used to make amphetamines which we seized,

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Speaker 4: or they were at the labs when we busted them,

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Speaker 4: so nothing got out and into the community.

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Speaker 2: Don't get me wrong, I think it was highly effective

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Speaker 2: what you did very successful as well, But I think

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Speaker 2: there was an element of intolerable and Wayne Strawn fell

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Speaker 2: to that. He ended up doing his deals on the

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Speaker 2: side and was busted for that and got a very

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Speaker 2: long jail sentence, and you, I think, were shocked because

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Speaker 2: this guy was an absolute star.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: Well, Wayne Strawn was the golden head boy basically of

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Speaker 4: the Drug Squad when I was. I was there from

285
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Speaker 4: ninety to ninety seven, and after we did Operation Chances,

286
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Speaker 4: I was shanghaid off onto the Raver Task Force because

287
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Speaker 4: we had done a fairly good jobs at our time.

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Speaker 4: Was sent to the Rover Task Force after I had

289
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Speaker 4: left at some stage in period in time, and I'm

290
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Speaker 4: not sure when they established the chemical desk at the

291
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Speaker 4: Drug Squad. By the time I finished on the Task

292
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Speaker 4: Force three years later, the chemical desk was running and

293
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Speaker 4: that was being operated by Wayinstrawn. I left in ninety seven,

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Speaker 4: and I believe Wayne's issues started sometime after that.

295
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Speaker 2: That's right, and tragic fall from grace. But like I say,

296
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Speaker 2: this was an era where Victoria Police was being innovative

297
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Speaker 2: and finding ways because the crooks had huge amounts of money,

298
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Speaker 2: they were bold and getting bold, and you had to

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Speaker 2: do something. So this was a proactive strategy and so

300
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Speaker 2: Chances And it's the chemical diversion death that came after

301
00:16:11,721 --> 00:16:14,961
Speaker 2: that I think had the hallmark of that. So when

302
00:16:15,001 --> 00:16:18,441
Speaker 2: it comes to Operation Afghan, that same spirits brought to

303
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Speaker 2: bear where you think we're going to go undercover here

304
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Speaker 2: and try to encourage these Griffith mafia to start to

305
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Speaker 2: do business with us so we can bust them. So

306
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Speaker 2: what were the objectives of that? Because you had McLaren

307
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Speaker 2: coming in posing as Cole Goodwin art dealer. He had

308
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Speaker 2: one of the dogs so called Judy. We won't go

309
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Speaker 2: to her surname, but and they went into Griffith. What

310
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Speaker 2: was their mission? But they didn't have a mission. Ah,

311
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Speaker 2: they didn't have a mission. Just going back a step.

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Speaker 2: Our mantra at the time was if it's legal, we'll

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Speaker 2: do it. If it's immoral, that's a matter of for

314
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Speaker 2: other people. How often was that line crossed in your

315
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Speaker 2: opinion where you felt this is immoral?

316
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Speaker 4: Well, the moral question was you shouldn't be supplying chemicals

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Speaker 4: to crooks to make them fetterment because well, you're not

318
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Speaker 4: necessarily encouraging them because they're going to get them from

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Speaker 4: someone else anyway. So that was our thinking that if

320
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Speaker 4: we don't sell it to them, which is morally wrong,

321
00:17:20,961 --> 00:17:23,200
Speaker 4: if we're trying to set them up, but they just

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Speaker 4: be getting it from someone else, So why not get

323
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Speaker 4: in there yourself and use that line of investigation to

324
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Speaker 4: bust their labs? Fair enough, and I think there was

325
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Speaker 4: nothing wrong with it. That might be a bit hard

326
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Speaker 4: for some people to believe that the way in which

327
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Speaker 4: we did it, it was very effective in identifying and

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Speaker 4: fedamine labs and locking up crooks, which is what we meant.

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Speaker 2: I think was many defense lawyers, crooks, and a few

330
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Speaker 2: civil libertarians had a problem with it. But I mean

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Speaker 2: the same spirit was brought into operation Afghanis and so

332
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Speaker 2: Cole Goodwin and he is offside Beyonce Judy posing as

333
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Speaker 2: an art dealer going into Griffith. Now they didn't have

334
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Speaker 2: a mission explain that, no, So we had a number

335
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Speaker 2: of things going on. Antonio Ramo and his cohorts. They

336
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Speaker 2: were attempting to set up a very large indoor cannabis

337
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Speaker 2: crop in the north of Melbourne. They were involved in

338
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Speaker 2: another cannabis crop that was on a farm. They were

339
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Speaker 2: involved in setting up another cannabis crop in a factory

340
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Speaker 2: in the north of Melbourne. And we were aware that

341
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Speaker 2: they were fixing horse racers and all sorts of things

342
00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:31,161
Speaker 2: were going on. So we wanted to catch them basically

343
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Speaker 2: doing what they were doing, and that was trafficking in cannabis.

344
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Speaker 4: I mean mister Valencia. When we busted him, he driven

345
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Speaker 4: to Griffith to buy fifty oranges and some puppies and

346
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Speaker 4: a couple of puppies.

347
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Speaker 2: Yeah, oranges was clearly a code for cannabis. What was

348
00:18:47,721 --> 00:18:48,521
Speaker 2: the puppy code for?

349
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Speaker 4: Well, you'd be surprised. But after he brought his fifty oranges,

350
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Speaker 4: which was fifty pounds of cannabis, that's the level that

351
00:18:54,921 --> 00:18:57,521
Speaker 4: the Griffith bikes were dealing in. On his way back

352
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Speaker 4: home he picked up two puppies. When we intercepted him

353
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Speaker 4: on the highway, we were very keen to find out

354
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Speaker 4: what the two puppies were, and they were, in fact

355
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:10,241
Speaker 4: us two dogs, two dogs, So I suppose we were

356
00:19:10,281 --> 00:19:12,761
Speaker 4: trying to catch them at what they were already doing,

357
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Speaker 4: which was trafficking in large amounts of cannabis. Everyone's got

358
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Speaker 4: their own opinion on whether cannabis is good, bad, or otherwise.

359
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,761
Speaker 4: As a detective, as an investigator, as a law enforcement officer,

360
00:19:24,201 --> 00:19:28,281
Speaker 4: it's illegal. You can't traffick in it. So if it's illegal,

361
00:19:28,441 --> 00:19:31,561
Speaker 4: it's not up for me as a police officer say, oh, look,

362
00:19:31,561 --> 00:19:34,041
Speaker 4: it's only cannabis, don't worry about it. I'm there to

363
00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:36,281
Speaker 4: uphold the law and we don't make the law. The

364
00:19:36,481 --> 00:19:37,121
Speaker 4: government does.

365
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,360
Speaker 2: And I think public opinion was swinging that direction that

366
00:19:41,441 --> 00:19:43,840
Speaker 2: this is a victimless crime and so forth. But let's

367
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:48,041
Speaker 2: look at the Italian organized crime operation. It's involved in

368
00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,521
Speaker 2: extortion and murder and race fixing, assault, all kinds of

369
00:19:51,521 --> 00:19:54,961
Speaker 2: things going on, and the cannabis money is the fuel

370
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Speaker 2: for all that.

371
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:56,360
Speaker 1: That's right.

372
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Speaker 4: And they were getting anywhere from three thousand and five

373
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Speaker 4: thousand dollars a pound, so you know, the fifty oranges

374
00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:06,441
Speaker 4: that mister Valencia bought was worth anywhere from one hundred

375
00:20:06,441 --> 00:20:09,600
Speaker 4: and fifty thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars

376
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,561
Speaker 4: depending on the quality of the cannabis. So that's the

377
00:20:12,561 --> 00:20:15,600
Speaker 4: sort of money we're talking about. Of course, that also

378
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:19,241
Speaker 4: they're not paying any tax on that. There's no benefit

379
00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:23,201
Speaker 4: to society. The only society that it's benefiting is their

380
00:20:23,201 --> 00:20:26,880
Speaker 4: own little the honored society. Yeah, there aren't not a

381
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:27,760
Speaker 4: little honest society.

382
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Speaker 2: But it's also Griffith was booming on the back of this,

383
00:20:30,441 --> 00:20:34,680
Speaker 2: wasn't it resolutely. I mean your hotel's, restaurants, developments, houses that,

384
00:20:34,801 --> 00:20:37,281
Speaker 2: I mean, the whole area was benefiting economically.

385
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:38,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was.

386
00:20:38,201 --> 00:20:40,721
Speaker 4: I mean you would drive to Griffith going up through

387
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Speaker 4: Country Victoria, across the river at Token Wall and you

388
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,200
Speaker 4: go through those towns, it was like passing through an

389
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Speaker 4: old western town where you got the tumbleweeds coming down

390
00:20:49,481 --> 00:20:52,841
Speaker 4: the main street and half the shops they've got newspaper

391
00:20:53,001 --> 00:20:55,760
Speaker 4: stuck on the wind borders up there. Yeah, because like

392
00:20:55,921 --> 00:20:59,120
Speaker 4: those little towns weren't doing too well. Drive down the

393
00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:01,321
Speaker 4: main street of Banner Strait and it was like being

394
00:21:01,321 --> 00:21:02,120
Speaker 4: a like on straight.

395
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:02,720
Speaker 1: It was.

396
00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,920
Speaker 4: The place was pumping because not only did they have

397
00:21:07,481 --> 00:21:11,120
Speaker 4: they were growing crops because of the irrigation. They had citrus,

398
00:21:11,321 --> 00:21:13,840
Speaker 4: they had other fruit trees, they had the grapes, a

399
00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,281
Speaker 4: lot of wine up there to Borutley's. If one crop

400
00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:18,241
Speaker 4: wasn't doing well, if the wheat on the outskirts of

401
00:21:18,321 --> 00:21:20,880
Speaker 4: town wasn't doing well, or the rice wasn't, then the

402
00:21:20,961 --> 00:21:23,440
Speaker 4: vines were growing or the citrus was going. But there

403
00:21:23,481 --> 00:21:27,400
Speaker 4: was always money in the town, including the other crop

404
00:21:27,681 --> 00:21:30,041
Speaker 4: that was being grown, and that was pumping a lot

405
00:21:30,041 --> 00:21:33,640
Speaker 4: of money into town too. Especially with building mansions, and

406
00:21:34,001 --> 00:21:36,080
Speaker 4: some people didn't seem to work too much, but they

407
00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:38,840
Speaker 4: always had plenty of money to splash around the place,

408
00:21:39,041 --> 00:21:40,441
Speaker 4: so there was a lot of money going around.

409
00:21:40,481 --> 00:21:43,440
Speaker 2: Good Let's get back to Cole Goodwin and his mission.

410
00:21:43,521 --> 00:21:45,521
Speaker 2: That wasn't quite a mission. How did it come about?

411
00:21:45,681 --> 00:21:49,600
Speaker 4: Yeah, So without really telling anyone, Cole took it upon

412
00:21:49,681 --> 00:21:54,160
Speaker 4: himself to go to Griffith. So he ostensibly wanted to

413
00:21:54,201 --> 00:21:56,001
Speaker 4: go to Griffith to have a bit of a look see,

414
00:21:56,041 --> 00:21:58,840
Speaker 4: because he was one of the sergeants on the task force.

