Underbelly 5 Read online

  The charismatic and confident Rich would have impressed colleagues and clients alike. None would have known that his formal education finished in year seven. What he lacked in qualifications he made up for with a retentive memory and natural intelligence.

  He was born in a refugee camp in Germany, in 1952, and came to Australia with his parents when he was nine years old. After leaving school at fourteen he worked in a grocery store, then in a clothing shop, where he became a talented window dresser. He married at the age of eighteen and fathered a baby daughter. He then became an insurance salesman with some initial success, but after business turned bad he had debts of $1.4 million and was later declared bankrupt, owing $360,000.

  A psychiatrist, Dr Norman Lewis, said Rich ‘used to train a lot in gyms. He had taken steroids. His weight was 150 kilograms; it is now 92 kilograms.’

  Police say that if he had used his ability as a salesman without crossing the criminal line, he could have been wealthy … and free. But it would never have been enough for the man who always wanted more.

  Dietrich was a convicted false pretender with 85 prior convictions, including 59 for obtaining property by deception, but, as Rich, he had never been in trouble with the law … yet.

  He joined the stockbroking firm as a trainee adviser and was promoted the following month. He worked with the company until March, 1991, as a client adviser. According to police, he set up company accounts under names of his friends and bought and sold shares on credit. The company became suspicious when his purchases did not relate to his client base.

  He left the office one night owing $33,000 and simply didn’t return. The company hired a private investigator who established that Rich was really Dietrich, a convicted criminal. The company decided immediately to cut its losses and its relationship with the plausible confidence trickster.

  Rich set up a new company, 3B Corporation, to establish a software program for the stock market. Police claim it stood for ‘Bullshit Baffles Brains’. He loved his expensive lifestyle. Police said he owned a suit worth more than $2000 and had put a deposit on a German bed valued at $6000. His BMW lease cost $1500 a month and the rent on his apartment was also $1500. He even had the mandatory socialite girlfriend as he built himself a niche in an environment much more comfortable, and slightly more exclusive, than his prison days.

  But, in the deep end of the financial pool, he needed more than a sharp wit and rat cunning. Rich’s three Bs were not enough. He needed Backing, Brokers and Bucks. By early 1991, the financial walls were starting to close in on Rich. And, when he was under pressure he reverted to what he knew best – crime.

  Around the same time that Rich began to suffer severe liquidity problems police noticed a pattern in a series of armed robberies around Melbourne. In each of the jobs, the getaway car was a stolen 1988 or 1989 Ford Fairmont sedan. Each car was taken from the long-term carpark at the Melbourne airport.

  Eventually, police found that eighteen cars had been stolen. Each theft involved the removal of the rear-passenger-side door lock, a method of car theft unique in Australia. The gang responsible for the car thefts was found to have conducted eight armed robberies, from 8 April until 2 December, 1991, with takings of $499,000.

  According to police, every time Rich’s debts became dangerously high he would put away his suit, grab his armed robbery kit – which contained guns, masks, radio scanners and earpieces – and pull a big, armed robbery. Always fashion conscious, Rich insisted on wearing a fully imported Italian Trussardi jacket and a German silk ski mask, similar to those worn by formula one drivers, during some of the stick-ups.

  ‘Most crooks are happy to use the sleeve of a woollen jumper or a footy beanie as a balaclava, but Rich always demanded the best,’ the head of the armed robbery investigation, Graham Kent, noted. ‘Even when he stole cars he demanded the up-market Fairmont, and wouldn’t take the basic Falcon model because he felt it was beneath him.’

  But the money wasn’t just used to pay off debts. Only hours after he robbed an Armaguard crew of $98,000, at the Safeway Supermarket at Waverley Gardens on 26 August, he wandered into the exclusive jewellers, Kozminsky, and bought a trinket for himself as a reward, a diamond ring valued at $17,000.

  He then popped a few dollars into the prison account of his old friend, Russell Street bomber, Craig ‘Slim’ Minogue, and dropped off a computer for the convicted murderer.

