Various prohibitions have caused many citizens to engage in criminal behaviour over the subsequent years, most commonly illegal gambling and drinking. Kim Hollingsworth continues to risk her life to expose Eddie Gould's corruption. We used to kick box together. To an outsider, the life of John Ibrahim is surreal. At 15 John was stabbed during a brawl in the Cross. The parole authority believed Bayeh had served a lengthy prison sentence compared to other sentences for crimes of a similar nature. '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. Back before the Ibrahims had seriously staked their claim and the Wood Royal Commission exposed the corruption riddling the King Cross police command, Bill Bayeh was ''Billy the Boss''. In the mid-1960s he obtained the protection of Lennie McPherson and proceeded to provide protection himself to Lebanese and other ethnic gaming clubs. You get an education at school but it doesnt help you when youre out dealing with people. Johns club The Tunnel is still in chaos after more than a month of renovations but he remains optimistic. He extended his criminal activities and eventually became known as the Lebanese godfather. I am just trying to get my life back., Kings Cross underworld identity previously known as the King of the Cross. Its money thats all accounted for. This is my opinion, sir, believe me on my babys life. But the relationship went through a rocky patch in 1985 when Hakim gave permission for certain men to put gaming machines into an ethnic club. If Mr Domican is found to be entitled to any damages, Mr Ibrahim argues they should be minimised by his "bad reputation", among other factors. John is dismissive about the context in which his relationships with colourful Kings Cross identities are viewed. Smalltime bouncer Benny Kassab has an audacious plan to become King of the Cross and Tevor Haken's alcoholism takes a toll on his marriage and his ability to manage police corruption. FORMER Kings Cross drug czar Bill Bayeh is back in strife with the law, arrested twice in three days by police the latest for allegedly assaulting one-time model turned nurse, Leanne Edelsten. He asks Haken to do something about it because I aint making nothing. In 1983 the Australian Federal Police tapped over 7,000 of Hakims conversations: 26 corruption investigations involving police ensued. After being released from jail, Bayeh initially indicated he was interested in opening a fruit shop. She also said the city was in the early stages of looking at if the city should staff a non-police traffic enforcement unit. I dont need to tell anyone how I got them. On his rise as a businessman in Kings Cross, John is more forthcoming. After leaving school John began working in Kings Cross at the Tunnel Cabaret nightclub. Bill Bayeh was in 1996 sentenced to 15 years jail for heroin and cocaine dealing. The clouds have finally lifted over Kings Cross after days of rain. And sorry for the victims Ive caused trouble to.. He died in 2005, and over 400 people attended his funeral at Redfern. Not content with his position, Kassab begins distributing drugs secretly. It was owned by the father of one of his friends and he lied about his age to get the job. The Independent Commission Against Corruption rejected the claim, and Bob Bottom pointed out at the time that the detectives accused by Hakim were in the vanguard of anti-corruption efforts. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. He bought a delicatessen in Cleveland Street Redfern, close to the headquarters of the Gaming Squad and became a Justice of the Peace. We used to do taekwondo together. Naturally this gave him advance notification of every raid, which could be passed on to those who paid him protection. View Bill Bayeh's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. None of the principals in the Pacific Mariner Cartel was ever arrested. Coles has announced it has scrapped a major Covid-19 requirement for all its staff. It wasnt for me. Perhaps the best known gang of the late 1990s was the extremely vicious Dannys Boys, led by Danny Karam, who engaged in knee-cappings and drive-by shootings, including one of Lakemba Police Station in 1998. Youll find we are very boring. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. In custody from 1996, Bayeh was sentenced to 20 years in jail, with a non-parole period of 15 years, a sentence which the panel at yesterday's parole hearing agreed was at the higher end of the sentencing options. Even as he was driven away in the back of a police car in 1995, the smooth-faced 40-year-old retained a certain arrogance - holding his manacled hands up to the camera for all to see. Bayeh, 56, who was portrayed in Underbelly: The Golden Mile, spent 15 years in prison for cocaine and heroin trafficking. I went back home for three days (last year) with Charlie Staunton. 