Perth Mint Swindle: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Gold stealing occurenceoccurrence in Perth, Western Australia}}

The '''Perth Mint Swindle''' is the popular name for the [[robbery]] of 49 [[gold]] bars weighing {{convert|6869|kg|lbs ozt|abbr=off}} from the [[Perth Mint]] in [[Western Australia]] on 22 June 1982. The bullion was valued at A$653,000 at that time (2011:$2.02 million{{Inflation|AU|653000|1982|fmt=eq}}). {{As of|2018|12023|8|}}, the value of the {{convert|68|kg}} of gold would approachbe AUDin excess of A$36.74 million. According to police at the time, three brothers—Ray, Peter, and Brian Mickelberg—orchestrated the robbery. The three went to trial and were found guilty of the conspiracy and sentenced in 1983 to twenty, sixteen and twelve years in [[Prison|jail]], respectively.

Soon after the robbery police, investigations focused on the Mickelberg brothers. According to the police, the brothers stole cheques from a Perth building society and then fooled the mint into accepting those cheques in exchange for gold bullion which, it was alleged, the brothers had a courier pick up.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1989/35.html|work=High Court of Australia Appeal|title=MICKELBERG v. THE QUEEN [1989] HCA 35, opinion of Deane, J., Para 33|accessdateaccess-date=2015-02-09}}</ref> The gold was picked up by a security company who delivered it to an office in Perth and then to [[Jandakot Airport]], from where it seemingly disappeared.

In a separate matter, in September 1982, the three brothers, their parents and another man, Brian Pozzi, were charged over a matter relating to a manufactured gold nugget known as the "Yellow Rose of Texas".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2004/s1148111.htm|work=ABC 7:30 Report|title=Mickelbergs sue policeman|accessdateaccess-date=2009-11-23}}</ref> Perth Businessman [[Alan Bond (businessman)|Alan Bond]] had purchased the nugget for $350,000 in November 1980. It was later found to be worth less than $150,000, and Raymond Mickelberg and Brian Pozzi pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to fraud at their June 1984 trial.

After serving nine months of his jail term and having his conviction overturned on appeal, Brian was released from jail but died in a light aircraft crash on 27 February 1986, when the twin-engined [[Aero Commander]] he was flying ran out of fuel near [[Canning Dam]] on the outskirts of Perth.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s2MUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KOgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4990,8172242&dq=brian+mickelberg+crash&hl=en|title=Mickelberg Dies|date=28 February 1986|accessdateaccess-date=2009-11-23}}</ref> Whilst in prison, Ray and Peter embarked on a series of seven appeals against their convictions, essentially on the grounds that their confessions had been fabricated by police investigators. Ray and Peter served eight and six years of their sentences, respectively, before being released on [[parole]].

In 1989, {{convert|55|kg}} of gold pellets, said to have been from the swindle, were found outside the gates of [[TVW-7]] (currently Channel Seven Perth), a Perth television station, with an anonymous note addressed to one of the station's reporters—Alison Fan—protesting the Mickelbergs' innocence and claiming that a prominent Perth businessman was behind the swindle.<ref>{{cite news |title= Mint robbers were framed |author= Liza Kappelle |date= 11 June 2002 |work= [[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|url= http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/06/10/1022982819650.html| accessdateaccess-date=5 May 2010}}</ref>

The senior investigating officer in the case was Detective-Sergeant [[Don Hancock]], who was later promoted to head of the State Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). Hancock and a friend, Lou Lewis, died in a [[car bomb|bomb]] explosion outside Hancock's home in [[Lathlain, Western Australia|Lathlain]] in September 2001.

In 2002, midway through a State [[Royal commission into whether there has been corrupt or criminal conduct by any Western Australian Police Officer|Royal Commission]] into police corruption, a retired police officer, Tony Lewandowski, who had been at the centre of the case, made a confession of his involvement in fabricating evidence which was used to help frame the brothers. Lewandowski's senior officer during the investigation was Don Hancock. The two were the only people present at the brothers' interviews following the MickelbergMickelburgh arrests.<ref name="SMH"/>

Lewandowski was subsequently charged with attempting to [[perverting the course of justice|pervert the course of justice]], [[making false statements]], fabricating [[evidence]] and [[perjury]].<ref name="SMH">{{cite news|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/03/1033538678821.html?oneclick=true|title=Mint swindle officer seized|accessdateaccess-date=2005-09-07 | date=3 October 2002}}</ref> In May 2004, just before facing trial, Lewandowski apparently committed [[suicide]],.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s2141883.htm|title=Mickelberg brothers find unlikely ally|work=ABC 7:30 Report|date=2008-01-18}}</ref> Although now dead, Lewandowski's confession directly implicated Hancock in fabricating evidence in the Mickelberg case.<ref>{{cite web|work=MelbourneCrime|url=http://www.melbournecrime.bizhosting.com/bhancock.htm|title=Don Hancock and the Perth Mint Swindle|accessdateaccess-date=2005-09-07 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050903031437/http://www.melbournecrime.bizhosting.com/bhancock.htm |archive-date = 2005-09-03}}</ref>