415
00:21:59,281 --> 00:22:02,241
Speaker 4: Between the three sergeants they would run the jobs, and

416
00:22:03,041 --> 00:22:04,881
Speaker 4: he was very interested in the job that we had

417
00:22:05,521 --> 00:22:08,801
Speaker 4: with all these other things. So he decided to get

418
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:10,880
Speaker 4: himself familiar with the place. He'd already been up to

419
00:22:10,921 --> 00:22:13,521
Speaker 4: Sydney to listen to the NCAA phones and look at

420
00:22:13,521 --> 00:22:14,640
Speaker 4: the set up there, and then he wanted to go

421
00:22:14,681 --> 00:22:16,520
Speaker 4: to Griffith and look at the set up there. So

422
00:22:16,521 --> 00:22:19,360
Speaker 4: he went to Griffith and he took duty with him

423
00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,840
Speaker 4: and Peter. They were both dogs. They had followed mister

424
00:22:22,921 --> 00:22:27,840
Speaker 4: Valencia to Griffith and they knew the location or whereabouts

425
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,200
Speaker 4: of the farm where the cannabis had been picked up from.

426
00:22:31,321 --> 00:22:33,681
Speaker 4: They didn't know the exact farm location, but they sort

427
00:22:33,681 --> 00:22:35,680
Speaker 4: of knew the vicinity. So he wanted to go up

428
00:22:35,681 --> 00:22:38,840
Speaker 4: there and have a look himself, right, That's what he said.

429
00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:42,121
Speaker 4: That was the purpose of his trip. What he actually

430
00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:46,041
Speaker 4: did was he went up there with what he says

431
00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:49,441
Speaker 4: he made up on the spot that he was drinking

432
00:22:49,481 --> 00:22:52,200
Speaker 4: at the Workingman's cub or the ex Serviceman's Club, I

433
00:22:52,241 --> 00:22:55,840
Speaker 4: should say, after having a look around Griffith one night

434
00:22:56,041 --> 00:22:59,880
Speaker 4: and he saw these Italian people, et cetera, et cetera.

435
00:23:00,521 --> 00:23:03,201
Speaker 4: He got friendly with a lady there who was interacting

436
00:23:03,241 --> 00:23:06,240
Speaker 4: with them. You call her Pan called her Pam, so

437
00:23:06,281 --> 00:23:09,561
Speaker 4: she's not of a tea and heritage. They got talking

438
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,281
Speaker 4: to Pam and at the end of that night, when

439
00:23:13,321 --> 00:23:16,561
Speaker 4: they were leaving the Exes which is the ex Serviceman's

440
00:23:16,561 --> 00:23:21,001
Speaker 4: Club he is known as the Exies, Pam basically identified

441
00:23:21,001 --> 00:23:26,041
Speaker 4: who these bikes were to McLaren and Judy and Peter,

442
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,600
Speaker 4: and these bikes she identified was Romeo, his brother Rocco,

443
00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,961
Speaker 4: and he's what we would later call his.

444
00:23:34,801 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 1: First lieutenant, Rosario Trimbaldi.

445
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,281
Speaker 4: He didn't speak to them, wasn't introduced to them, but

446
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,121
Speaker 4: they sort of acknowledged him on the way out because

447
00:23:43,201 --> 00:23:46,561
Speaker 4: he was with Pam. It went on from there. They

448
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,761
Speaker 4: went and had a few more drinks with Pam or Square,

449
00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:51,360
Speaker 4: and then they told Pam they'd come back in another

450
00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:54,561
Speaker 4: couple of weeks. At that time he told her that

451
00:23:54,681 --> 00:23:57,201
Speaker 4: he was an art dealer. These name was Cole Goodwin,

452
00:23:57,481 --> 00:23:59,561
Speaker 4: Judy was his girlfriend, and Peter was just a friend.

453
00:24:00,241 --> 00:24:04,281
Speaker 4: So he set it up then. So to my mind,

454
00:24:04,761 --> 00:24:07,400
Speaker 4: he either made that up on the spot or he

455
00:24:07,441 --> 00:24:13,000
Speaker 4: had a preconceived plan with all these names and identities.

456
00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:13,321
Speaker 1: Already worked out.

457
00:24:14,001 --> 00:24:16,720
Speaker 4: But I can't tell you whether that's true or not,

458
00:24:16,921 --> 00:24:21,281
Speaker 4: because unlike most COVID sort of investigations, you do like

459
00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:24,241
Speaker 4: that he wasn't wearing a wire or there was no

460
00:24:25,001 --> 00:24:27,080
Speaker 4: recording of any of this interaction.

461
00:24:27,521 --> 00:24:30,520
Speaker 2: And normally this would be the way you do it.

462
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,600
Speaker 2: You would have back up, because this is a dangerous moment.

463
00:24:33,681 --> 00:24:37,481
Speaker 2: You're bowling up to some very heavy organized crime figures

464
00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:40,641
Speaker 2: with a pretext. And I've got to tell you, when

465
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,201
Speaker 2: I look at the alias and the whole thing, I mean,

466
00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:45,801
Speaker 2: they're supposed to be professionals. Why did they fall for this?

467
00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,361
Speaker 2: Because if someone came to me and said, oh, I'm

468
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,081
Speaker 2: an art dealer, that and the other. I know it's

469
00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:53,561
Speaker 2: pre the Internet, but surely a couple of phone calls

470
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,960
Speaker 2: to Melbourne or Candor or somewhere in the art world

471
00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:59,521
Speaker 2: would have established there ain't no Cole Goodwin and you're

472
00:24:59,561 --> 00:25:02,440
Speaker 2: probably talking to an undercover copper. So I mean, for

473
00:25:02,481 --> 00:25:05,521
Speaker 2: a start, they sound like they're pretty soft targets. Really yeah.

474
00:25:05,801 --> 00:25:09,201
Speaker 4: I mean, I've often said all crooks are dumb, and

475
00:25:09,241 --> 00:25:12,001
Speaker 4: there's the reason for that is because they don't think

476
00:25:12,001 --> 00:25:15,481
Speaker 4: of things like doing your due diligence like we it's

477
00:25:15,561 --> 00:25:18,801
Speaker 4: belted into us. You do your due diligence on people

478
00:25:18,801 --> 00:25:21,001
Speaker 4: that you've met and people you're working on and that

479
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:23,280
Speaker 4: sort of thing. You need to know exactly who it is.

480
00:25:24,041 --> 00:25:26,880
Speaker 4: But these guys are crooks. I think one didn't have

481
00:25:26,961 --> 00:25:28,080
Speaker 4: that sort of background.

482
00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:29,921
Speaker 2: Well apparently not, but I'm sure they got it after

483
00:25:29,961 --> 00:25:32,160
Speaker 2: this because I guess one of the key attractions to

484
00:25:32,241 --> 00:25:35,481
Speaker 2: them was that Cole Goodwin was offering them a way

485
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,521
Speaker 2: to launder their money, which is the perennial problem for

486
00:25:38,561 --> 00:25:41,041
Speaker 2: the drug crook, actually getting rid of your cash. So

487
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,840
Speaker 2: he was saying, I can do some funny business through

488
00:25:44,201 --> 00:25:46,400
Speaker 2: art sales and things where you can hide your money

489
00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:50,160
Speaker 2: and wash it. And this must have been tremendously appealing.

490
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:52,281
Speaker 2: I mean, yes, they're not that smart, but I think

491
00:25:52,281 --> 00:25:55,360
Speaker 2: every crook has their unique selling point. So I think

492
00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:59,200
Speaker 2: the plan was well pitched as it were, But I

493
00:25:59,241 --> 00:26:01,880
Speaker 2: still have to question, and I think this is probably

494
00:26:01,921 --> 00:26:06,441
Speaker 2: something that contributed to Romeo's ultimate dem eyes that they've

495
00:26:06,441 --> 00:26:08,041
Speaker 2: been infiltrated so easily.

496
00:26:08,321 --> 00:26:12,881
Speaker 4: Yeah, and when it came to talking about because Cole

497
00:26:12,921 --> 00:26:16,120
Speaker 4: bought up the topic of you can use art to

498
00:26:16,321 --> 00:26:19,041
Speaker 4: hide money that sort of thing. He brought it up

499
00:26:19,041 --> 00:26:22,001
Speaker 4: in a very surreptitious sort of way. But it wasn't

500
00:26:22,041 --> 00:26:24,600
Speaker 4: at the first meeting or the second meeting, and probably

501
00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:28,080
Speaker 4: not at the third meeting. It was some further time

502
00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:31,321
Speaker 4: down the track that that was brought in. It was

503
00:26:31,561 --> 00:26:36,001
Speaker 4: just the first number of meetings that they had were

504
00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 4: basically just dipping your toe in the water and just

505
00:26:39,681 --> 00:26:42,161
Speaker 4: getting to bump into them and know them a little bit,

506
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:47,441
Speaker 4: just general conversation with them, but using PAM as a tool,

507
00:26:47,521 --> 00:26:50,761
Speaker 4: I suppose a reference really yeah, as a reference point

508
00:26:50,801 --> 00:26:53,200
Speaker 4: for them to get in and talk to them. And

509
00:26:53,241 --> 00:26:56,561
Speaker 4: then they just happened to turn up when the attens

510
00:26:56,561 --> 00:26:58,160
Speaker 4: were available to talk to.

511
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,121
Speaker 2: Yeah, so they accept Cole and Judy into their circle.

512
00:27:01,441 --> 00:27:03,840
Speaker 2: It develops to the point where you need to set

513
00:27:03,921 --> 00:27:07,881
Speaker 2: up a Melbourne head quarters for Cole. How was that done?

514
00:27:08,321 --> 00:27:12,120
Speaker 4: He had gone ahead and taken himself out of the

515
00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:15,000
Speaker 4: office basically as an investigator, and he was now an

516
00:27:15,041 --> 00:27:19,161
Speaker 4: undercover operative. Right Generally, when if you're setting something up

517
00:27:19,241 --> 00:27:22,120
Speaker 4: like this, you would have a backstory already done. The

518
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,840
Speaker 4: backstory wasn't done because we didn't know he was going

519
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,521
Speaker 4: to go out and start this undercover part of the operation.

520
00:27:30,441 --> 00:27:33,321
Speaker 4: So what happened was we had to build a backstory.

521
00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:35,080
Speaker 4: We had to get him bank accounts, we had to

522
00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:38,000
Speaker 4: get him a driver's license, all sorts of things to

523
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,921
Speaker 4: legitimize his persona as Cole Goodwin Art dealer. Having that,

524
00:27:42,961 --> 00:27:46,360
Speaker 4: we decided that he needed a house or some place

525
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:50,241
Speaker 4: in Melbourne where he could bring his Italians friend to

526
00:27:50,441 --> 00:27:52,801
Speaker 4: because we knew they'd come to Melbourne all the time.

527
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:54,721
Speaker 4: I mean we'd had the phones office some time at

528
00:27:54,721 --> 00:27:58,561
Speaker 4: this stage, probably well over six months. So Colin found

529
00:27:58,681 --> 00:28:01,961
Speaker 4: a place in East Melbourne and it's just a very

530
00:28:02,001 --> 00:28:05,841
Speaker 4: small one bedroom unit, nothing too flashy, and it took

531
00:28:05,921 --> 00:28:09,201
Speaker 4: us about three or four weeks to set that unit up.

532
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:11,801
Speaker 4: So first thing we had to do was put furniture

533
00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:15,281
Speaker 4: in there. So we had to organize furniture. Fortunately we

534
00:28:15,321 --> 00:28:19,201
Speaker 4: had the NCAA financially backing us. If we were getting

535
00:28:19,201 --> 00:28:21,281
Speaker 4: furniture off the Victoria Police, they'd probably throw a few

536
00:28:21,321 --> 00:28:23,561
Speaker 4: deck chairs in there that they might buy a second hand.

537
00:28:23,921 --> 00:28:26,961
Speaker 4: But we had some fairly good looking furniture put in there.

