Political staffer Sally Rugg has ramped up her legal fight against teal independent Monique Ryan after an attempt at mediation failed. ST. LOUIS - The City of St. Louis is making its largest investment in road and pedestrian safety. I know everyone involved in the nightclub industry and they all know me. Even his late nights out are not wild ones, says John. Taken into custody in 1996 on leaving the witness box at the Wood royal commission into police corruption. They are proof of a violent youth but John says simply: Theyre my scars. One of his techniques was quite unusual. But on his release from prison his power was much weakened. Smart and casual, he exudes a faint air of wealth. I want to move on with my life. Benny Kassab turns to Jim Egan and Trevor Haken for assistance in light of Shaka and Norm shooting at Louis Bayeh's house. Smalltime bouncer Benny Kassab has an audacious plan to become King of the Cross. 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. Were working to restore it. Bayeh didnt react as he was also given a $400 fine for hindering police. During the hearing, counsel for the Commissioner, Christopher Lonergan, referred to a pre-release report by Bayeh's probation and parole officer. Every job I got was eventually going to lead me to where I am now. 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.. 'They did, however, break more laws than any of my friends outside the force.'. 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. Download it here. Bayeh also paid off a number of corrupt Kings Cross detectives, including the former detective Trevor Haken, who later rolled over and gave evidence in the Wood Royal Commission. My brother Sam and I have always been pretty healthy. Former Sydney drug kingpin Bill Bayeh has been granted parole after more than a decade in jail. Bill Bayeh has bought a share in iconic strip joint Love Machine, with the refurbished venue set to open again later this month It's a remarkable return to form for the Golden Mile, now run by Bayeh's former driver John Ibrahim. The next night Packer sent a minion to reward Staunton with an envelope full of $100 notes. 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. 'The money, the travel and the adventure had all been thrilling. Then click on any blue marker to find out more. In a recorded interview, Bayeh admitted to a confrontation but denied pushing her or saying anything about a vibrator or dildo. We are not on the dole bludging, we want to do this right.. Ran the Cosmopolitan coffee lounge in Darlinghurst Road, as well as an amusement parlour, strip club and snooker room. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. Upon his release Staunton was deportedand made his way to London. Theres corruption going on in every section where you could do somebody a good turn or a bad turn. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. After spending the previous night watching videos with friends, John is in a buoyant mood. "I want to move on with my life. 'We also had several wonderful young ladies who were more than happy to purport to being "backing vocalists",' he writes. More like evidence of a botched Police intimidation and harassment campaign!Subscribe to my Telegram channel - https://t.. His garage houses two jet skis. Debbie Webb joins the fraud squad, but is snubbed due to her whistleblower reputation. While behind bars Staunton secured protection from Canadian bikies through his old friend Felix Lyle and managed to regularly speak on the phone to Bayeh, who was in an Australian prison. I have one drink and Im all over the place. Follow the action from the third Test between India and Australia in Delhi in our live blog. According to John, the then owner was being stood over by local heavies and ripped off by his managers. Together, they form a ruthless gang and set about taking over the King's Cross drug trade. There has been a surprising development in the trial of a disgraced former NSW Minister facing more than two dozen child sex abuse allegations. 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. BAYEH CHARGED FOR RESISTING ARREST AFTER RIPPING UP NOTE Leanne Edelsten is now an intensive care nurse at St Vincent's Hospital. He hated it. All times AEDT (GMT +11). It was one of the first of what was to become a common form of violence and intimidation by Lebanese gangsters. You just feel it. It took decades to build the infrastructure that we use every single day. They were described by a police officer at the time as the biggest drug dealers in Kings Cross. Bayeh was a major player in the Kings Cross drugs scene during the 1990s. During a transfer Staunton found himself sharing a van with Ivan Milat, 'puzzled as to how such an insignificant wimp could have terrorised and brutally murdered so many innocent people.'. 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'. I dont think anyone expected he, would be involved in a business here. His friends (and there are many) call him the most wonderful person in the world. Kim Hollingsworth's police friend, Sergeant Dave, abandons her after she "dobs in" to Internal Affairs. He was once asked by a music industry friend to entertain Paul and Linda McCartney for a night at the Park Hyatt Hotel when the former Beatle and his then wife Linda wanted to meet 'real people'. 