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. Convicted drug dealer Bill Bayeh has been released on parole after 15 years in prison for heroin trafficking in Sydney's Kings Cross. On both levels of the house the curtains are drawn across the windows. While at John Morony jail near Windsor Staunton and another inmate used their music industry contacts to organise a concert for the prisoners. Who can deny that his life is often stranger than fiction? Were working to restore it. He pleaded guilty to the hindrance charge earlier this month, while prosecutors dropped a second charge of resisting police. Later that shift Staunton was told to drive several drunk constables to nearby Moore Park where his colleagues stormed into a toilet block wielding their truncheons at 'poofters'. In the TAB John is asking around after his friend when he gestures to a tall skinny man and says quietly: The worst thing you can be in the Cross is a KX (a protected Commission witness) because everyone knows who you are.. 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. , updated 'Before I'd taken the job with Bram, I'd investigated the possible penalties,' he writes. His older brother, Louis Bayeh, was also jailed in 1997 for perverting the course of justice. Police have attended the home of a 10-month-old baby who appeared in shocking footage sucking on and inhaling the fumes of a vape. Life after prison looms for King of the Cross. (AP) Missouri 's governor would control St. Louis police under a bill advanced . Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. 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. Later John confides: All these people, weve been together since we had nothing. Forget Melrose Place, the Royal Commission is a better soapie, he grins. I'd know the stakes and reaped the rewards. I'm not ashamed of anything I've done. 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. Well before his death, though, he had handed on the flame to another criminal of Lebanese descent, Louis Bayeh. The Reverend Fred Nile described him in parliament as Mr Fixit, an acknowledgement of the power he had acquired through his vast range of contacts in the Lebanese community, the police force, and elsewhere. New South Wales Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham opposed Bayeh's parole, saying he was just presenting a facade as a naive man. With another club in Surfers Paradise, also called The Tunnel, he wanted to free up his commitments in Sydney. Trevor Haken's paranoia reaches an all-new high. I just want to make a living like everybody else, said Bayeh. Smart and casual, he exudes a faint air of wealth. But a group always has a dominant personality.. He must also undergo regular drug and alcohol testing and psychological assessment. It took decades to build the infrastructure that we use every single day. Bill has 1 job listed on their profile. He paid police to protect at least 24 gaming clubs and often entertained police officers. Trevor Haken wears a wire to a meeting with Bill Bayeh. Our contributors include the great investigators Bob Bottom and Al McCoy, and the wonderfully insightful Sydney artist Michael Fitzjames. Staunton was first stationed at inner-city Redfern where he witnessed policing practices which quickly made him question his choice of employment. And when he speaks, the people around him listen. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. Staunton had witnessed police corruption since his earliest days on the force and it was internal treachery which. All you need to do is get your foot in the door, John says. The comments below have not been moderated, By Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. As a young constable Charlie Staunton dreamed of one day becoming commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force. Spoils of crime Bayeh's Gladesville home. All times AEDT (GMT +11). However, the operation goes awry. His establishments included the Lasers amusement parlour, Porky's strip club, the Penthouse snooker room and the Cosmopolitan cafe - most of which were used as drug distribution centres - as well as brothels and shops across the western suburbs. 'I just wanted to get straight into it. His sentencing was adjourned so psychiatric evidence can be gathered. 'I do not have a thousand morals,' Staunton writes on page one of The Good Bloke. Ms Nesbitt said nothing as Bayeh, now 57, greeted her from his outdoor table at the Five Boroughs coffee shop on Darlinghurst Road. Russell Townsend, described in Royal Commission evidence as an alleged drug dealer, is a friend and gym partner. Bill Bayeh was jailed for 15 years for drug trafficking in the 1990s.Credit:Nick Moir. Aware that he is being investigated by the Wood Royal Commission, Dennis Kelly dobs in Jim Egan to investigators. If they dont salute, they are a bastard they no good soldier at all. Walks free from Silverwater prison after minimum 15-year term for drug trafficking expires in July 2011. Staunton had been secretly recorded handing money to the corrupt cop Trevor Haken on behalf of Bayeh and spent the next 11 and a half months in prison. My brother Sam and I have always been pretty healthy. As John cruises up and down Darlinghurst Rd looking for a friend, he is greeted with casual waves. I thought "I'm going to save the world - this is great - I can be a superhero here".'