538
00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:29,561
Speaker 2: Well, there were limits because you ended up putting some

539
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,400
Speaker 2: of your unwanted wedding presents.

540
00:28:31,001 --> 00:28:34,440
Speaker 4: Into that, right, Yeah, So we all bought in stuff

541
00:28:34,481 --> 00:28:36,281
Speaker 4: from our own homes. I went with Colin to EA's

542
00:28:36,281 --> 00:28:38,841
Speaker 4: house in Hawthorne. He had got a number of paintings

543
00:28:38,841 --> 00:28:41,121
Speaker 4: and bits and paces out of there. We moved all

544
00:28:41,161 --> 00:28:43,801
Speaker 4: that into the unit. While we were doing that, we're

545
00:28:43,841 --> 00:28:48,641
Speaker 4: also putting in listening devices and video devices so it

546
00:28:48,641 --> 00:28:50,481
Speaker 4: could be turned off and turned on when we wanted

547
00:28:50,521 --> 00:28:53,561
Speaker 4: it to. So anyone who went into that unit we

548
00:28:53,601 --> 00:28:57,961
Speaker 4: recorded everything. Because being a one bedroom unit, the living

549
00:28:58,001 --> 00:29:00,321
Speaker 4: area in the kitchen were virtually the one sort of

550
00:29:00,401 --> 00:29:05,241
Speaker 4: room and it was just the bedroom elsewhere, So anytime

551
00:29:05,281 --> 00:29:08,001
Speaker 4: the crooks came or anyone came, they could be recorded.

552
00:29:08,201 --> 00:29:11,401
Speaker 4: But it was just a front, and we knew when

553
00:29:11,641 --> 00:29:14,121
Speaker 4: Colin would have to be there because we had the

554
00:29:14,161 --> 00:29:14,601
Speaker 4: phones off.

555
00:29:14,641 --> 00:29:16,481
Speaker 1: We knew exactly where the crooks were all the time.

556
00:29:16,521 --> 00:29:18,801
Speaker 2: So now the infrastructure is all in place. You played

557
00:29:18,841 --> 00:29:22,041
Speaker 2: catch up, Cole, Goodwin and Duty are established and now

558
00:29:22,121 --> 00:29:26,681
Speaker 2: things are moving towards encouraging them to do business. Let's Cole,

559
00:29:27,321 --> 00:29:30,641
Speaker 2: what were the planned operations that came out of this. Now,

560
00:29:30,681 --> 00:29:31,801
Speaker 2: this rapport that had been.

561
00:29:31,721 --> 00:29:35,721
Speaker 4: Created well over a period of about five months, Colin

562
00:29:35,801 --> 00:29:38,001
Speaker 4: Judy had been engaging with them, going out for dinner

563
00:29:38,001 --> 00:29:41,841
Speaker 4: in Melbourne, bumping into them in Griffith, talking.

564
00:29:41,721 --> 00:29:43,321
Speaker 1: A little bit about this, little bit about that.

565
00:29:43,681 --> 00:29:46,081
Speaker 4: Then they got on to Cole's idea of how you

566
00:29:46,121 --> 00:29:48,721
Speaker 4: could make money out of investing in art. So Washington

567
00:29:48,801 --> 00:29:52,281
Speaker 4: laundering your money, laundering your money with most drug squad jobs,

568
00:29:52,601 --> 00:29:54,761
Speaker 4: you're in there within one or two meetings, you're talking

569
00:29:54,881 --> 00:29:58,361
Speaker 4: drugs with low level drug dealers, meetium level drug dealers,

570
00:29:58,361 --> 00:30:01,200
Speaker 4: that sort of thing, because that's what you're after with

571
00:30:01,321 --> 00:30:04,921
Speaker 4: these guys. You had to go slowly, slowly, because cold

572
00:30:05,121 --> 00:30:07,681
Speaker 4: and have a drug dealing background. He was an art dealer,

573
00:30:08,241 --> 00:30:10,961
Speaker 4: so he come up with this idea that he had

574
00:30:11,001 --> 00:30:16,361
Speaker 4: friends in the media, and these friends, you know like drugs.

575
00:30:16,361 --> 00:30:17,281
Speaker 1: They liked drugs.

576
00:30:17,401 --> 00:30:20,961
Speaker 4: So at one meeting in the December, they came back

577
00:30:21,001 --> 00:30:23,881
Speaker 4: after dinner, they went out to a restaurant called Lotchcacheatoria.

578
00:30:24,481 --> 00:30:27,121
Speaker 4: It was a very interesting group of people meeting there.

579
00:30:27,281 --> 00:30:31,001
Speaker 4: So that was Colin and Judy and the Griffith Targets

580
00:30:31,121 --> 00:30:33,601
Speaker 4: with their girlfriends. And then after that they went out

581
00:30:33,601 --> 00:30:36,961
Speaker 4: for drinks at a bar. And at that bar, Cole

582
00:30:37,001 --> 00:30:39,001
Speaker 4: mentioned his friends, you know, and he says, oh, you

583
00:30:39,041 --> 00:30:41,321
Speaker 4: know what they're like, you know, sex, drugs, rock and roll.

584
00:30:42,281 --> 00:30:47,761
Speaker 4: From that initial conversation, the talk of cocaine and drugs

585
00:30:47,801 --> 00:30:52,641
Speaker 4: came up, particularly cocaine, and straightaway Trimbali took the bait

586
00:30:53,401 --> 00:30:56,161
Speaker 4: and said, if you need cocaine, I can get you

587
00:30:56,161 --> 00:30:59,721
Speaker 4: as much as you like. Basically, from that point the

588
00:30:59,761 --> 00:31:04,401
Speaker 4: investigation turned from a friendly get together meeting up with

589
00:31:04,441 --> 00:31:07,440
Speaker 4: each other for dinner and whatever too. Basically, we're going

590
00:31:07,521 --> 00:31:08,760
Speaker 4: to be dealing in drugs from here on.

591
00:31:09,681 --> 00:31:12,200
Speaker 2: And to cut a long story short, Cole Goodwin ends

592
00:31:12,281 --> 00:31:15,361
Speaker 2: up buying one hundred and eighty thousand dollars worth of cocaine,

593
00:31:15,841 --> 00:31:19,761
Speaker 2: which is paid for out of the taxpayer's dollar. How On, earth.

594
00:31:20,001 --> 00:31:23,081
Speaker 2: Did anyone persuade Victoria Police and the NCAA to come

595
00:31:23,161 --> 00:31:26,001
Speaker 2: up with one hundred and eighty grand, which you may

596
00:31:26,041 --> 00:31:28,841
Speaker 2: not see again, to buy cocaine? I might I find

597
00:31:28,881 --> 00:31:30,681
Speaker 2: that astounding. There was a tone of the times I

598
00:31:30,761 --> 00:31:31,601
Speaker 2: guess it.

599
00:31:31,801 --> 00:31:33,081
Speaker 1: Was, I mean shock horror.

600
00:31:33,161 --> 00:31:35,961
Speaker 4: Normally, if you're buying anything for more than ten thousand dollars,

601
00:31:36,081 --> 00:31:38,720
Speaker 4: the department didn't want to part with it, so you'd

602
00:31:38,761 --> 00:31:40,481
Speaker 4: hand over the money and then you would bust them

603
00:31:40,481 --> 00:31:43,281
Speaker 4: in a buy bust sort of sting. At the time,

604
00:31:43,361 --> 00:31:47,041
Speaker 4: when we purchased the one killer of cocaine, which costs

605
00:31:47,121 --> 00:31:49,081
Speaker 4: hundred and eighty thousand dollars plus, we then had to

606
00:31:49,081 --> 00:31:50,841
Speaker 4: find another five thousand for the driver.

607
00:31:51,441 --> 00:31:53,881
Speaker 2: And I think the NCAA and the vic cops walked

608
00:31:53,881 --> 00:31:56,960
Speaker 2: at the five grand almost stross moves the whole thing.

609
00:31:57,081 --> 00:32:01,081
Speaker 4: Well, look, the total buy money which we had at

610
00:32:01,121 --> 00:32:04,161
Speaker 4: the drug squad for her annum at that time was

611
00:32:04,241 --> 00:32:06,881
Speaker 4: just over two hundred thousand dollars, So to say goodbye

612
00:32:06,881 --> 00:32:08,921
Speaker 4: one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, they weren't really too

613
00:32:08,921 --> 00:32:12,401
Speaker 4: happy about it, so they stamped up thirty thousand, and

614
00:32:12,441 --> 00:32:14,361
Speaker 4: the NCAA came up with the other hundred and fifty.

615
00:32:14,721 --> 00:32:17,881
Speaker 4: At the last minute, the crooks decided someone at the

616
00:32:17,921 --> 00:32:21,121
Speaker 4: courier that cocaine from Griffith down to Melbourne, and the

617
00:32:21,201 --> 00:32:23,801
Speaker 4: courier wanted five thousand dollars, which they put on us.

618
00:32:24,841 --> 00:32:27,801
Speaker 4: And for about two hours there was a lot of

619
00:32:27,961 --> 00:32:31,281
Speaker 4: hassle between our office and the nca office. Sister, who's

620
00:32:31,321 --> 00:32:33,081
Speaker 4: going to come up with the other five thousand dollars,

621
00:32:33,121 --> 00:32:35,161
Speaker 4: you know, But look it was over and done within

622
00:32:35,241 --> 00:32:38,041
Speaker 4: within a couple of hours. The NCAA came good and

623
00:32:38,201 --> 00:32:41,561
Speaker 4: we bought that. I photo copied every note at the

624
00:32:41,681 --> 00:32:45,561
Speaker 4: nca office. Our photo copier was so slow, so we

625
00:32:45,601 --> 00:32:48,281
Speaker 4: took the money over the NCAA office and they had

626
00:32:48,961 --> 00:32:51,520
Speaker 4: a photocopyer machine which is almost the size of like

627
00:32:51,521 --> 00:32:54,281
Speaker 4: a landing or landing craft, you know, like it was

628
00:32:54,321 --> 00:32:56,641
Speaker 4: just massive and in the blink of an eye it

629
00:32:56,721 --> 00:32:59,081
Speaker 4: was photo copying the cash as it flowed through. So

630
00:32:59,841 --> 00:33:02,841
Speaker 4: we photo copied all the serial numbers, none of which

631
00:33:02,881 --> 00:33:06,561
Speaker 4: actually were ever located ever found any cash that we

632
00:33:06,641 --> 00:33:09,641
Speaker 4: sees later on, none of them matched the money that

633
00:33:09,681 --> 00:33:10,761
Speaker 4: we purchased the cake for.

634
00:33:11,281 --> 00:33:14,281
Speaker 2: And you buy the coke and shock horror, it wasn't

635
00:33:14,361 --> 00:33:17,241
Speaker 2: quite as pure as had been advertised, was it?

636
00:33:17,401 --> 00:33:19,001
Speaker 1: No, it was still fairly pure.

