Wanting more from life than a nine to five job he joined the NSW Police Force in 1978 when he was 19. He was shot three times but survived. "How is branch stacking relevant to gang wars? JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Followed categories will be added to My News. Marks, known as 'Mr Nice', asked Staunton to join him at a table with Freddie Foreman, an old crook sometimes called the godfather of British crime. Trevor Haken wears a wire to a meeting with Bill Bayeh. Bayeh was wrongfully jailed for two weeks in 2012 when authorities mistakenly believed he breached parole by travelling to north Queensland. 'They did, however, break more laws than any of my friends outside the force.'. She is preparing a guest list for the opening of the club and is using a computer in an anteroom off Johns bedroom. I bluffed well for a long time when I was 18. A restaurant burned by unreliable workers has bluntly advertised what theyre looking for on a sign hung outside their front door. While there seems to be no shortage of female friends in Johns life, he says he is not prepared for a serious commitment. Some nights John goes fishing off the rocks. Bayeh didnt react as he was also given a $400 fine for hindering police. John Ibrahim's book, Last King of the Cross. Staunton writes of visits to Sha Tin races in Hong Kong, Royal Ascot in England and regular Sunday night card games with identities including then rugby league coach Phil Gould. This had hardly ever happened before there was an unwritten law among Sydneys criminals that family was to be kept out of business disputes. I learned how to read, I learned how to write. Stephen Gibbs for Daily Mail Australia, The Good Bloke by Charles Staunton is published by Pan Macmillan and is available from Tuesday, July 23, for $32.99. It cost me $70,000 to buy 20 per cent. S03:E06 - Women in Uniform. His classroom became the streets of Kings Cross and like any student, some lessons were hard to learn. Successful criminals who were not arrested often died. That way you can train whoevers in your room to do it, she responds with a smile. The claims are intended to support an argument for the defence of "contextual truth" in the event the book is found to have defamed Mr Domican, which Mr Ibrahim denies. In a statement of claim filed last year, the Irish-born former political and building industry figure claims Mr Ibrahim's book implies he "was willing to be hired to kill people other than the Ibrahims"; "is a violent criminal who took part in gang wars"; conducted illegal gambling; and was involved in the supply of heroin. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Bayeh initially claimed ignorance over the recordings and tried to explain his considerable assets by claiming they were the proceeds of gambling wins. But she then stopped and turned to confront him about comments hed made some weeks earlier, sparking an argument that was recorded on her phone. A friend embarks on a monologue about the imprudence of talking to the press and John quiets him with a simple Thatll do. Cleverly avoiding direct involvement in violence himself, Bayeh hired a number of standover men, including Karam, a former Lebanese commando, and a group of Tongan martial arts experts to intimidate the other dealers in the Cross into leaving or agreeing to be on Bayeh's payroll. But a group always has a dominant personality.. I knew I wanted to be in the nightclub and restaurant industry.. An old, sloping billiard table is the living rooms centrepiece, closed in on two sides by leather couches. His principal once told him he would wind up dead or very rich. He died in 2005, and over 400 people attended his funeral at Redfern. Police were surprised to hear Bayeh was going back into business in the Cross. Our contributors include the great investigators Bob Bottom and Al McCoy, and the wonderfully insightful Sydney artist Michael Fitzjames. According to John, the then owner was being stood over by local heavies and ripped off by his managers. Of his now-shelved fruit shop plans, he said: It didnt happen. No one really knew that I didnt know what I was doing, except me.. The argument erupted after intensive care nurse Leanne Nesbitt passed Bayeh on her way to work at St Vincents Hospital about 6.40pm on a Sunday in February 2015. While the club is being renovated John keeps up a fitness regimen, working out at the City Gym on Crown St more than four times a week. Kim Hollingsworth organises a strip show for a police charity. Mr Lonergan said the remark dovetailed with comments made in 1999 by Bayeh's sentencing judge, Judge Joseph Gibson, who said he did not believe Bayeh was remorseful for his crimes. "The fatal flaw in this legislation is that it disenfranchises voters in St. Louis," Hudson said. He paid police to protect at least 24 gaming clubs and often entertained police officers. A JP had to sign the warrant necessary for a raid on suspected illegal gaming premises. Theyre more important than money, John confides. Here is an entire list of people with the Last Name El undefined. California Consumer Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information, California Consumer Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. His first job after school was in the clearing department with the Commonwealth Bank where he fantasised about stealing pallets of cash. It would be easy for Bill to go the wrong way but he is doing the right thing, she said. While supporting Bayeh's release, the