VINDICATED YET AGAIN – HOSER BOOKS
The unthinkable has happened. The Sunday Herald-Sun has finally admitted the obvious and finally conceded that Police corruption is a serious problem. Today (June 4) the paper ran lead story about Police corruption in Victoria. They also ran an editorial calling for the setting up of a new system for dealing with Police corruption.
This is the same sort of thing they've been preaching against for a long, long time.
The two-page story by Felicity Dargan relied on seven specific incidences of Police corruption to back her "argument" that Police corruption was a problem.
These were:
1/ The Drug squad files thefts from 1996 and earlier.
2/ The window shutters scam,
3/ Police illegally moonlighting in other jobs,
4/ The murder of Jane Thurgood-Dove, whereby the only suspect is a serving Policeman.
5/ Police raping women at Maryborough.
6/ Denis Tanner getting off a murder charge because of his position as a senior Police officer.
7/ Police hiding illegal guns and drugs in the ceilings of their police station/s.
All these matters were covered in detail in the book Victoria Police Corruption. At the time the book was launched last August an editor at the Herald-Sun newspaper described Hoser's book as "complete and utter bullshit", oh and yes, the Herald-Sun has even printed editorials denying the existence of any systematic Police corruption in Victoria.
Well the chickens have come home to roost. Finally the newspaper (Herald-Sun/Sunday Herald-Sun) has effectively admitted Hoser was right all along.
Other aspects of Dargan's story was wrong, but then again, since when have we relied upon accuracy as one of the Herald-Sun's trademarks?
Dargan said that the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was set up as a result of the Wood Royal Commission. That simply isn't true. In fact the ICAC was set up a decade earlier and the Wood Royal Commission arose due to the fact that ICAC did effectively nothing to stop the Police corruption! In fact the result of the Wood Royal Commission was that ICAC was stripped of its role to investigate Police because evidence showed that they'd covered it up instead.
Dargan was also being a bit rich when she credited her own paper as the source that exposed the corruption listed in her story. Perhaps a reality check is in place.
The facts are slightly different. The vast bulk of the corruption detailed in Dargan's article was first properly exposed in Hoser's books Victoria Police Corruption and Victoria Police Corruption – 2 and perhaps more importantly in The Hoser Files – The Fight Against Entrenched Official Corruption that was first published in 1995. Had Dargan's newspaper properly reported on that original book, instead of applying a D-notice on it (no reports to be made), then the ongoing problems of Police corruption may have been avoided.
While there is a saying that says "better late than never", we are sure that the women who were raped and bashed by police long after the publication of The Hoser Files first exposed the corruption they were up against, would have preferred the Herald-Sun and Melbourne's other major newspapers properly documented the corruption in that book instead of systematically suppressing it and allowing it to go on for another five years. Likewise for the many innocent people jailed for things they didn't do, victims of the Police-protected drug trade and so on.
Other recent vindications of Hoser's books are the following:
Drug trafficking by drug squad policeman Kevin Hicks. At the time the book Victoria Police Corruption came out, Hicks protested his innocence of the allegations. He has since changed his mind, pled guilty and was sentenced to five years jail as recently as last week.
The Intergraph Royal Commission has confirmed Hoser's extensive account of the matter in "Victoria Police Corruption". The inquiry was promised by then opposition leader Steve Bracks after a person asked a question of him at the Labor election campaign launch. The person cited the book as a reason for having the inquiry.
Just this week, the State government announced an inquiry into the tendering process of the sale of the Vicroads road building equipment during the Kennett years. "Victoria Police Corruption – 2" was the first to properly detail the scandal. Those allegations were also derided by officials as "a wild conspiracy theory".
For further information
Phone: Kotabi Publishing on (03) 9812-3322
Kotabi Corporate Lawyer Alex Tees: 0409-813-622
Author Raymond Hoser: 0412-777 211
This release and other supporting material can be found at:
http://www.smuggled.com/MedRel43.htm
Subject: "Herald Sun" Article, 4/6/2000.
Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 13:55:32 +1000
From: "Mick" <traindriver@ozemail.com.au>
To: XXX
Dear Raymond,
Hope you got my last e-mail.
I would just like to bring to your attention in the Sunday "Herald Sun", 4th
of June, 2000, an article
titled "Probe On Corruption".
It mentions the "Jane Thurgood Dove" case and how the suspected police
officer involved has not been charged and is on operational duty.
The Maryborough rapes are mentioned, and how Ms Doreen Petrov (rape victim)
has appealed to the Ombudsman to resume the investigation.
Detective Denis Tanner is mentioned and how "Director of Public
Prosecutions", Geoff Flatman QC
announced Tanner would not be charged over the death of Jennifer Tanner
because of Lack of insufficient evidence--(blatant cover-up!)
While it is good to see the article, this is just the "tip of the iceberg",
about Victorian police corruption.
I would rather see extracts of your books in the sun.
The Herald Sun seems to be also taking alot of credit for the things you
uncovered and already have mentioned in your books.
Yours sincerly,
All the best,
Kate Collins.