  He wasn’t as generous with his armed robbery partners. After robbing Waverley Gardens supermarket he gave his partner, Kevin Patrick Parker, $20,000, claiming it was half the proceeds. Rich pocketed $78,000 as his ‘half’. Rich had a great grasp of the law, but maths was not his strong point.

  In the seven-month period of the robberies, Rich spent $113,562, yet he had no known legitimate income. He made two payments of $10,000 each for computer software as part of his plan to develop a stock market program. Each payment was made within two days of a big hold-up. In October, police put the airport car park under surveillance. They later said they identified Rich and Parker stealing a Ford in the tell-tale manner of the armed robbery gang. Within three days they knew their prime target in the operation, code-named ‘Aford’.

  Rich and one of his partners, Claudio Crupi, were arrested after the robbery of two Armaguard guards of $118,000 in cash and cheques at The Glen shopping centre on 2 December. Detectives recovered $63,000 in cash.

  When he was arrested, Rich vowed to fight a legal battle which would drag on for years. ‘He said he would make it a war of attrition and that we would lose interest. He said he would wear us down in an avalanche of paper work,’ Detective Sergeant Michael Gunn said.

  Rich was as good as his word, launching a battle that lasted almost a decade and included a 51-day committal, a County Court trial, tantrums, threats and appeals. Twice, juries had to decide whether he was fit to stand trial. Psychiatrist, Dr Norman Lewis, examined Rich for the defence. He wrote: ‘His confidence is nil. He cries frequently. He has compulsive thoughts. He is sad. Overall, Hugo feels very frustrated.

  ‘My suggestion would be that this man should have a break of six months, then he should be persuaded to do one case at a time. I believe that he should be persuaded to have help as much as possible.

  ‘Ideally, I would agree with Mr Bernard Healey that the client should be allowed to be on bail away from jail to be able to settle down and then be able to defend his case properly. At the moment Hugo is too tense, persecuted and depressed to think clearly.’

  But the criminal justice system has not yet progressed to the stage where trials are suspended so that suspected armed robbers can have long holidays, so they get over feeling sad.

  At one stage, Rich had to be removed from the court when he became aggressive, and launched a prolonged bout of abuse at Judge Geoff Byrne. At one point he yelled: ‘I don’t give a rat’s arse. I’ll drag it out a bloody year, I don’t give a shit.’

  On 26 June, 1995, he sacked his barrister, a Mr O’Doherty, during the proceedings.

  His honor: I see. That is his privilege. Thank you for your assistance to the court.

  Mr O’Doherty: Yes, Your Honour. Might we leave now?

  His honor: Yes. Thank you.

  Accused: Can I leave too, please? I don’t want to be here.

  His honor: Very well.

  Accused: Thank you. You can do it on your own, you silly bastard.

  His honor: Thank you.

  DURING the adjournment Rich re-employed his legal team. The judge then decided to arraign a jury for the trial. It is usual for an accused to remain silent during the process, but Hugo Rich was not the usual type of accused.

  But Judge Byrne was aware that Rich was likely to throw a tantrum in front of a jury. It would result in the jury being discharged and a further delay. The judge decided to video the process for possible contempt proceedings.

  His honor: Place the prisoner in the dock.

  Accused: Do you understand I don’t want to be here, sir? I don’t want to be rude to you.
I’d like to leave, please.

  His honor: Mr Rich, you must be present for the …

  Accused: No I don’t. I must not be present, sir.

  His honor: You must be present for the arraignment and empanelling of the jury.

  Accused: I must take no part in these proceedings, sir, I don’t want to be rude to you, I don’t want to be here.

  His honor: You may be present or absent after that, as you wish.

  Accused: No, well, I’m not taking part of the process, sir. I’d like to leave, please.

  His honor: All right, you can leave after the jury is empanelled.

  Accused: I don’t want to fight with anybody, I don’t want to do anything. I’m not taking part in any of this, okay?