637
00:33:19,081 --> 00:33:21,401
Speaker 4: I think he was saying, oh, you know, it's ninety

638
00:33:21,401 --> 00:33:24,601
Speaker 4: percent pure, under percent pure. I mean that's just them talking,

639
00:33:24,681 --> 00:33:29,961
Speaker 4: and I mean Rosario's way of identifying how pure cocaine

640
00:33:30,081 --> 00:33:33,481
Speaker 4: was was to Licky's finger, dip it in the powder

641
00:33:33,841 --> 00:33:36,001
Speaker 4: and see how long it took for his tongue to

642
00:33:36,041 --> 00:33:39,921
Speaker 4: go numb. Obviously, when we buy cocaine, you go, right, well,

643
00:33:39,961 --> 00:33:43,001
Speaker 4: I want a sample, we want to test it. A

644
00:33:43,081 --> 00:33:46,440
Speaker 4: sample was taken from the kilo and it was taken

645
00:33:46,481 --> 00:33:49,401
Speaker 4: to our person who tests it, which we use the

646
00:33:49,441 --> 00:33:52,321
Speaker 4: forensic labs for that. That went to forensic. They came

647
00:33:52,361 --> 00:33:54,401
Speaker 4: back and said, yeah, see me off percent pure. So

648
00:33:54,521 --> 00:33:56,721
Speaker 4: then then we went ahead and made the deal. Now,

649
00:33:56,761 --> 00:33:59,041
Speaker 4: the reason we let the money run on the cocaine

650
00:33:59,321 --> 00:34:02,801
Speaker 4: was Cole had already set up in discussion with importing

651
00:34:03,201 --> 00:34:06,321
Speaker 4: a ton of cannabis from pop New Guinea into Australia.

652
00:34:07,001 --> 00:34:11,120
Speaker 4: So buying the cocaine only identified two or three of

653
00:34:11,161 --> 00:34:15,241
Speaker 4: the crew. Organizing an importation on that scale would identify

654
00:34:15,281 --> 00:34:17,841
Speaker 4: a lot more of his crew. So we wanted the

655
00:34:17,881 --> 00:34:20,841
Speaker 4: cocaine to go and we were going to bust them

656
00:34:20,921 --> 00:34:22,241
Speaker 4: on importing the cannabis.

657
00:34:22,361 --> 00:34:26,161
Speaker 2: Right, fascinating this whole thing. Here are the Griffith mafia

658
00:34:26,361 --> 00:34:30,361
Speaker 2: living in grass castles down there, supposedly growing all the

659
00:34:30,481 --> 00:34:34,521
Speaker 2: marijuana and Victoria and Miss South Wales and suddenly the

660
00:34:34,561 --> 00:34:38,521
Speaker 2: kookiest plan of all time to import Papa New Guinea

661
00:34:38,561 --> 00:34:42,361
Speaker 2: and cannabis. Yeah it's a pretty unlikely and dumb, risk

662
00:34:42,521 --> 00:34:43,521
Speaker 2: laden thing to do.

663
00:34:44,281 --> 00:34:47,441
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's interesting. I think maybe they'd been under pressure

664
00:34:47,441 --> 00:34:50,801
Speaker 4: with their outdoor crops. The Coliambly crop had been busted

665
00:34:50,801 --> 00:34:54,121
Speaker 4: a few years earlier, the Bungen door crop, which was

666
00:34:54,281 --> 00:34:57,881
Speaker 4: quite famous. The days of the really large outdoor crops

667
00:34:57,881 --> 00:35:01,521
Speaker 4: were coming to an end. There was more aerial surveillance

668
00:35:01,561 --> 00:35:03,841
Speaker 4: I know at the time because one of the guys

669
00:35:03,881 --> 00:35:07,761
Speaker 4: on the task force was condered to the New South

670
00:35:07,801 --> 00:35:13,361
Speaker 4: Wales's cannabis crop team. Each year during the season, the

671
00:35:13,401 --> 00:35:16,241
Speaker 4: growing season, they would send them up in a chopper

672
00:35:16,281 --> 00:35:18,961
Speaker 4: and they basically fly down the Murray on the New

673
00:35:19,001 --> 00:35:21,521
Speaker 4: South Wales side of the border and from up above

674
00:35:21,601 --> 00:35:24,401
Speaker 4: they could identify where the crops were. They would then

675
00:35:24,441 --> 00:35:27,161
Speaker 4: drop down in the helicopter and they wouldn't arrest anyone.

676
00:35:27,441 --> 00:35:31,321
Speaker 4: They would just basically destroy the crop, then they'd fly

677
00:35:31,441 --> 00:35:33,601
Speaker 4: up and they'd move on to the next one. So

678
00:35:33,761 --> 00:35:36,681
Speaker 4: there was a lot of pressure for them growing large

679
00:35:36,681 --> 00:35:39,521
Speaker 4: crops outdoors, so it was sort of coming to an end.

680
00:35:39,881 --> 00:35:42,481
Speaker 4: But the other thing was, if you're growing a crop outdoors,

681
00:35:42,961 --> 00:35:44,000
Speaker 4: it's subject.

682
00:35:43,721 --> 00:35:44,361
Speaker 1: To the elements.

683
00:35:44,401 --> 00:35:47,561
Speaker 4: You've got no control over the quality of your product.

684
00:35:48,041 --> 00:35:51,281
Speaker 4: That's why they were starting to look at growing crops indoors.

685
00:35:51,761 --> 00:35:55,241
Speaker 4: But in Papua New Guinea in the tropics, there no surveillance,

686
00:35:55,481 --> 00:35:58,601
Speaker 4: nothing like that. With the rainfall they had, the cannabis

687
00:35:58,961 --> 00:36:02,761
Speaker 4: was pretty damn special, so I think that's why they

688
00:36:02,801 --> 00:36:03,721
Speaker 4: were getting it from there.

689
00:36:03,881 --> 00:36:07,321
Speaker 2: I do remember going to Papua New Guinea in about

690
00:36:07,401 --> 00:36:10,041
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety eight and flying out to doing a famine,

691
00:36:10,041 --> 00:36:12,801
Speaker 2: bushfire and so forth, and flying out to the remote

692
00:36:12,841 --> 00:36:16,641
Speaker 2: areas there and coming to villages and there were huge

693
00:36:16,681 --> 00:36:19,681
Speaker 2: stands of marijuana. In fact, one of our crew was

694
00:36:19,721 --> 00:36:21,801
Speaker 2: just trying to bring back a whole bunch and we said,

695
00:36:21,921 --> 00:36:23,881
Speaker 2: you're not bringing that stuff and the army helicopter, thank

696
00:36:23,921 --> 00:36:24,440
Speaker 2: you very much.

697
00:36:24,721 --> 00:36:24,881
Speaker 1: Luck.

698
00:36:24,961 --> 00:36:27,441
Speaker 2: But it was a perfect growing environment, so this was

699
00:36:27,481 --> 00:36:30,761
Speaker 2: going to be the big deal. And for you guys,

700
00:36:30,961 --> 00:36:33,401
Speaker 2: this was a massive operation. There was what three or

701
00:36:33,401 --> 00:36:35,681
Speaker 2: four locations going on. There was going to be a

702
00:36:35,761 --> 00:36:41,081
Speaker 2: light plane meeting the cannabis courier on Horn Island near

703
00:36:41,121 --> 00:36:44,961
Speaker 2: Papua New Guinea and then flying that into Queensland. Just

704
00:36:44,961 --> 00:36:46,601
Speaker 2: take me through the operations. It was going to be.

705
00:36:46,801 --> 00:36:50,881
Speaker 4: Yeah, to start with the idea of importing the cannabis.

706
00:36:51,161 --> 00:36:54,081
Speaker 4: That was something that was brought up by the Italians.

707
00:36:54,401 --> 00:36:57,641
Speaker 4: It's important to stress that because when it comes to

708
00:36:57,761 --> 00:37:02,001
Speaker 4: things like agent provocateur, if we had suggested it, then

709
00:37:02,081 --> 00:37:04,561
Speaker 4: even though I don't know if you can use agent

710
00:37:04,561 --> 00:37:07,961
Speaker 4: provocatur in Victoria, but you want to avoid that at

711
00:37:08,001 --> 00:37:10,521
Speaker 4: all costs, in other words, provoking something that happen right.

712
00:37:10,601 --> 00:37:12,641
Speaker 4: We didn't want to be setting them up. Yes, they

713
00:37:12,681 --> 00:37:16,041
Speaker 4: set themselves up right. So it was their idea and

714
00:37:16,081 --> 00:37:18,641
Speaker 4: it was their idea to get a plane. All we

715
00:37:18,681 --> 00:37:23,601
Speaker 4: did was facilitate their wishes. So the plane was who

716
00:37:23,641 --> 00:37:26,241
Speaker 4: was a person in the PNG Defense Forces who was

717
00:37:26,281 --> 00:37:29,401
Speaker 4: training at the Wagga Army facility or Air Force facility

718
00:37:29,561 --> 00:37:33,041
Speaker 4: at Wagga, and he knew a few people, and those

719
00:37:33,081 --> 00:37:36,241
Speaker 4: people knew the Italians. And when he was stealing in

720
00:37:36,401 --> 00:37:39,201
Speaker 4: cannabis Likecally, he was going this stuff is shit. You know,

721
00:37:39,281 --> 00:37:41,081
Speaker 4: there's much better stuff in pingj I can get you

722
00:37:41,081 --> 00:37:43,441
Speaker 4: as much as you like. One thing led to another

723
00:37:43,441 --> 00:37:45,161
Speaker 4: and they came up with the idea, well, let's import

724
00:37:45,201 --> 00:37:48,441
Speaker 4: this really good stuff from P and G. So the

725
00:37:48,481 --> 00:37:51,601
Speaker 4: p G guy's name was Harley. So the plane was

726
00:37:51,641 --> 00:37:55,361
Speaker 4: that Harley would scowl the hinterland and the high lands

727
00:37:55,361 --> 00:37:57,801
Speaker 4: and the laylands of PNG get as much as he

728
00:37:57,841 --> 00:38:01,521
Speaker 4: could together, and he would consolidate all that on an

729
00:38:01,521 --> 00:38:04,601
Speaker 4: island called Daku Island on the south coast of P

730
00:38:04,681 --> 00:38:09,121
Speaker 4: and G. He would then use his contacts. Initially it

731
00:38:09,201 --> 00:38:10,841
Speaker 4: was going to use his contacts in the army. Then

732
00:38:10,841 --> 00:38:14,201
Speaker 4: the flight to Horn Island and Horn Island is basically

733
00:38:14,281 --> 00:38:17,361
Speaker 4: just in airstrip which is used for people flying in

734
00:38:17,361 --> 00:38:20,521
Speaker 4: and out of Thursday Island. First Island is nearby and

735
00:38:20,561 --> 00:38:25,041
Speaker 4: that's basically the headquarters of the Torres Strait for Australia.

736
00:38:25,721 --> 00:38:27,561
Speaker 4: So you would fly into Horn Island and you would

737
00:38:27,521 --> 00:38:30,961
Speaker 4: get a bit across to Thurst Island, and the plan

738
00:38:31,201 --> 00:38:35,161
Speaker 4: was for the Italian Griffiths to fly up to Horn Island,

739
00:38:35,641 --> 00:38:38,881
Speaker 4: they would meet, do a swap and then fly back

740
00:38:39,161 --> 00:38:41,801
Speaker 4: and land somewhere in southern New South Wales, but they

741
00:38:41,801 --> 00:38:44,681
Speaker 4: would then meet it at the runway and take it

742
00:38:44,721 --> 00:38:47,761
Speaker 4: back to wherever they hide there the year. So the runway,

743
00:38:47,841 --> 00:38:51,961
Speaker 4: which was identified by Cole, was the airport at Kahuna.

744
00:38:52,921 --> 00:38:55,561
Speaker 4: First of all, they wanted to set it down on

745
00:38:55,601 --> 00:38:57,641
Speaker 4: a dirt airstrip that they would sort of make on

746
00:38:57,681 --> 00:39:00,481
Speaker 4: their farm or something like that seat of the pants

747
00:39:00,521 --> 00:39:03,201
Speaker 4: sort of stuff. But you can't land a light aircraft

748
00:39:03,241 --> 00:39:06,721
Speaker 4: with a ton of cannabis on on a dirt runway.