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. Frank Hakim, who emigrated to Australia at the age of 20 or so, was the first prominent Lebanese criminal. 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 Police Royal Commission and the substantial reforms that followed it stopped most corruption, making police more effective against organised criminals than in the past. 'I'd weighed my options and taken the risk. In July 1993 Bayehs Ermington home, where his children were sleeping, was the subject of a drive-by shooting. 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. On Wednesday, Mayor Tishaura Jones signed the St. Louis Safer Street bill (BB120), utilizing $40 . He was arrested in 1996 after giving evidence at the Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. 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. Accused of being part of a syndicate which virtually monopolised the drug trade in Sydneys red-light district and regularly bribed police. This resulted in the outbreak of a minor ''gang war'', culminating in the 1993 shooting of his brother Louis Bayeh by a rival dealer. While at John Morony jail near Windsor Staunton and another inmate used their music industry contacts to organise a concert for the prisoners. March 1, 2023, at 7:17 p.m. Missouri Governor Would Control St. Louis Police Under Bill. I didnt want to be there at one stage.. St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones signed the St. Louis Safer Streets bill Wednesday. 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. We do the same things every day. Bill Bayeh and John Ibrahim would go on to play major roles in his life. Former nightclub boss John Ibrahim claims that Tom Domican, the man he is accused of defaming as a "violent criminal", was hired to intimidate him during the late 1990s by the brother of former Kings Cross drug kingpin Bill Bayeh. He asks Haken to do something about it because I aint making nothing. In seeming retaliation, Johns attitude on the witness stand remained one degree short of insolence. In the course of them doing their job theyve got to stickybeak everywhere, he says. Its not money thats been laundered. 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. He bought a delicatessen in Cleveland Street Redfern, close to the headquarters of the Gaming Squad and became a Justice of the Peace. John was 16 when he first started working on the door of Images nightclub at Parramatta. Daily Mail Australia is appealing after a court ruled the online publication had defamed Erin Molan in an article and tweets which falsely portrayed her as racist. John moved out of the Parramatta home he shared with his mother, his brothers and his sisters four years ago. 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. On his first night at Long Bay jail Staunton, who was considered at risk due to his years as a policeman, was moved from his original cell. Jones said the city was working on a plan that would safeguard the privacy of the images, address due process, and where they would be placed. Later that year Detective Inspector Tony Lauer led a raid on Hakims Redfern office and found just over a gram of heroin on Hakims person. "I just want to make a living like everybody else," said Bayeh. Corrupt King's Cross detectives Trevor Haken and Jim Egan go too far when arresting a pack of drunks, sparking calls for a royal commission into the NSW Police. Jones hopes the end result of that work will resemble what has unfolded on a corridor not far from the site of the bill signing on the 3100 block of North Grand. Please try again later. I just want to get on with my life, he said. He is based in London and expects to live until he his 100. Ms Nesbitt feared for her safety and called police. Now that the parole restrictions are lifted, Kings Cross is where he wants to be. Drawn to the Cross from Sydney's western suburbs in the late 1980s, Bayeh developed a serious gambling problem that left him drowning in debt. What Bill did was illegal and unacceptable but he has apologised and served his time and now the fact of the matter is, the two of us know the streets and this is the industry we know. We didnt fit in. It's being paid for with the American Rescue Plan Fund. Judge Christie noted the Commissioner's opposition, but said the Probation and Parole Service and the Serious Offenders Review Council supported Bayeh's release. His defence claims that, in about 1997, following Bill Bayeh's arrest on drug charges, for which he was ultimately jailed for 15 years, Louis Bayeh continued to take payments for "protecting" strip clubs and other businesses in the area. Ive done my time many times over for my charges. The lounge room, covered in thick white carpet, is clean but untidy, giving the impression of an archetypal boys house. Yeah, I am the leader in some ways. This will not be work that we can complete overnight. You need to be in jail, Ms Nesbitt said, according to a NSW Police statement of facts. Later John confides: All these people, weve been together since we had nothing. She grumbles because she arrived early to work on the list but was unable to get into the room. He was also accused of being in the company of Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto. The Republican-led House on Wednesday gave initial approval to the legislation. John Agius, counsel assisting the inquiry, went so far as to allege that John was the new driving force of the Kings Cross drug trade. John has only been to his parents country of birth, Lebanon, once. Then the tapes and video footage played in the Wood Royal Commission effectively put Bayeh away. Can you turn it up a little, he jokes above the laughter of his friends. 