  His honor: Yes, all right.

  Accused: It is a shame. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, sir. I am not taking any part of this process, because what you are trying to do, sir, you are either trying to send me over the cliff and I am about two seconds away from it, or explode, and I won’t do either, do you understand me?

  His honor: Yes, all right.

  Accused: I am not in the state of mind, I want to see a doctor and I want to get some treatment. I cannot take part of this process.

  His honor: All right.

  Accused: Okay?

  His honor: Yes.

  Accused: Don’t just nod to me, because you just shafted me from day one. Do you understand I’m sick? It took all my resolve last Friday. This cunning wench here would be happy with a bloody GP (Governor’s Pleasure indefinite sentence). Either way she gets a victory. Do you understand that I’m sick? I don’t want to be rude to you, I don’t want to take part in this whole crap.

  His honor: All you are saying is being video-taped so there will be a record of it.

  Accused: Well that’s it, just fob me off again, that is what you are really saying. Whether it’s video taped, I don’t give a rat’s arse either, sir. I don’t want to take part in these illegal proceedings. That’s what you are doing.

  His honor: All right, you made that clear.

  Accused: Well can I go?

  His honor: No, you must stay for the empanelment. Bring in the jury.

  Accused: What are you doing?

  His honor: You will be arraigned before the jury panel and a jury will be …

  Accused: No I won’t, I’m sorry, I won’t be arraigned in front of the jury, okay? I’m telling you I won’t be arraigned before the jury, I’m telling you now, I want to leave now.

  His honor: You are not permitted to leave now.

  Accused: I am permitted to leave, I’m telling you now, I want to leave now, you are not going to do this, rat, I’m telling you, all right? I will throw every c… in here, you ain’t going to fucking do it, all right? You are driving me over the fucking hill, you hear that? You understand that? You want to shaft me at a time like this, wake up to yourself, you silly old dog. There will be no fucking jury, I want to leave. I don’t want to fight nobody, but if you force me, that’s what will happen. Now get out of here, before I lose it completely, get out of here. I’m telling you, get me out of here. There’ll be no fucking arraignment, rat, I’m telling you. Now, please let me go before I lose it completely, I plead with you, please let me go. I’ll get on my hands and knees, please let me leave here, before I lose it completely, I plead with you, let me out of here. I don’t want to get into any more trouble, I can’t handle the pressure, you understand that? Can’t you see that? Are you blind as well as deaf?

  His honor: Yes, very well then. You recognise that you can’t by any means at all, postpone these proceedings, they will come on …

  Accused: I just want a fair go, sir. I want a fair go. Three months out of here in a decent hospital might fix it … so, you take responsibility because I’ll be marching straight out.

  His honor: You will not be the first one or the last one, I should think.

  Accused: Don’t threaten me. I’m telling you, rat.

  His honor: I am not threatening you. I am just ….

  Accused: I’m tellin’ you, rat, don’t fucking threaten me, dog. I’m tellin’ you, you’ll lose.

  His honor: If you do twelve months for contempt of court.

  Accused: I’ve done four years already. You’ve got eight more. How many more do you want. Who gives a shit about contempt? How many more do you want? And that’s your answer, isn’t it? Don’t give the accused any fairness, just give him contempt. Go ahead and do it. I challenge you. Contempt. And then you will be out of here because you will be biased. Go on. Do it. I challenge you. Do it, you will be gone. You made the utterance. Let’s go. I’ll go and do twelve months out there easily and it’ll be twelve months further to exacerbate the delay and make me even worse than what I am. So you go and do it. Don’t just threaten me, c… Go on. I’ll tell you now. You won’t get it today, c…, I’m telling you. You can’t play your intellectual games here. It won’t work. Now, I want to fight anybody … I am not fit to stand trial today or face these proceedings and if you want to push me on, whether it happens this week, next week or next month, it will happen right. You understand that? I want a break. I want a break from incarceration, from being shafted, from being dragged across from pillar to post. I want to go to a normal hospital … remove the prisoner. Lock him up again. That’s what I get every fuckin’ day, you c…. Now, may I go, because this is not going to get anywhere? You’ll just be burning this fuckin’ jury and I tell you now I’m not in a fit state of mind. If you can’t see that you’d better fuckin’ retire. Now may I go? I’m only going to ask it once more. Please?