749
00:39:07,481 --> 00:39:11,081
Speaker 4: So one thing led to another as the plan developed.

750
00:39:11,281 --> 00:39:13,201
Speaker 4: The only real change was Harley was going to bring

751
00:39:13,241 --> 00:39:16,281
Speaker 4: it across in a boat. The only plan that really

752
00:39:16,361 --> 00:39:19,961
Speaker 4: a light plan that could take a ton was a

753
00:39:20,001 --> 00:39:23,361
Speaker 4: Cesna caravan. For love nor money, we couldn't hire one.

754
00:39:23,361 --> 00:39:26,001
Speaker 4: We couldn't find one anywhere in Australia. So the NCAA

755
00:39:26,081 --> 00:39:29,121
Speaker 4: was footing the bill for all this. So they come

756
00:39:29,201 --> 00:39:32,641
Speaker 4: up with a pipe Navajo chieftain that could take it

757
00:39:32,761 --> 00:39:35,361
Speaker 4: a load of up to seven hundred and fifty kilos

758
00:39:36,161 --> 00:39:39,961
Speaker 4: along with the three passengers, the pilot and two passengers

759
00:39:40,001 --> 00:39:44,841
Speaker 4: on board. As they were considering all the options, Rosario Trimbali,

760
00:39:44,881 --> 00:39:49,001
Speaker 4: who was sort of running this as Romeo's lieutenant he

761
00:39:49,041 --> 00:39:51,601
Speaker 4: came up the idea of doing a dummy run up

762
00:39:51,641 --> 00:39:53,801
Speaker 4: to Horn Island just to test it out, to make

763
00:39:53,841 --> 00:39:58,841
Speaker 4: sure that would work. So what happened there in say

764
00:39:58,961 --> 00:40:04,601
Speaker 4: March ninety four. By this time Colin's offsider Damien Marritt,

765
00:40:04,841 --> 00:40:07,881
Speaker 4: who was known as Colin's brother Ben, because Judy.

766
00:40:07,961 --> 00:40:11,721
Speaker 2: In a moment of sexist policing, has been sidelined now

767
00:40:11,801 --> 00:40:13,241
Speaker 2: as I got down to the pointing, and I think

768
00:40:13,241 --> 00:40:15,001
Speaker 2: she must have said, hang on, I was good enough

769
00:40:15,001 --> 00:40:17,761
Speaker 2: for the introductions and the rapport building thing, but now

770
00:40:17,801 --> 00:40:20,041
Speaker 2: when comes to the action, I'm getting sideline. How is

771
00:40:20,081 --> 00:40:20,921
Speaker 2: she feeling about that?

772
00:40:21,801 --> 00:40:23,921
Speaker 4: I'm not sure exactly how she felt about it. I

773
00:40:24,001 --> 00:40:26,681
Speaker 4: never spoke to about it, but that the problem for

774
00:40:26,801 --> 00:40:30,961
Speaker 4: Judy was you can claim sexism in most workplaces. The

775
00:40:31,081 --> 00:40:34,401
Speaker 4: drug dealers aren't structured like they're not and they won't

776
00:40:34,521 --> 00:40:36,241
Speaker 4: talk in front of the ladies. And that was made

777
00:40:36,321 --> 00:40:38,201
Speaker 4: quite clear by both Raemeo and Trimpoli.

778
00:40:39,241 --> 00:40:42,001
Speaker 2: And I think also Damian Merritt had an advantage. He'd

779
00:40:42,001 --> 00:40:44,561
Speaker 2: done some work with the Italians at Mildura correct, so

780
00:40:44,681 --> 00:40:46,161
Speaker 2: he was a good knock about and I think he's

781
00:40:46,161 --> 00:40:48,401
Speaker 2: still a good knock about. He's a product investigator these days,

782
00:40:48,441 --> 00:40:50,401
Speaker 2: and I do talk to him. So he comes in

783
00:40:50,441 --> 00:40:54,041
Speaker 2: and he's a useful foil for Cole as his brother Ben.

784
00:40:54,281 --> 00:40:56,401
Speaker 2: But even at that point they're not getting on that well.

785
00:40:56,801 --> 00:40:59,001
Speaker 2: And as we go down the years, the differences have

786
00:40:59,081 --> 00:41:02,561
Speaker 2: got quite wide. In their accounts, the mud get slung

787
00:41:02,641 --> 00:41:03,321
Speaker 2: back and forth.

788
00:41:03,521 --> 00:41:08,401
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I think reading the handwritten accounts they made

789
00:41:08,441 --> 00:41:12,601
Speaker 4: at the time their association, it was a bit like,

790
00:41:12,881 --> 00:41:15,681
Speaker 4: you know, trying to fit a square pig in a

791
00:41:15,721 --> 00:41:18,921
Speaker 4: round hole. They were different as far as in age went.

792
00:41:19,481 --> 00:41:22,881
Speaker 4: They had different ideas, tastes, and Merritt was a very

793
00:41:22,881 --> 00:41:28,801
Speaker 4: accomplished undercover operative. Cole was too, but Marrett specifically specialized

794
00:41:28,841 --> 00:41:31,481
Speaker 4: in drugs and his knowledge was probably a.

795
00:41:31,481 --> 00:41:32,241
Speaker 1: Bit more superior.

796
00:41:32,281 --> 00:41:35,641
Speaker 4: In my opinion, Let's face it, I could never be

797
00:41:36,681 --> 00:41:38,921
Speaker 4: an undercover operative, you know, I just don't have that

798
00:41:39,001 --> 00:41:42,241
Speaker 4: sort of talent. They both had big egos. One car

799
00:41:42,361 --> 00:41:44,761
Speaker 4: with two of them driving up and down to Griffith

800
00:41:44,841 --> 00:41:48,161
Speaker 4: in it for four hours or whatever it took. Must

801
00:41:48,201 --> 00:41:50,841
Speaker 4: have been difficult for both of them to maintain a

802
00:41:50,881 --> 00:41:55,401
Speaker 4: conversation other than talk about work, which, from what I understand,

803
00:41:55,921 --> 00:41:59,001
Speaker 4: Cole loved to talk about work and Damien wasn't that

804
00:41:59,121 --> 00:42:03,561
Speaker 4: interested in going over things time and time again. But yeah,

805
00:42:03,641 --> 00:42:05,801
Speaker 4: that's I suppose that's a matter of we'd have to

806
00:42:05,801 --> 00:42:09,441
Speaker 4: speak to them about. But quite clearly from what I read,

807
00:42:09,761 --> 00:42:13,121
Speaker 4: you could tell from their own writings that they weren't

808
00:42:13,841 --> 00:42:15,641
Speaker 4: too happy with each other at the time.

809
00:42:15,681 --> 00:42:19,561
Speaker 2: And to the extent where when the actual mission comes along,

810
00:42:20,601 --> 00:42:23,321
Speaker 2: rather than send Ben, who's the logical one to send

811
00:42:23,641 --> 00:42:26,921
Speaker 2: the underling, as it were, Cole decides he has to go.

812
00:42:27,401 --> 00:42:30,321
Speaker 2: And even the Italians question this, They say, Ah, you're

813
00:42:30,321 --> 00:42:33,121
Speaker 2: the boss, why are you going along doing the drudging work?

814
00:42:33,161 --> 00:42:35,201
Speaker 2: You know you should send Ben and call it to

815
00:42:35,201 --> 00:42:36,681
Speaker 2: come up with an excuse as to why he was

816
00:42:36,721 --> 00:42:39,081
Speaker 2: doing it. But I guess by this point, my goodness,

817
00:42:39,081 --> 00:42:40,721
Speaker 2: the amount of money you fellas have spent this is

818
00:42:40,761 --> 00:42:43,241
Speaker 2: like something out of Miami Vice. You know, one hundred

819
00:42:43,241 --> 00:42:45,561
Speaker 2: and eighty k on the coke, You've got the plane,

820
00:42:45,601 --> 00:42:47,561
Speaker 2: you've got the dry run, you've got all this stuff

821
00:42:47,601 --> 00:42:50,441
Speaker 2: going on. I mean, not a single person's been pinched

822
00:42:50,441 --> 00:42:54,721
Speaker 2: at this stage. Yeah, a high stakes moment. Take us

823
00:42:54,721 --> 00:42:57,281
Speaker 2: through that final phase of when it actually came together.

824
00:42:57,561 --> 00:43:02,601
Speaker 4: Yeah, Rosario. Initially the plan was for Rosario Trimboli to

825
00:43:02,761 --> 00:43:06,121
Speaker 4: go on the plane to Horn Island, and we could

826
00:43:06,161 --> 00:43:09,081
Speaker 4: only fit a pilot in two people because of the

827
00:43:09,121 --> 00:43:11,601
Speaker 4: amount of cannabis, the seven to fifty kilo, we'll try

828
00:43:11,681 --> 00:43:15,841
Speaker 4: to fit in there. So Rosario he worms his way

829
00:43:15,841 --> 00:43:18,761
Speaker 4: out of it, and he nominates his brother Dominic, to go.

830
00:43:19,281 --> 00:43:22,321
Speaker 4: So Dominic is the fall guy for them, but at

831
00:43:22,361 --> 00:43:25,161
Speaker 4: the very last minute he decides, no, I'm not going

832
00:43:25,201 --> 00:43:27,440
Speaker 4: to risk my brother. We're going to send a guy

833
00:43:27,481 --> 00:43:30,681
Speaker 4: called Lindsay. And he's not even Italian. So they sent

834
00:43:30,761 --> 00:43:34,441
Speaker 4: a guy called Lindsay Boram. He knew Harley, whereas the

835
00:43:34,441 --> 00:43:38,641
Speaker 4: Italians really didn't. They were introduced to Harley through someone else.

836
00:43:39,041 --> 00:43:42,641
Speaker 4: So Lindsay basically is their full guy. And Lindsay complains

837
00:43:42,641 --> 00:43:44,721
Speaker 4: about it to Colin on the way up, saying he's

838
00:43:44,761 --> 00:43:49,921
Speaker 4: taking all the risk. And as you said, Rosario questioned

839
00:43:49,961 --> 00:43:52,801
Speaker 4: Cole a number of times, you shouldn't be doing this.

840
00:43:52,841 --> 00:43:56,161
Speaker 4: You should send your brother Ben. But then Colin was

841
00:43:56,201 --> 00:43:59,321
Speaker 4: determined that he was going to go, and I suppose

842
00:43:59,361 --> 00:44:02,681
Speaker 4: as far as our office went, it was probably his call.

843
00:44:03,201 --> 00:44:06,121
Speaker 4: But it sort of went against the grain of being

844
00:44:06,321 --> 00:44:09,361
Speaker 4: the big time dealer as opposed to being the shitkicker

845
00:44:09,401 --> 00:44:10,561
Speaker 4: who has to go and pick up the.

846
00:44:11,001 --> 00:44:14,161
Speaker 2: Right And when Lindsay turns up, there's another complication. He's

847
00:44:14,161 --> 00:44:18,201
Speaker 2: a big bloke and wait, it's important on this trip

848
00:44:18,201 --> 00:44:20,281
Speaker 2: when you think we may have to offload some of

849
00:44:20,281 --> 00:44:22,881
Speaker 2: this cannabis to fit Lindsay's big bulk on the plane.