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. When Bill's business suffers as a result, tensions rise between Bill and his brother, Louis Bayeh. Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Could this really be a coincidence? 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. The inmate who took his place was severely bashed by three other prisoners because Staunton's name card had been left on the outer door. Bill Bayeh was jailed for 15 years for drug trafficking in the 1990s. His classroom became the streets of Kings Cross and like any student, some lessons were hard to learn. The employees would be responsible for any charges the police laid. We were supposed to be there a week but we couldnt stand it so we left after three days. A restaurant burned by unreliable workers has bluntly advertised what theyre looking for on a sign hung outside their front door. Once I was in, the club paid for itself. I went back home for three days (last year) with Charlie Staunton. The team stuffed backpacks with meals to tide children over the weekend . Ive never sold drugs. Newcomer Benny Kassab starts dealing drugs in competition with the Bayeh brothers. An old, sloping billiard table is the living rooms centrepiece, closed in on two sides by leather couches. But the parole authority agreed to release him anyway, saying his 15-year sentence was lengthy compared to crimes of a similar nature. Thats the business were in. THE former king of the Kings Cross strip has returned to what he knows best: The strip club business. 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. Bill and Louis Bayeh fight off threats to their drug dealing empire. I bluffed well for a long time when I was 18. An angry Kim Hollingsworth returns to Sydney from Adelaide, intending on suing the NSW Police. The Missouri House already passed a similar bill. Trevor Haken wears a wire to a meeting with Bill Bayeh. He was shot three times but survived. After being released from jail, Bayeh initially indicated he was interested in opening a fruit shop. He was shot three times but survived. 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. St. Louis police gather at the scene of a shooting in the 1800 block of Cass Avenue on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, where police say a man was shot in the chest. His older brother, Louis Bayeh, was also jailed in 1997 for perverting the course of justice. Tanned, fit and small in stature, John has full lips, sleepy eyes and a subtly engaging persona. Along the way he was called upon to keep Paul McCartney and his wife company for an evening and once shared a prison van with backpacker killer Ivan Milat. In 1988 they were all to be found on the Golden Mile. The document also alleges Mr Domican threatened an illegal poker machine supplier with violence in 1990 if he wasn't given money and access to the machines; and was sentenced to two months' hard labour in 1988 for possessing an unlicensed pistol. In London the pair jumped the queue to get into Wimbledon when Ibrahim bought tickets for the 16 tennis fans behind them. 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?". In return for the bribes, the police would tip off Bayeh about raids on his premises. The 55-year-old emerged with a tuft of white hair at the front of an otherwise black head of hair and was wearing a black hooded top and jeans as he walked through the gates at 9.14am (AEST) today. It would be easy for Bill to go the wrong way but he is doing the right thing, she said. Mr Ibrahim alleges Mr Domican has a reputation among "members of the Australian general public over the age of 35", NSW Police and the legal community, the building industry, and the pubs and clubs industry as a violent criminal, a standover man, and an associate of underworld figures. We know that some of these education and enforcement mechanisms can be implemented sooner. Speaking outside the hearing, one of Bayeh's other brothers said he was pleased at the result. ST. LOUISOn 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. The green tracksuited figure then stood, turned and was led back to his cell to serve the remaining 19 days before he was officially eligible for release. Staunton, whose international criminal partners knew him as 'The Prince', has now written about his colourful life in a book called The Good Bloke. 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. 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'. Joe Dooley leaves the King's Cross police and enrolls at Goulburn Academy. I did what I did and I accept what I did. It would allow the governor to appoint "a special . They were assisted in this by new laws, such as those enabling them to seize assets that were the proceeds of crime, and institutions, such as the New South Wales Crime Commission (which had been created in 1986), which unlike the police can force people to give evidence. Believe it or not I did very well at school but it just wasnt for me. Coles has announced it has scrapped a major Covid-19 requirement for all its staff. 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