  His honor: Yes, you can on this occasion.

  Accused: Thank you very much, sir. I’ve had enough.

  POLICE believed Rich had a plan to delay the trial any way he could. From the time of his arrest until his conviction there were 67 separate legal processes completed, before the trial could be completed. There is no doubt in my mind that Rich looked to disrupt and damage the trial as much as he could whenever he could,’ Kent was to recall.

  In sentencing Rich to a minimum of 12 years jail, Judge Byrne said: ‘Mr Rich set out to make calculated war on the community to achieve his own end. In doing that, he treated the society in which he lives with studied contempt.’

  He made it clear that Rich was the leader of the gang. ‘Rich was the inspiration for the crimes that were committed. He performed a dominating role in their execution, and he held in his sway and controlled his assistant criminals who were of a lesser calibre intellectually, and, in point of personality, that was Rich. I think that it is plain that he derived a measure of mental stimulus and excitement in carrying out the particular crimes in which he engaged.’

  While giving evidence, one bank teller was asked how he could be so sure that four years after the robbery he could identify Rich as the gunman in a bank at Nunawading.

  He replied, ‘I still see that face every night.’

  HUGO Rich was not in the court when he was sentenced. He was already set to continue the fight and was planning to appeal. In 1996, he was sentenced to two and half years jail over threats to kill. In 1997, the Court of Appeal set aside two of the three armed robbery convictions. In 1998, his contempt charge from his outburst in Judge Byrne’s court resulted in a further sentence of eighteen months.

  The court was told that on 9 August, 1995, while waiting for Judge Byrne to enter the court, Rich turned to Crown Prosecutor (later County Court Judge) Carolyn Douglas and said: ‘One chance – one fucking chance. Watch your back. Every time you turn the car on of yours where you’re living at the moment, I’m telling you, okay. I don’t care how long it takes, 25 years, bitch. I’ll have a go at you. One go, that’s all I want.’

  Rich was convicted of the 11 September, 1991, National Bank robbery in Nunawading. On 15 March, 2000, almost nine years later, he was finally sentenced.

  In the County Court, Judge McInerney said: ‘In my opinion, Mr Rich, you are not a candidate for rehabilitation. You have not
expressed any desire insofar as that is concerned. Your priors and the fact that there has been no remorse demonstrated, give the court no indication in this regard, despite the fact that you have spent the last eight and a half years in jail.

  This offence, it seems to me, is but a manifestation of a continual attitude of defiance of the law and an expression of your moral culpability.’

  He gave him a total of fifteen years with a minimum of twelve and a half years. Finally it was over. Or was it?

  In Victoria, an appeal against a County Court decision is heard in the Supreme Court. The two courts sit opposite each other in William Street.

  As he was about to be led from court, Rich looked up at Judge McInerney and said, ‘See you across the road.’

  CHAPTER 10

  Who is Mr Cruel?

  Is there a psychologist, doctor, priest or counsellor who shares his secret?

  JOHN and Phyllis Chan would have had few concerns about leaving their three young daughters home alone that night. Their eighteen-room house on a triple block in the sprawling Melbourne suburb of Templestowe was protected by a two-metre fence with electric front gates.

  It was a Saturday night, the busiest at the family’s popular restaurant in Main Road, Lower Plenty. Their loyal customers expected Phyllis to be out the front as usual. The tiny woman with the loud voice had become part of the entertainment. She would flit from table to table, intruding on conversations, to urge her patrons to eat and enjoy. She loved to be surrounded by laughter and noise.