Jailed detective gives the thumbs-up

By Les Kennedy

Date May 4 2002

 Last moments of freedom ... Ray Peattie walks to the Downing Centre before he was sentenced yesterday for taking bribes. Photo: Nick Moir

Corrupt Manly detective sergeant Raymond John Peattie was jailed for four years last night for accepting bribes from other corrupt police on the northern beaches who allegedly robbed or extorted money from criminals.

The former crime manager at Manly station was sentenced to a total of eight years' imprisonment, but District Court Judge Michael Finnane found Peattie warranted a substantial discount in his sentence because he had not only admitted his guilt but been honest and provided fresh evidence on other corrupt police.

The 46-year-old father of five children from three marriages would be eligible for parole in one year, Judge Finnane ordered.

Wearing a dark blue suit with white shirt and red tie, Peattie at first stood ashen faced as Judge Finnane detailed how he had succumbed to corruption during his 24 years' service. He said Peattie had admitted to acts of fabricating evidence against criminals which was not "noble cause" corruption but perverting the course of justice.

After being told he would be eligible for parole within a year, Peattie turned to a small band of supporters at the back of the court -including a number of uniformed officers and detectives - and offered a half-hearted smile and a thumbs-up signal with his right hand.

Peattie, who resigned from the Police Service last year, is the first officer to receive a prison sentence arising from evidence at the Police Integrity Commission's inquiry into corruption in police ranks on the northern beaches.

Peattie was charged with four counts of accepting bribes totalling $1600 from other alleged corrupt officers at Manly police after raids on the homes of four alleged drug dealers between May and December 2000.

Judge Finnane said Peattie had not been on three of those operations but took the money when offered it instead of reporting the officers, as was his duty.

Judge Finnane said he believed Peattie had been honest in his accounts, unlike other corrupt police he had seen as counsel during the Wood Royal Commission into Police Corruption.

Judge Finnane said Peattie had also made a public apology in writing to all NSW Police and had also made a video with ABC journalist Chris Masters detailing how he became corrupt, and that would be shown to all police including recruits.

Good cop turns bad in two years

By Les Kennedy
February 28 2003

When he was nearing the end of his detective training course in early 1999, Matthew John Jasper was enlisted by police Internal Affairs to work in an anti-corruption operation code-named Gymea.

As a result of seizing $80,000 and half a kilo of cocaine, he received a commendation from the state's then top corruption fighter, Mal Brammer, who this week quit as Independent Commission Against Corruption investigations head after a critical Police Integrity Commission report.

Jasper recounted the award in evidence in the Supreme Court yesterday about his own road from honest cop of 10 years to corrupt cop for two years when he joined Manly Police after his detective training course.

The 33-year-old, who resigned last year in disgrace as a Detective Senior Constable, was caught by a PIC anti-corruption sting code-named Florida.

"I knew what I was doing [was corrupt], but I think if I had not been sent to Manly I might not be sitting here today," he told Justice John Dunford.


Jasper took the stand to give pre-sentencing evidence on his behalf after pleading guilty to 23 charges of corrupt conduct during his time as a detective at Manly working with since convicted and imprisoned officers David Patison and Ray Peattie, also arrested in operation Florida.

Two further charges of supplying heroin between January 2000 and December 2000 were quashed by Justice Dunford.

But Jasper stood and with clasped hands pleaded "guilty" to all other charges including four of corruptly soliciting bribes from a major drug dealer between January 20, 2000, and March 7, 2000.
Then Jasper told the court of committing his first corrupt act, a crime for which he has never been charged.

It happened in 1999 when he and Patison arrested two American women with 60 grams of heroin and cash.

Patison remarked that if they "lightened" some of the 50s and 100s (dollar notes) they would have less work to do.

Jasper took $1200, giving $600 to Patison.

Jasper will be sentenced today.

Heroin driver's sentence tripled

By Candace Sutton
February 9 2003
The Sun-Herald

The chauffeur in the northern beaches heroin syndicate that corrupted former Manly detective Dave Patison, has had his sentence tripled by the Court of Appeal.

Anthony Markarian was not a principal in the heroin business run by Vincent Caccamo, who confessed to the Police Integrity Commission that the Manly detective took a cut of drug profits in exchange for protection.

But on Friday, Justice Dyson Heydon, on his last day on the Court of Appeal before joining the High Court, Justice Robert Hulme and Acting Justice Carruthers overturned the 2-year sentence imposed last July by District Court Judge William Hosking.

The judges said Markarian had carried on a "substantial business" of buying and distributing heroin while acting as a chauffeur for Caccamo. Markarian made more than 50 trips with Caccamo between April 18 and October 10, 2000.

Further, the judges said, Markarian on occasions made up deals for Caccamo, distributed heroin and collected money from Caccamo's runners.


The activities of Markarian and Caccamo came under the notice of the PIC's Operation Florida.
The PIC heard tapes of Caccamo complaining to Markarian about $1000 weekly payments and $32,000 taken during a raid, totalling $92,000, he had to pay to certain police.

"I haven't even had f---in' food in the house and every cent I make f---in' goes to them ... Everything I've made has gone to them," Caccamo said, to which Markarian replied, "It's like paying rent; it's like having a shop and paying rent. Well look, we've got a tax-free business; you don't pay tax, you don't pay rent."

On one tape, Caccamo says, "Five hundred a week should be plenty mate. Plenty." Markarian replies, "That's right, that's right. It should not be a thousand. And when they first gave you that figure, Vince, you should have haggled it then".

Caccamo, who later told the PIC that police demanded payment to green-light his activities, was sentenced last May to eight years' jail with a non-parole period of five years.

Markarian was convicted of supplying commercial quantity of heroin, 415 grams.

The Crown appealed against the District Court sentence, which had a non-parole period of 15 months, and sentenced Markarian, 37, to eight years with a non-parole period of 4 years.

Patison, 43, was jailed for seven years after admitting to 12 offences including bribery and knowingly supplying cannabis and heroin.