850
00:44:23,081 --> 00:44:25,801
Speaker 4: Yes, that's right. So Lindsay turned up. Not only was

851
00:44:25,801 --> 00:44:28,121
Speaker 4: he big, but he had a big bag of clothing

852
00:44:28,321 --> 00:44:30,841
Speaker 4: bits and pieces he was taking. So when him and

853
00:44:30,841 --> 00:44:34,121
Speaker 4: Colin were finally driven out to Melbourne Airport, he went

854
00:44:34,321 --> 00:44:38,761
Speaker 4: without all his gear. They were going to stay overnight

855
00:44:38,801 --> 00:44:43,001
Speaker 4: in cans and then overnight in Weeper before then picking

856
00:44:43,041 --> 00:44:44,201
Speaker 4: up the light aircraft.

857
00:44:44,681 --> 00:44:46,281
Speaker 2: So they get the light aircraft off, they go to

858
00:44:46,321 --> 00:44:49,721
Speaker 2: Horn Island under the cover of darkness, and the Griffith

859
00:44:49,801 --> 00:44:52,361
Speaker 2: Marfy is there waiting to in the south there to

860
00:44:52,401 --> 00:44:55,881
Speaker 2: pick up the pot. When it comes in plane lands,

861
00:44:56,481 --> 00:44:57,441
Speaker 2: where's Harley?

862
00:44:58,241 --> 00:45:00,961
Speaker 1: Where's Harley? Indeed Harley was meant to be there.

863
00:45:01,881 --> 00:45:05,681
Speaker 4: They arrived I think five minutes to five am, and

864
00:45:05,761 --> 00:45:09,441
Speaker 4: five m was the time for the meeting, and Harley

865
00:45:09,481 --> 00:45:11,801
Speaker 4: was meant to be coming in by boat with all

866
00:45:11,841 --> 00:45:16,241
Speaker 4: this cannabis. It's pitch black, I think Colin's got a torch.

867
00:45:16,561 --> 00:45:18,241
Speaker 4: They walk up and down the runway a bit, they

868
00:45:18,281 --> 00:45:22,161
Speaker 4: can't see anyone. They then use the aircraft they start

869
00:45:22,281 --> 00:45:24,201
Speaker 4: because all the lights on the aircraft were turned off

870
00:45:24,241 --> 00:45:27,481
Speaker 4: to save the battery, so then they got back on

871
00:45:27,481 --> 00:45:29,241
Speaker 4: the aircraft. They start the aircraft up and they used

872
00:45:29,241 --> 00:45:32,561
Speaker 4: the aircraft's lights to look around by maneuvering it up

873
00:45:32,601 --> 00:45:35,281
Speaker 4: and down the runway and Harley still can't be seen.

874
00:45:35,321 --> 00:45:38,721
Speaker 4: So they bring the plane back and they're sitting down.

875
00:45:38,721 --> 00:45:41,081
Speaker 4: They're a little bit dejected. Half an hour's gone past.

876
00:45:41,521 --> 00:45:45,681
Speaker 4: Lindsay's getting a bit worried, bit concerned, and he gets

877
00:45:45,721 --> 00:45:48,561
Speaker 4: the torch from Cole and he starts going to look

878
00:45:48,601 --> 00:45:49,201
Speaker 4: again and they.

879
00:45:49,161 --> 00:45:53,561
Speaker 2: Because the jungle is full of undercover I think they

880
00:45:53,561 --> 00:45:55,841
Speaker 2: were Queensland Special Operations Group.

881
00:45:55,961 --> 00:45:57,961
Speaker 1: Yeah, so the Queensland cert were there.

882
00:45:58,001 --> 00:45:58,921
Speaker 2: So the soldier cops.

883
00:45:59,201 --> 00:46:02,801
Speaker 4: Yeah, basically the equivalent of our SOG. There was a

884
00:46:02,881 --> 00:46:06,081
Speaker 4: number of them hidden in the jungle, keeping an eye

885
00:46:06,481 --> 00:46:09,241
Speaker 4: on Colin and the pilot of the plane, who was

886
00:46:09,281 --> 00:46:13,321
Speaker 4: also an undercover cop. They were there for security. Now,

887
00:46:13,801 --> 00:46:15,921
Speaker 4: some people think there might have been thousands there. There weren't.

888
00:46:15,921 --> 00:46:17,921
Speaker 1: There was only less than half a dozen.

889
00:46:17,681 --> 00:46:20,321
Speaker 2: But he don't spoil the story. The jungle is supposed

890
00:46:20,321 --> 00:46:22,561
Speaker 2: to be full of these guys. They're supposed to be

891
00:46:23,001 --> 00:46:25,681
Speaker 2: supposed to be. The jungle was full of other critics, though,

892
00:46:26,001 --> 00:46:30,041
Speaker 2: and some birds were disturbed in the in what was

893
00:46:30,161 --> 00:46:33,641
Speaker 2: becoming the gray dawn, and they thought, oh, someone must

894
00:46:33,641 --> 00:46:37,481
Speaker 2: have disturbed the birds. So Lindsay gets the torch and

895
00:46:37,481 --> 00:46:40,161
Speaker 2: he heads off towards the birds, and Cole's saying, oh,

896
00:46:40,281 --> 00:46:42,441
Speaker 2: don't go down there, don't look down there. Not that

897
00:46:42,521 --> 00:46:44,321
Speaker 2: Cole knew where these bikes were, but he knew they

898
00:46:44,361 --> 00:46:49,241
Speaker 2: were hidden. Eventually, what happened was Lindsay steps and one

899
00:46:49,241 --> 00:46:52,480
Speaker 2: of these bikes. He realizes something's moved, and he goes,

900
00:46:52,521 --> 00:46:56,401
Speaker 2: who's there, and these two ninjas jump up out of

901
00:46:56,441 --> 00:46:58,761
Speaker 2: the out of the grass, out of the jungle and

902
00:46:58,881 --> 00:47:02,481
Speaker 2: basically jump on him and say you're under arrest, and

903
00:47:02,521 --> 00:47:07,281
Speaker 2: they've arrested him. That's the end of that dream. But

904
00:47:07,481 --> 00:47:10,321
Speaker 2: Harley never turned up, and it turned out later on

905
00:47:11,081 --> 00:47:13,881
Speaker 2: he gives evidence that he never intended to turn up.

906
00:47:14,081 --> 00:47:14,681
Speaker 1: That's right.

907
00:47:15,041 --> 00:47:17,801
Speaker 4: Well, I don't think he actually gave evidence, but the

908
00:47:17,801 --> 00:47:19,761
Speaker 4: information we got out of Halley because he was never

909
00:47:19,841 --> 00:47:25,161
Speaker 4: extradited to Australia National somewhere along the lines that information

910
00:47:25,201 --> 00:47:28,321
Speaker 4: has been obtained and that he never intended to do that.

911
00:47:28,641 --> 00:47:30,801
Speaker 4: I mean, if he had intended to do it, there

912
00:47:30,801 --> 00:47:33,361
Speaker 4: would have been a boatload of cannabis floating round somewhere.

913
00:47:33,841 --> 00:47:37,321
Speaker 4: But at the time Borham was arrested, there was no

914
00:47:38,041 --> 00:47:41,561
Speaker 4: sound of any motor or boat or anything else because

915
00:47:42,161 --> 00:47:45,721
Speaker 4: they decided to give it another hour into the daylight

916
00:47:46,041 --> 00:47:48,281
Speaker 4: for Harley to come. So they hung around for about

917
00:47:48,281 --> 00:47:52,561
Speaker 4: another hour before basically the thing was called off. So

918
00:47:52,881 --> 00:47:57,361
Speaker 4: Harley never delivered that. Harley's not that stupid either, because

919
00:47:58,161 --> 00:48:00,081
Speaker 4: he might have come across as a bit of a

920
00:48:00,161 --> 00:48:04,241
Speaker 4: daby sort of character. But he had been paid quite

921
00:48:04,241 --> 00:48:07,681
Speaker 4: handsomely in excess of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars

922
00:48:08,121 --> 00:48:11,801
Speaker 4: which was the down payment for the cannabis who was

923
00:48:11,801 --> 00:48:15,401
Speaker 4: meant to supply. And three to fifty thousand Australian dollars

924
00:48:15,521 --> 00:48:18,281
Speaker 4: is that'll get you through life in PNG quite comfortably.

925
00:48:18,441 --> 00:48:19,361
Speaker 2: And to do nothing.

926
00:48:20,161 --> 00:48:22,001
Speaker 1: That's wrong for doing nothing.

927
00:48:22,361 --> 00:48:25,881
Speaker 2: So now it's your high wire, very expensive operation that's

928
00:48:25,921 --> 00:48:28,801
Speaker 2: gone from an importation to a conspiracy to import.

929
00:48:28,921 --> 00:48:29,241
Speaker 1: That's it.

930
00:48:29,521 --> 00:48:32,161
Speaker 2: But you were still go go where were you at this.

931
00:48:32,161 --> 00:48:34,961
Speaker 4: Time while all that was happening, I was in a

932
00:48:35,001 --> 00:48:38,521
Speaker 4: motile room in Griffith. There was me and another bike

933
00:48:38,561 --> 00:48:40,161
Speaker 4: in our room, and that we had one of our

934
00:48:40,161 --> 00:48:42,480
Speaker 4: controllers in the other room, and there were a few

935
00:48:42,521 --> 00:48:45,281
Speaker 4: dogs cruising around Griffith keeping it on where our targets were.

936
00:48:45,881 --> 00:48:49,601
Speaker 4: So we get a phone call to say that Lindsay's

937
00:48:50,201 --> 00:48:52,841
Speaker 4: stepped on one of the snipers. And we also had

938
00:48:52,881 --> 00:48:56,561
Speaker 4: a huge number of people at Kahuna waiting down there

939
00:48:56,601 --> 00:48:58,201
Speaker 4: for the plane to come in, which wouldn't have come

940
00:48:58,241 --> 00:49:02,641
Speaker 4: until the afternoon, so it was quite clear that our

941
00:49:02,681 --> 00:49:06,881
Speaker 4: crooks and Griffith would know that nothing had happened. To

942
00:49:06,921 --> 00:49:09,841
Speaker 4: make sure that occurred, a couple of phone calls were

943
00:49:09,881 --> 00:49:14,041
Speaker 4: made from both Damien and Colin to Ross saying what's

944
00:49:14,081 --> 00:49:16,961
Speaker 4: going on, what's happened, and from Cole you know, Wally.

945
00:49:17,441 --> 00:49:20,281
Speaker 4: The boat never turned up, so we high tailed it

946
00:49:20,321 --> 00:49:24,761
Speaker 4: from there over to Miranda. In Miranda Worth the rest

947
00:49:24,761 --> 00:49:28,681
Speaker 4: of our people. We had probably over one hundred people

948
00:49:29,521 --> 00:49:33,881
Speaker 4: waiting to pounce on these people to arrest them, search

949
00:49:33,961 --> 00:49:37,480
Speaker 4: their houses and take them back to Griffith police station

950
00:49:37,561 --> 00:49:40,681
Speaker 4: and charge them. And we had the assistance of the

951
00:49:40,721 --> 00:49:44,321
Speaker 4: New South Wales Police NC operatives. We had people from everywhere.

952
00:49:44,361 --> 00:49:47,281
Speaker 4: It was just massive. So we make it to Norandra.

953
00:49:47,681 --> 00:49:50,801
Speaker 4: There's a massive briefing. The jobs changed. No one's going

954
00:49:50,881 --> 00:49:54,001
Speaker 4: to Kurna. In fact, the people at Kuna racing to Orandra.

955
00:49:54,041 --> 00:49:56,121
Speaker 4: They've got to get to Oranda before we head off

956
00:49:56,121 --> 00:49:58,601
Speaker 4: into Griffith, and they arrived just before we do that.