In July 2004, the Western Australian Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the brothers' convictions after seven unsuccessful attempts. The judge ruled that with the suppression of their sentence, they were entitled to a presumption of innocence. The Assistant Police Commissioner, [[Mel Hay]], expressed disappointment with the decision which prompted a threat of a [[defamation]] [[lawsuit]] from the brothers. The brothers subsequently sued the Western Australian government for libel and, as part of the settlement, the Western Australian police issued a public apology in December 2007.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=337171&rss=yes |title= Police apologise to Mickelberg brothers |date= 15 December 2008 |work= ninemsn.com.au |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071216052659/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=337171&rss=yes |archive-date= 16 December 2007}}</ref>

After lodgment of the brothers' claims for compensation, in January 2008 state attorney-general [[Jim McGinty]] offered $500,000 in ex-gratia payments to each brother for the "injustice done to them".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=54634 |title=Mickelberg payment satisfies neither brothers nor police |work=thewest.com.au |date=16 January 2008 |accessdateaccess-date=2009-02-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318212707/http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=54634 |archive-date=18 March 2008 }}</ref> The payments followed $658,672 paid to cover legal costs of their two appeals. The Mickelbergs' lawyer had asked for $950,000 in compensation for Ray and $750,000 for Peter.<ref>''[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC News online]]'' [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1145443.htm Micklebergs cleared over Perth Mint swindle]</ref> The ex-gratia payments were accepted in good faith but, in 2016, under a different attorney-general, [[Michael Mischin]], the state's Legal Aid Commission attempted to recover $145,353 from Raymond Mickelberg,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/liam-bartlett-why-ray-mickelberg-is-still-paying-the-price-for-being-a-victim-of-crime-ng-de5bea779503b9c574a9ad6e41a3d685 |title= Liam Bartlett: Why Ray Mickelberg is still paying the price for being a victim of crime |date= 28 February 2016 |work= PerthNow |first=Liam |last=Bartlett}}</ref> an action which quickly lapsed as unlawful.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/mickelbergs-wont-have-to-pay-back-almost-300000-to-legal-aid-wa-20160318-gnm6bo.html |title= Peter and Ray Mickelberg won't have to pay back almost $300,000 to Legal Aid WA |date= 18 March 2016 |work= WAtoday |first=David |last=Prestipino}}</ref>

Author [[Avon Lovell]] wrote a book, '''''The Mickelberg Stitch'''''<!--redirect target-->, about the case in 1985, which alleged questionable investigation practices by the police, including production of unsigned confessions and a forged [[fingerprint]].<ref>{{cite news|work=Post Newspapers|url=http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/20020615/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020816062848/http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/20020615/|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 August 2002|title=This time, the stitch is by Lovell|accessdateaccess-date=2005-09-07}}</ref> The police union collected a levy of $1 per week from each member to fund legal action against Lovell and his publishers and distributors to suppress publication of the book.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} It was estimated that between one and two million dollars was raised. The book was banned by the State Government, but was still freely available to be read at the [[J S Battye Library]]. The ban was eventually lifted.

A second book by Lovell, ''Split Image'', was published in 1990<ref>{{Citation | author1=Lovell, Avon | title=Split image : international mystery of the Mickelberg affair | year=1990 | publication-date=1990 | publisher=Creative Research | isbn=978-0-908469-24-6 }}</ref> and met a similar fate to the first. This ban was also lifted later.

In March 2011, Lovell launched a third book on the case, ''Litany of Lies'',<ref>{{Citation | author1=Lovell, Avon | title=Litany of lies : a true story of gold heists, bombings, feral cops, greed, murder & revenge | year=2010 | publication-date=2010 | publisher=bookscope.com.au | isbn=978-0-9808715-0-0 }}</ref><ref>See the blog overview of the book launch - http://blog.elizabethsbookshop.com.au/?p=311</ref> at about the same time that [[Tony Buti|Antonio Buti]] wrote on the subject.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Buti, Antonio | title=Brothers : justice, corruption and the Mickelbergs | year=2011 | publication-date=2011 | publisher=Fremantle Press | isbn=978-1-921888-47-2 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/brothersjusticec0000buti }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | author1=Sheehan, Kate | title=Buti, Antonio. Brothers: Justice, Corruption and the Mickelbergs.(Brief article)(Book review) | journal=Xpress Reviews | publication-date=2012-01-13 | publisher=Library Journals, LLC | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/162173342 | accessdateaccess-date=9 October 2016 }}</ref>

*''[[The Great Mint Swindle]]'' (2012), directed by [[Geoff Bennett]], written by [[Reg Cribb]] and [[Paul Bennett (filmmaker)|Paul Bennett]]; featuring [[Grant Bowler]] (Ray Mickelberg), [[Todd Lasance]] (Peter Mickelberg), [[Josh Quong Tart]] (Brian Mickelberg), [[Shane Bourne]] (Hancock), [[John Batchelor (Australian actor)|John Batchelor]] (Lewandowski), [[Maya Stange]] (Sheryl Mickelberg) which aired on 11 March 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/going-for-gold-with-perth-crime-saga-the-great-mint-swindle/story-fn9n8gph-1226286018070|title=Going for gold with Perth crime saga The Great Mint Swindle|work=The Australian|date=3 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/13123839/the-great-mint-swindle/ |title=The Great Mint Swindle - The West Australian |website=au.news.yahoo.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313163358/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/13123839/the-great-mint-swindle/ |archive-date=2012-03-13}} </ref>