officer said: ''Mr Bayeh attempted to present a facade of a naive man, eager to charm and please. In the course of them doing their job theyve got to stickybeak everywhere, he says. When John changes into a sports singlet for the gym he reveals a worn band which he wears around the top of his arm. Bill Bayeh pleaded guilty to assaulting intensive care nurse Leanne Nesbitt The Kings Cross identity got into a heated argument with her early last year Bayeh allegedly made a threat. John is reticent to discuss the fight that left him hospitalised for three months with a stab wound in the stomach. There he sat ringside with boxing legends Mike Tyson and Jeff Fenech and met future United States president Donald Trump who introduced himself outside Harding's dressing room. What else am I going to do? he laughs. I came in there and cut it all out. How is branch stacking relevant to heroin supply?" 02:50 GMT 23 Jul 2019. Friends are very overrated, he says, taking a long gulp of his coffee. Sydneys very small. It would allow the governor to appoint "a special . , updated Ran the Cosmopolitan coffee lounge in Darlinghurst Road, as well as an amusement parlour, strip club and snooker room. Not all of the target areas will receive funding, Board of Public Service President Rich Bradley said, adding that work will be prioritized on available funding. Under the bond for the Ms Nesbitt incident, Bayeh must continue psychological treatment for a year, Magistrate Graeme Curran told Downing Centre Local Court, noting both matters were at the lower end of seriousness. FORMER king of the Kings Cross strip, convicted drug dealer Bill Bayeh, has returned to what he knows best strip clubs. The city can now start the design work on the already-completed traffic studies, get that work done by the first quarter of 2024, with construction to follow. Twenty years later Staunton was locked up in a Canadian prison for his role in an international drug cartel which moved 25 tonnes of cannabis resin worth $1billion. The band supports a small triangular leather pouch, inside of which is family shit. Not long afterwards John dropped out of school. He was also accused of being in the company of Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Trevor Haken's alcoholism takes a toll on his marriage and his ability to manage police corruption. He must also undergo regular drug and alcohol testing and psychological assessment. With another club in Surfers Paradise, also called The Tunnel, he wanted to free up his commitments in Sydney. The wars over but the wars still inside the people. John was 19 when he became part-owner of the Tunnel but he had already armed himself with a formidable collection of contacts and friends. "I just want to make a living like everybody else," said Bayeh. I thought "I'm going to save the world - this is great - I can be a superhero here".'. Now though, his focus is firmly on Love Machine and the entertainment game. We will abide by every single rule here and will be running a 100 per cent clean establishment, he said. While at John Morony jail near Windsor Staunton and another inmate used their music industry contacts to organise a concert for the prisoners. It was in everyones best interests (that I buy into the club), John says. Mayor Tishaura Jones . Johns older brother Hassam, known as Sam, told the Royal Commission he had been helping people out, including protecting drug dealers, around the Cross for years. S03:E03 - Kingdom Come . Then the tapes and video footage played in the Wood Royal Commission effectively put Bayeh away. He (the owner) was getting robbed right left and centre. When Bill's business suffers as a result, tensions rise between Bill and his brother, Louis Bayeh. And when he speaks, the people around him listen. He is based in London and expects to live until he his 100. Commission investigator Gerry Lloyd hires Shaka, a former lieutenant to Benny Kassab, to wear a wire to expose the corrupt police working with Bill Bayeh. As a young constable Charlie Staunton dreamed of one day becoming commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force. We eat at the same places and we go to the same clubs, he says. Louis Bayeh Managing Director & Founder at Hills Auto Centre Toongabbie, New South Wales, Australia 40 followers 39 connections Join to connect Hills Auto Centre Marist Brother's Parramatta. King's Cross detectives Graham "Chook" Fowler and Neville "Scully" Scullion are called to testify to the Wood Royal Commission. Between those opposite ends of the law Staunton found himself somewhere in the middle as a private investigator and problem-solver for Sydney's underworld. What they do for their living and what they do for their business is none of my business. Benny Kassab turns to Jim Egan and Trevor Haken for assistance in light of Shaka and Norm shooting at Louis Bayeh's house. The team stuffed backpacks with meals to tide children over the weekend . His garage houses two jet skis. One of those cases of stolen whisky was subsequently planted in Staunton's own car and he left the force rather than implicate anyone else. Soon Staunton was moving millions of dollars in cash across continents for the Pacific Mariner Cartel in which he was known by the nickname 'The Prince'. Id like to think (Im a good judge of character) but then everybody thinks they know something about something. How can we protect people no matter how they choose to get around?. Its not money thats been laundered. In July 1993 Bayehs Ermington home, where his children were sleeping, was the subject of a drive-by shooting. 