957
00:49:59,281 --> 00:50:02,481
Speaker 4: We rearrange all our rest teams and off we go

958
00:50:02,641 --> 00:50:06,921
Speaker 4: to arrest these guys in playing clothes. The plan was

959
00:50:06,961 --> 00:50:10,681
Speaker 4: to take cars drive from Miranda to Griffith, and we're

960
00:50:11,041 --> 00:50:14,561
Speaker 4: looking at probably about thirty or forty cars here, and

961
00:50:14,601 --> 00:50:16,921
Speaker 4: we're meant to leave at five minute intervals, so we

962
00:50:16,961 --> 00:50:20,241
Speaker 4: don't raise suspicion on the roads. What happens, of course,

963
00:50:20,441 --> 00:50:22,881
Speaker 4: everyone wants to get there straight up, and there was

964
00:50:22,921 --> 00:50:25,681
Speaker 4: this big congo line of cars on the road from

965
00:50:25,761 --> 00:50:29,521
Speaker 4: Laranda to Griffith. Everyone would have known about it. You

966
00:50:29,561 --> 00:50:31,481
Speaker 4: can't hide that sort of thing. It's not like it

967
00:50:31,881 --> 00:50:34,121
Speaker 4: was a bit like one of those American police shows

968
00:50:34,121 --> 00:50:36,561
Speaker 4: where you've got lines and lines of cars with flashing

969
00:50:36,641 --> 00:50:39,041
Speaker 4: lights coming up to arrest people at the house. So

970
00:50:39,081 --> 00:50:41,721
Speaker 4: we met up. I use my phone. By that stage,

971
00:50:41,721 --> 00:50:45,641
Speaker 4: we've got better mobile phones. I get onto the guy

972
00:50:45,681 --> 00:50:48,601
Speaker 4: who's running out dogs called Nico, and my target is

973
00:50:48,961 --> 00:50:53,321
Speaker 4: Tony Rameo. So we drive into Griffith, I catch up

974
00:50:53,321 --> 00:50:56,481
Speaker 4: with Nico. He then drives down to harm Would I

975
00:50:56,481 --> 00:51:00,281
Speaker 4: follow him where his dogs have got the Harmwood Catholic

976
00:51:00,361 --> 00:51:03,881
Speaker 4: clubs surrounded. It just happened to be a Sunday morning,

977
00:51:04,561 --> 00:51:08,601
Speaker 4: and it also just sappened that Antonio Ramia's daughter was

978
00:51:08,641 --> 00:51:10,361
Speaker 4: doing her confirmation ceremony.

979
00:51:10,681 --> 00:51:13,001
Speaker 2: This is something straight out of with Mafia film. I

980
00:51:13,041 --> 00:51:15,601
Speaker 2: can see this now though Mafia. Dine's all sitting there,

981
00:51:15,641 --> 00:51:19,121
Speaker 2: the confirmation's going on there for one of those classic moments. Yeah.

982
00:51:19,281 --> 00:51:22,601
Speaker 4: So the church service had finished and they had adjourned

983
00:51:22,641 --> 00:51:26,561
Speaker 4: to the Harnwood Catholic Club where it was like a

984
00:51:26,561 --> 00:51:30,481
Speaker 4: wedding reception. All the little girls in white pretty dresses,

985
00:51:30,601 --> 00:51:33,041
Speaker 4: all the little boys in little suits. They were all

986
00:51:33,041 --> 00:51:37,201
Speaker 4: sitting around these round tables feasting and celebrating the confirmation.

987
00:51:37,761 --> 00:51:40,761
Speaker 4: So when we arrive there, we walk up the steps

988
00:51:40,921 --> 00:51:43,401
Speaker 4: and walk into the foyer, we look like we've just

989
00:51:43,401 --> 00:51:45,881
Speaker 4: come out of the bush. I'm wearing my bloodstones jeans,

990
00:51:45,881 --> 00:51:49,601
Speaker 4: my army big army jacket, pretty much unkempt, sort of

991
00:51:49,601 --> 00:51:52,841
Speaker 4: looking sort of characters. So she sees up just about

992
00:51:53,081 --> 00:51:56,401
Speaker 4: dies as if like, what the hell is going on here?

993
00:51:57,081 --> 00:52:00,201
Speaker 4: So I was with a guy called Sully. He was

994
00:52:00,201 --> 00:52:03,201
Speaker 4: a sergeant in the New South Wales Police. He went

995
00:52:03,281 --> 00:52:04,761
Speaker 4: up to her to explain that we were here to

996
00:52:04,761 --> 00:52:07,921
Speaker 4: ad a few people who were in their reception room

997
00:52:08,281 --> 00:52:10,401
Speaker 4: and she didn't want a scene, so she wanted to

998
00:52:10,441 --> 00:52:13,361
Speaker 4: take everyone through the kitchen. So there was about six

999
00:52:13,361 --> 00:52:16,361
Speaker 4: of us there. So while he's dealing with her, I

1000
00:52:16,521 --> 00:52:20,001
Speaker 4: just wander over to the two flapping doors and look

1001
00:52:20,041 --> 00:52:23,881
Speaker 4: through the little glass panel to see what's going on

1002
00:52:23,961 --> 00:52:25,361
Speaker 4: in there, and can I see him?

1003
00:52:25,401 --> 00:52:26,561
Speaker 1: And there he is.

1004
00:52:26,641 --> 00:52:28,721
Speaker 4: I can see Romeo sitting at the table with his

1005
00:52:28,761 --> 00:52:32,761
Speaker 4: family and everyone's enjoying their reception and that sort of thing.

1006
00:52:33,361 --> 00:52:35,481
Speaker 4: And when I turn back to say I can see him,

1007
00:52:35,641 --> 00:52:38,921
Speaker 4: they're already heading off past the reception and they're going

1008
00:52:38,921 --> 00:52:41,281
Speaker 4: to come in through the back door, so the door

1009
00:52:41,281 --> 00:52:44,081
Speaker 4: from the kitchen that enters. They're going to go through

1010
00:52:44,161 --> 00:52:47,001
Speaker 4: the kitchen and enter the reception room through the kitchen door.

1011
00:52:47,681 --> 00:52:52,001
Speaker 4: I don't know why that's any less dramatic than just

1012
00:52:52,041 --> 00:52:54,801
Speaker 4: swinging open the front doors. And you've worked on this

1013
00:52:55,001 --> 00:52:58,561
Speaker 4: for two years. You're not coming through the back door.

1014
00:52:58,721 --> 00:53:02,961
Speaker 4: You're making an entrance that definitely was not I hid

1015
00:53:03,041 --> 00:53:04,401
Speaker 4: him in my sides and I wasn't going to let

1016
00:53:04,481 --> 00:53:09,241
Speaker 4: him go. So I've seen them disappear, so I've said, nah,

1017
00:53:09,281 --> 00:53:12,281
Speaker 4: I'm not doing that, gone through the swing doors.

1018
00:53:12,961 --> 00:53:14,601
Speaker 1: I've walked straight up to Tony.

1019
00:53:14,401 --> 00:53:18,201
Speaker 4: So he's I've walked halfway through the room and I

1020
00:53:18,241 --> 00:53:20,841
Speaker 4: think at that time, no one's really noticed me yet,

1021
00:53:21,041 --> 00:53:24,201
Speaker 4: you know, everyone's still enjoying themselves and whatever. In fact,

1022
00:53:24,281 --> 00:53:26,561
Speaker 4: Tony Rameo hadn't seen me at all until I was

1023
00:53:26,641 --> 00:53:29,561
Speaker 4: virtually standing next to him and I looked down him

1024
00:53:29,561 --> 00:53:32,401
Speaker 4: and I said, are you Tony Romeo? And he's looking

1025
00:53:32,401 --> 00:53:34,481
Speaker 4: at me. He goes yes. He had like a puzzled

1026
00:53:34,521 --> 00:53:36,521
Speaker 4: look on his face. He's looked at me yes. And

1027
00:53:36,561 --> 00:53:37,801
Speaker 4: I said, are you Tony Romeo?

1028
00:53:37,841 --> 00:53:38,241
Speaker 1: Of what one?

1029
00:53:38,281 --> 00:53:41,401
Speaker 4: What comes Avenue Griffith And he says, I said, stand up, mate,

1030
00:53:41,401 --> 00:53:43,881
Speaker 4: you're under rest for drug trafficking. And I've grabbed him

1031
00:53:43,921 --> 00:53:46,841
Speaker 4: under the arm and he sort of stood up as

1032
00:53:46,881 --> 00:53:49,601
Speaker 4: if should I stand up or just sort of hesitating,

1033
00:53:49,641 --> 00:53:52,201
Speaker 4: and I've sort of helped him up, and then I've

1034
00:53:52,201 --> 00:53:54,721
Speaker 4: gone to get my handcuffs to handcuff his hands behind

1035
00:53:54,761 --> 00:54:00,401
Speaker 4: his back, and I had no handcuffs because my handcuffs

1036
00:54:00,641 --> 00:54:03,601
Speaker 4: were on a chieftain flying around somewhere in Northern Australia

1037
00:54:03,841 --> 00:54:07,321
Speaker 4: because we'd planned them there as something for coal to

1038
00:54:07,401 --> 00:54:10,001
Speaker 4: years if he needed to use handcuffs. So at that

1039
00:54:10,121 --> 00:54:12,041
Speaker 4: time I've gone to get my handcuffs and not there.

1040
00:54:12,041 --> 00:54:15,361
Speaker 4: I look around and Damien from offices running across. He's

1041
00:54:15,401 --> 00:54:18,841
Speaker 4: come through the kitchen door. He's running across, which that

1042
00:54:19,041 --> 00:54:22,361
Speaker 4: really grabbed everyone's attention, and he got his handcuffs out

1043
00:54:22,401 --> 00:54:25,121
Speaker 4: and when we arrested him and was pretty straightforward.

1044
00:54:25,321 --> 00:54:29,361
Speaker 2: This really was the moment that the Romeo organization was

1045
00:54:29,401 --> 00:54:31,401
Speaker 2: brought down in understand So, I mean he only got

1046
00:54:31,441 --> 00:54:33,441
Speaker 2: like I think it was eight years in prison, eight

1047
00:54:33,521 --> 00:54:36,561
Speaker 2: years on the bottom, and there was varying sentences, not

1048
00:54:36,681 --> 00:54:39,721
Speaker 2: massive sentences for the amount of effort that had gone in.

1049
00:54:40,001 --> 00:54:43,641
Speaker 2: But the intel that you'd gathered on him and the

1050
00:54:43,761 --> 00:54:48,161
Speaker 2: organization really was a game changer, and I think it

1051
00:54:48,241 --> 00:54:52,201
Speaker 2: helped law enforcement for years. But in particular it highlighted

1052
00:54:52,521 --> 00:54:56,601
Speaker 2: what Tony Romeo was doing in his private life, which

1053
00:54:56,681 --> 00:55:00,241
Speaker 2: may have been the catalyst for his murder In two

1054
00:55:00,281 --> 00:55:02,681
Speaker 2: thousand and two. That's your theory. What did you find

1055
00:55:02,721 --> 00:55:03,281
Speaker 2: out about it?

1056
00:55:04,161 --> 00:55:06,881
Speaker 4: Well, during the instigation, we knew that he was having

1057
00:55:06,961 --> 00:55:09,721
Speaker 4: an affair with a waitress at a cafe called the

1058
00:55:09,801 --> 00:55:13,281
Speaker 4: high View Cafe. He owned that in company with Rosario

1059
00:55:13,361 --> 00:55:15,401
Speaker 4: Trimboli and rock Oromio, so the three of them owned

1060
00:55:15,441 --> 00:55:18,841
Speaker 4: that and he had basically groomed her. She was only

1061
00:55:18,921 --> 00:55:21,601
Speaker 4: just out of school, she was eighteen. He bought her

1062
00:55:21,641 --> 00:55:25,081
Speaker 4: down to Melbourne and obviously they had some sort of

1063
00:55:25,121 --> 00:55:29,001
Speaker 4: affair going on, but he was buying her jewelry, clothing.