. Debbie Webb leaves King's Cross police and allies herself with her husband Greg Locke and politician John Hatton. But for all his street savviness, Bayeh had pushed things too far. 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. 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. Neither proved to be true and he launched legal proceedings, suing for up to $750,000 in damages from the state. 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. 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. See more at www.tennews.com.au Sydney was founded by criminals who for years formed a majority of its population. He neither drinks nor smokes. It is crisscrossed with scars. While supporting Bayeh's release, the officer said: ''Mr Bayeh attempted to present a facade of a naive man, eager to charm and please. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Like a prince in plain clothes John, 25, is slouched in a chair at a Victoria Rd cafe talking to three friends about his club, The Tunnel, which is undergoing renovations. The lounge room, covered in thick white carpet, is clean but untidy, giving the impression of an archetypal boys house. 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. The 60-year-old is the 'good bloke' of the title and says he lives by two simple rules: Loyalty is everything, and what is morally right and what is legal are not always the same thing. If you're a friend of mine you're there forever.'. 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. The expansion of the Bayeh drug empire led to a push to remove small drug dealers off the streets. 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. Thats always kept me out of trouble the majority of the time.. He was arrested in 1996 after giving evidence at the Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. In 2001, he was sentenced to another three years after pleading guilty to demanding money with menaces from two brothel keepers and for supplying cocaine and heroin. I have gotten what I wanted out of the Cross. Kim Hollingsworth's police friend, Sergeant Dave, abandons her after she "dobs in" to Internal Affairs. In 1998, after disposing of Danny Karam, drug dealer Michael Kanaan devises a plan to murder John Ibrahim and his bodyguard, Kiwi Steve, in order to divert attention. she said. They were described by a police officer at the time as the biggest drug dealers in Kings Cross. He will be under as much scrutiny as anyone who runs that type of business in the Cross., Another Kings Cross detective added: We have been waiting for him to come up here when his parole conditions finished maybe for a coffee or something. Billy Bayeh was talking to Trevor Haken because he knows I have the respect in the Cross to wipe them out. Respect and a cache of favours awaiting repayment. He drove a prison van to and from court for a year when the Bandido and Comanchero gangs faced trial for the 1984 Milperra massacre, at which six bikies and a teenage girl were killed. The 1990s saw the rise of many other powerful and violent Lebanese figures, including Louis Bayehs brother Bill. Bayeh was a major player in the Kings Cross drugs scene during the 1990s. 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. I want to be left alone. BAYEH CHARGED FOR RESISTING ARREST AFTER RIPPING UP NOTE Leanne Edelsten is now an intensive care nurse at St Vincent's Hospital. Please try again later. Aldermanic Board President Megan Green said traffic education and enforcement would be a priority for the next session of the Board when new members are seated after the April elections. Mr Agius persisted: Isnt it the case that you and your brother have filled the gap to the extent to which Mr Bill Bayehs industry has contracted?. Trevor Haken's alcoholism takes a toll on his marriage and his ability to manage police corruption. Why not, I grew up here, he said when asked why he had returned to Kings Cross. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Long-time observers of the Cross say it was typical of the shameless bravado Bayeh then projected as he cruised the famous red-light district. Once I was in, the club paid for itself. They go home, theyve got social lives, they go out. The view from Johns Dover Heights home is breathtaking. Then you go home, have a shower and sleep very well.. They are proof of a violent youth but John says simply: Theyre my scars. One reason is that energetic and ambitious men who have difficulty obtaining legitimate opportunities turn to illegal ones. 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