Another "jailhouse snitch" racket -- this time in Australia

DETECTIVES struggling to charge suspects have allegedly paid prisoners thousands of dollars to provide false witness statements. Four police are facing corruption charges over the scheme, which could severely undermine the convictions of some criminals currently serving in Queensland jails. Embroiled in the controversy is Rockhampton Senior-Sergeant Graham Richards, a veteran police officer who in 2001 received damning evidence that Natasha Ryan, dubbed the back-from-the-dead teenager, was alive.

Sen-Sgt Richards was last week suspended with pay over the "noble-cause" corruption allegations. Another detective has also been suspended and a further two have been stood down. All three of those detectives were based in Brisbane.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission has held secretive chamber hearings into the matter. But under the CMC Act it is illegal to publish the names of witnesses who have provided evidence to the commission. It is believed a number of prisoners were paid thousands of dollars to falsify the witness statements, which is a crime.

It is alleged the detectives used Australia Post outlets throughout the state to send express money orders into the inmates' bank accounts at Capricornia Correctional Centre, near Rockhampton, and Arthur Gorrie at Wacol. It has not yet clear whether it will be alleged that the transactions came from the police officer's own money or from a pool of funds.

However, it is understood that the four police believed the suspects they were securing witness statements against were guilty. Sen-Sgt Richards received an anonymous hand-written letter in 2001 during the ongoing search for Ryan suggesting she was alive. The exhaustive investigation into her disappearance continued until 2003, when Ryan was found in her boyfriend Scott Black's Rockhampton home during the trial of serial killer Leonard John Fraser.

Attorney-General Kerry Shine and the Justice Department refused to comment on the potential ramifications because of the ongoing CMC investigation. Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson also refused to comment on the investigation. If the police are charged over the allegations then they face jail sentences.

Report here



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