1064
00:55:29,561 --> 00:55:32,681
Speaker 4: He was giving her cash bonuses all the time. I mean,

1065
00:55:32,681 --> 00:55:35,481
Speaker 4: this girl was earning like seven dollars an hour and

1066
00:55:35,521 --> 00:55:37,881
Speaker 4: he'd be giving her five hundred dollars one thousand dollars.

1067
00:55:38,561 --> 00:55:40,601
Speaker 4: It was big money at the time, but she'd come

1068
00:55:40,641 --> 00:55:43,481
Speaker 4: up from a fairly poor family and for her that

1069
00:55:43,601 --> 00:55:46,681
Speaker 4: helped the family pay the bills. He was also having

1070
00:55:46,721 --> 00:55:50,321
Speaker 4: an affair with a lady on the Gold Coast, So

1071
00:55:50,361 --> 00:55:54,201
Speaker 4: when we were doing the financial investigation into him, which

1072
00:55:54,481 --> 00:56:00,201
Speaker 4: was conducted after his arrest, we found lots of moneytry

1073
00:56:00,241 --> 00:56:02,761
Speaker 4: payments going towards her. He would fly her in and

1074
00:56:02,761 --> 00:56:05,001
Speaker 4: out of Griffith when he want to meet up with her.

1075
00:56:05,721 --> 00:56:08,681
Speaker 4: He was constantly holidaying with the family on the Gold Coast,

1076
00:56:09,201 --> 00:56:11,081
Speaker 4: and I've got a feeling he wasn't at the beach

1077
00:56:11,121 --> 00:56:14,241
Speaker 4: all the time. But we also found out that he

1078
00:56:14,361 --> 00:56:18,841
Speaker 4: was having an affair with a lady whose name is Jennifer.

1079
00:56:19,521 --> 00:56:24,681
Speaker 4: Jennifer was his sister in law. Now, Jennifer had had

1080
00:56:24,721 --> 00:56:27,681
Speaker 4: an affair with a guy about a year earlier, a

1081
00:56:27,761 --> 00:56:32,681
Speaker 4: guy called Rocco Barbara and old man mister Giovannie Sergei,

1082
00:56:32,761 --> 00:56:35,921
Speaker 4: the head of the family. He found out, and he

1083
00:56:36,001 --> 00:56:40,481
Speaker 4: wasn't really happy with Jennifer having an affair with mister Barbara.

1084
00:56:40,721 --> 00:56:45,440
Speaker 4: So Jennifer didn't get into trouble herself because they're they're

1085
00:56:45,441 --> 00:56:49,161
Speaker 4: not going to hurt her. But Rocco had an unfortunate

1086
00:56:49,201 --> 00:56:55,881
Speaker 4: accident where he had his leg shot off with a shotgun.

1087
00:56:56,881 --> 00:57:01,401
Speaker 2: And self inflicted opposed it, yes, but somehow from behind yes,

1088
00:57:01,521 --> 00:57:03,681
Speaker 2: So do you shoot yourself from behind them the knee?

1089
00:57:03,801 --> 00:57:06,281
Speaker 4: He shot himself from behind hind in the knee with

1090
00:57:06,401 --> 00:57:10,081
Speaker 4: a shotgun and then called someone to take him to hospital,

1091
00:57:10,921 --> 00:57:13,761
Speaker 4: where he then lost his leg. They had to amputate

1092
00:57:13,801 --> 00:57:17,001
Speaker 4: what was left of it, but no one believed that story.

1093
00:57:17,521 --> 00:57:20,681
Speaker 4: Everyone knew it was old man Surgery who wanted some

1094
00:57:20,721 --> 00:57:24,321
Speaker 4: sort of revenge or saving a face for the family.

1095
00:57:24,401 --> 00:57:28,161
Speaker 2: I think disrespect is what gets you kills his situation.

1096
00:57:28,081 --> 00:57:31,881
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, you have to show respect. So during the

1097
00:57:32,001 --> 00:57:35,601
Speaker 4: court hearings, let's call them and through the brief of evidence,

1098
00:57:36,201 --> 00:57:39,921
Speaker 4: the family would have discovered that Romeo was also having

1099
00:57:39,961 --> 00:57:44,201
Speaker 4: an affair with Jennifer. When he got out of jail

1100
00:57:44,281 --> 00:57:47,921
Speaker 4: after serving his eight years, he did mention to someone

1101
00:57:48,041 --> 00:57:52,081
Speaker 4: that he's going to have to be shot, but wasn't

1102
00:57:52,081 --> 00:57:54,761
Speaker 4: concerned about it, as if like, oh, yeah, they probably

1103
00:57:54,761 --> 00:57:57,681
Speaker 4: shoot me for having that affair. There must have been

1104
00:57:57,761 --> 00:58:02,001
Speaker 4: something going on with that. But he was shot as

1105
00:58:02,081 --> 00:58:04,641
Speaker 4: you described, he was shot actually was a peach tree,

1106
00:58:04,801 --> 00:58:08,201
Speaker 4: was pre in peach tree, peach tree, and he was

1107
00:58:08,241 --> 00:58:12,201
Speaker 4: shot once in the back in his back from a

1108
00:58:12,241 --> 00:58:15,761
Speaker 4: distance and pretty much died straight away. He fell over

1109
00:58:16,601 --> 00:58:19,401
Speaker 4: meaning a little bit and then yeah, he died.

1110
00:58:19,641 --> 00:58:24,521
Speaker 2: So there were thirty witnesses all around him in typical

1111
00:58:24,681 --> 00:58:26,481
Speaker 2: mafia style, no one saw a thing.

1112
00:58:26,881 --> 00:58:29,761
Speaker 4: Almost almost. I think the guy right standing right next

1113
00:58:29,761 --> 00:58:32,881
Speaker 4: to him had to admit he saw something, and what

1114
00:58:32,961 --> 00:58:35,521
Speaker 4: he saw was he heard a shot and Romeo fell.

1115
00:58:35,641 --> 00:58:38,041
Speaker 4: No one else heard anything though, and fair enough, they

1116
00:58:38,041 --> 00:58:42,561
Speaker 4: don't want to get involved. But that really meant nothing.

1117
00:58:43,281 --> 00:58:46,321
Speaker 4: You know, he wasn't going to get into trouble for saying, well,

1118
00:58:46,361 --> 00:58:48,721
Speaker 4: I saw him shot and he fell down and there

1119
00:58:48,761 --> 00:58:50,441
Speaker 4: was a noise from behind.

1120
00:58:51,681 --> 00:58:54,601
Speaker 2: And you know, typically this is a professional hit, obviously,

1121
00:58:54,721 --> 00:58:57,401
Speaker 2: And I guess they'd learned from the killing of Donald McKay,

1122
00:58:57,441 --> 00:59:01,201
Speaker 2: which was by Jimmy Baisley, where there was evidence left behind.

1123
00:59:01,241 --> 00:59:03,121
Speaker 2: There was drag marks to the vehicle and all kinds

1124
00:59:03,121 --> 00:59:06,441
Speaker 2: of stuff, and eventually all roads led back to Baslely

1125
00:59:06,561 --> 00:59:09,401
Speaker 2: via the person who'd hired him to kill mackay. Yeah,

1126
00:59:09,721 --> 00:59:11,561
Speaker 2: nothing was being left to chance in this day. I

1127
00:59:11,681 --> 00:59:14,921
Speaker 2: believe that there was an assassin flown in from overseas.

1128
00:59:15,201 --> 00:59:16,121
Speaker 2: Is that your understanding?

1129
00:59:17,281 --> 00:59:23,961
Speaker 4: No, that's been suggested. Look, it's possible. It's possible. I

1130
00:59:24,001 --> 00:59:26,561
Speaker 4: couldn't say whether that's true or not. I would have

1131
00:59:26,601 --> 00:59:30,001
Speaker 4: thought it'd just be someone locally that obviously they need

1132
00:59:30,081 --> 00:59:32,121
Speaker 4: someone who can marksman of some sort.

1133
00:59:32,361 --> 00:59:35,601
Speaker 2: There were very few clues in this case. I guess

1134
00:59:35,641 --> 00:59:37,881
Speaker 2: the most important one was a vehicle that had been

1135
00:59:37,881 --> 00:59:42,641
Speaker 2: stolen sometime before had been set on fire after the killing,

1136
00:59:42,961 --> 00:59:45,001
Speaker 2: so one would suggest that that was the vehicle used

1137
00:59:45,001 --> 00:59:45,681
Speaker 2: as a getaway.

1138
00:59:45,761 --> 00:59:48,961
Speaker 1: Yeah, so the link was the day Romeo got out

1139
00:59:48,961 --> 00:59:51,841
Speaker 1: of jail, was the day same day that car was stolen,

1140
00:59:52,401 --> 00:59:56,121
Speaker 1: the day Romeo was shot with either that day or

1141
00:59:56,201 --> 00:59:59,521
Speaker 1: the day after that car was found burnt out down

1142
00:59:59,561 --> 01:00:02,281
Speaker 1: at there was another town further to the south.

1143
01:00:02,921 --> 01:00:06,641
Speaker 4: Strong circumstantial link. Yeah, bit of a circumstantial link. So

1144
01:00:06,681 --> 01:00:09,641
Speaker 4: whether it was actually the car taken by the crypt

1145
01:00:09,921 --> 01:00:13,121
Speaker 4: to nick Off is another matter, but it is quite

1146
01:00:13,161 --> 01:00:14,401
Speaker 4: possible someone was flowing in.

1147
01:00:14,561 --> 01:00:15,721
Speaker 1: But who really knows.

1148
01:00:16,321 --> 01:00:19,321
Speaker 2: All in all, this was a very high stakes operation

1149
01:00:19,921 --> 01:00:21,601
Speaker 2: which came out pretty well in the end. I guess

1150
01:00:21,601 --> 01:00:23,081
Speaker 2: you could say, but I think you would have like

1151
01:00:23,121 --> 01:00:26,121
Speaker 2: slightly longer jail sentence of everyone. But yours will be

1152
01:00:26,161 --> 01:00:28,681
Speaker 2: the third book, and there's many other accounts of this

1153
01:00:28,721 --> 01:00:31,321
Speaker 2: as well. Thank you for sharing the story today.

1154
01:00:31,521 --> 01:00:33,241
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks, Adam, and I appreciate your time.

1155
01:00:37,961 --> 01:00:40,041
Speaker 2: And Pete, I should add that Peter with the reason

1156
01:00:40,081 --> 01:00:43,241
Speaker 2: I won a Walkley Award. That's the story for another day.

1157
01:00:43,481 --> 01:00:45,921
Speaker 2: We won't going to that one, but I think it's

1158
01:00:45,961 --> 01:00:48,281
Speaker 2: fantastic you've told this story. And Peter is looking for

1159
01:00:48,321 --> 01:00:51,721
Speaker 2: a publisher for betray that's the current title. If anyone

1160
01:00:51,721 --> 01:00:54,001
Speaker 2: wants to get involved and publish the book, let me

1161
01:00:54,041 --> 01:00:57,721
Speaker 2: know Adam Shanned writer at gmail dot com. Thank you

1162
01:00:57,761 --> 01:01:00,601
Speaker 2: once again, Peter, this has been real crime with Adam

1163
01:01:00,641 --> 01:01:01,601
Speaker 2: shann Thanks for listening.