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs. There has been a surprising development in the trial of a disgraced former NSW Minister facing more than two dozen child sex abuse allegations. My brother Sam and I have always been pretty healthy. We flew from Amsterdam straight to Lebanon. Benny Kassab suspects that he has a rat in his ranks. Hakims relationship with Lennie McPherson was essential to his success, and as Bob Bottom revealed in 1991, he once told Sydneys Mr Big: You are a flag and should be obeyed and should be respected. He was arrested in 1996 after giving evidence at the Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. Walks free from Silverwater prison after minimum 15-year term for drug trafficking expires in July 2011. Well before his death, though, he had handed on the flame to another criminal of Lebanese descent, Louis Bayeh. 'I do not have a thousand morals,' Staunton writes on page one of The Good Bloke. Sydney Crime Museum is an online history of crime in Sydney, which has often affected the lives of ordinary people and popular culture as well as corrupting the processes of policing, justice and government. She grumbles because she arrived early to work on the list but was unable to get into the room. Bayeh was a major player in the Kings Cross drugs scene during the 1990s. Mr Domican is suing Mr Ibrahim and his publisher Pan Macmillan Australia for damages in the Federal Court over his best-selling 2017 memoir, Last King of the Cross, claiming the tell-all book wrongly paints him as a hitman, violent criminal and a drug dealer. Not content with his position, Kassab begins distributing drugs secretly. Released in 2011, Bayehs parole restrictions were such that he was not able to be in the vicinity of Kings Cross and other suburbs, including Woolloomooloo, for three years until restrictions were lifted on July 17, 2014. Mr Ibrahim's lawyers claim in court documents that Mr Domican, a former ALP figure, accompanied Louis Bayeh to a meeting at the Cosmopolitan Cafe in Kings Cross, where the latter allegedly told Mr Ibrahim, "Who do you think you are, trying to take over the Cross?". Whilst Fowler denies he is involved in corruption, he is shown covert video footage of him accepting a bribe. We looked like Martians. Staunton's playboy lifestyle came to a halt with his defiant appearance before the Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service in June 1995. ''It is not every day the Serious Offenders Review Council recommends that the parole authority consider the release of a serious offender at the first eligible date,'' he said. Dennis Kelly fights off competition from Gerry lloyd and Sid Hillier for the role of Police Commissioner. ST. LOUIS-On the heels of one of the most deadly years for traffic in the history of the city of St. Louis and a weekend that saw five people killed in a pair of traffic accidents, Mayor Tishaura Jones on Wednesday signed a board bill that commits to spending at least $40 million in federal funds on traffic calming and street redesign measures. ''He is going to work for a fruit man,'' he added. Many of those who came after Louis Bayeh did not last so long. Mr Ibrahim claims Mr Domican sometimes carried a gun when he accompanied Mr Bayeh in the precinct in the evenings, and that he was paid up to $5000 a week at the same time that people involved in Mr Bayeh's drug empire were receiving cash payments. We do the same things every day. (Spectrum News/Gregg Palermo). Violence increased partly because of the nature of the drug trade, and partly because the degree of stability once provided in the underworld by the involvement of corrupt police largely disappeared. Police unions have rallied around Missouri Senate Bill 78, which would reinstate a Civil War-era system of state oversight. They split and she lives overseas, although he still wears her ring on his wedding finger. After almost a decade working in Kings Cross, the startling revelations of graft, corruption, drug dealing and prostitution are like office gossip to John. Youve got a tape going, havent ya? Bayeh then jumped from his seat, according to the facts presented at the court. A major player in last year's Underbelly TV series, Bill Bayeh was jailed for dealing heroin and cocaine from the once-notorious Cosmopolitan Cafe in Kings Cross. Their building also backs onto the street. Upon his release Staunton took himself to Bali then Amsterdam where he met two mysterious drug traffickers called Bram and Manfred who saw potential in him. His period of dominance in Kings Cross was the inspiration for the third series of the TV drama Underbelly. One night he found a naked woman on the meal room table performing a sex act on herself with a police baton while his fellow officers drank cans of beer. FORMER Kings Cross underworld identity Bill Bayeh has walked out of Sydney's Silverwater jail after serving 15 years for drug trafficking. Speaking outside the hearing, one of Bayeh's other brothers said he was pleased at the result. "I want to move on with my life. As John cruises up and down Darlinghurst Rd looking for a friend, he is greeted with casual waves. John has only been to his parents country of birth, Lebanon, once. He is also talking about the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service and the heavy toll it has exacted from Sydneys red light district. If you dont own a business there (Kings Cross) you could not understand how much its affected it, he says. It takes time and a lot of thought.. Trevor Haken's alcoholism takes a toll on his marriage and his ability to manage police corruption. As his drug operation grew, Bayeh and his family indulged in the good life. FORMER Kings Cross identity Bill Bayeh has been given a bond for making a threat involving a sex toy to Geoffrey Edelsten's ex-wife during an ugly verbal spat recorded on a smart phone. In 1988, a young, skinny boy named John Ibrahim from the outer-suburbs arrives in King's Cross to seek his fortune after being expelled from school, which results in a chance meeting with Sydney crime boss George Freeman. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/former-drug-kingpin-bayeh-granted-parole/2774734, Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app, China has taken a 'dramatic' lead in critical technologies used for military power, report says, Former minister takes 'absolute responsibility' for Robodebt, admits defending scheme despite knowing it could be unlawful, Aussies strike in India's second innings after making 197, MP Monique Ryan and chief of staff Sally Rugg fail to settle dispute after four-week mediation, 'Sickening, callous and brazen': Sydney man dies in hail of bullets in front of 12yo son, Evelyn worked three jobs when she was in her 20s to build up her super. She also said the city was in the early stages of looking at if the city should staff a non-police traffic enforcement unit. But the NSW Corrective Services Commissioner still argued against Bayeh's release yesterday. As a member of the TRG he sustained permanent injury during a pitched battle with louts during the so-called Bathurst Riots at the 1985 Motorcycle Grand Prix. Every job I got was eventually going to lead me to where I am now. More than once he was cut by the teachers cane. The balcony gives way to a vista encompassing Sydney Heads and a massive expanse of deep blue ocean. The employees would be responsible for any charges the police laid. Hakim got him a job as debt collector with Lennie McPherson, and Bayeh went on to open a gaming club at West Ryde with Hakims approval and then became a major standover man and Kings Cross drug dealer for many years. When gang violence breaks out in King's Cross, John Ibrahim is placed under pressure to clean up the streets. By then Staunton had bought his first Porsche and with a private investigator's licence work from major criminals and prominent law firms kept rolling in. Soon afterwards he spoke with news.com.aus Editor-in-Chief Kate de Brito, revealing an ambitious young man who wanted to rule Kings Cross. Hakim expanded his contacts among police and became a general intermediary between them and the underworld. I just want to make a living like everybody else, said Bayeh. Bicycle guy is a True Blue Aussie! It is pretty interesting, especially given his history here.. However, Louis Bayeh uses his own police contacts to successfully oppose bail for the duo, causing Kassab to look like a liar. Sydney was founded by criminals who for years formed a majority of its population. Forget Melrose Place, the Royal Commission is a better soapie, he grins. It is a thirteen-part series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the mile-long nightclub/ red light district in the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross, also known as the "Golden Mile", between 1988 and 1999. I am just trying to get my life back., Kings Cross underworld identity previously known as the King of the Cross. Then you go home, have a shower and sleep very well.. Chief Inspector Dennis Kelly applies to enter the National Crime Authority in order to improve his resume in the race for police commissioner. Good cops, bad cops, strippers, gamblers, gunmen, dealers, bouncers, dreamers and bagmen. The Liberal candidate in Kogarah says he capitalised on Opposition Leader Michael Daleys anti-migrant remarks to secure an 8.4 per swing in the primary vote in the Labor stronghold; Mr Daley takes the family to lunch; Bill Shorten says lessons must be learned; and, Labor women praise the Premier. Kim Hollingsworth organises a strip show for a police charity. But on his release from prison his power was much weakened. The relationship with Bill Bayeh was severed on the day John appeared before the Commission and heard a conversation between supergrass Trevor Haken and Bayeh, taped at Birkenhead Point Tavern in December 1994. A local bum holds the door open when he sees John, who has been known to sling him a $50 note. ELECTION WRAP. He supplied the drugs to those working on the front desks of his businesses, who would sell them in return for a cut of the profits. It is crisscrossed with scars. The victim was transported to the . Smart and casual, he exudes a faint air of wealth. One of the tensest moments of the hearing came when Redditt Hudson, a former St. Louis police officer working on diversion and alternative sentencing in Gardner's office, repeated accusations that the bill is a racist attack. 'I've met the good, the bad, and the ugly, the famous and the infamous, and for what it's worth, there's good and bad in all of them. 'The Ten Commandments are a reference point, and thus my life is not complicated, no matter how hard I have tried to make it so. John lives here with the Tunnels restaurant manager, who was first employed as a kitchen hand at the club after moving from China to Australia six years ago.