Pubdate: Wed, 10 Apr 2002
Source: Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Copyright: 2002 News Limited
Contact:  http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/113
Author: Lorna Knowles, Court Reporter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption)

DEALER 'SOLD DRUGS FOR EX-DETECTIVES'

A DRUG dealer yesterday claimed he had sold "LSD trips" on behalf of two 
former detectives from the Drug Enforcement Agency. The dealer, P4, told 
the Police Integrity Commission the detectives handed him an envelope 
containing LSD, which they seized from his flatmate, after he had "dobbed 
him in".

P4 claims former Senior Sergeant Guy Wilding - a sometime consultant on the 
TV drama Stingers - and Senior Constable Michael Kempnich, instructed him 
to sell the LSD and pay them the proceeds.

P4 said it took him a few days to sell the drugs, after which he met the 
detectives and handed over about $10,000.

He claims he was not given a cut of the proceeds.

In other evidence, P4's sister, P6, told how her brother paid Mr Wilding 
and Mr Kempnich $30,000 to write her a "letter of comfort" supporting a 
reduction of her sentence for ecstasy supply.

The Operation Florida hearing is investigating allegations of corruption by 
DEA detectives and the use of "letters of assistance" or "letters of 
comfort" tendered by police in sentencing procedures.

The documents detail alleged assistance provided by informants and have at 
times led to a 60 per cent reduction in the sentences meted out.

P6 told the Commission that P4 telephoned her in Melbourne and told her to 
fax 10 pages from the police brief of evidence against her to a Sydney number.

She said she was instructed to telephone another Sydney number after she 
had sent the fax to confirm its arrival.

She was told only that it would help her with her case.

P6 said she heard nothing more about it until the day of her sentencing in 
the Victorian County Court on December 4, 1992.

She said she was "in shock" when she was shown a document written by Mr 
Wilding and Mr Kempnich stating that information supplied by her had been 
"instrumental" in the seizure of a record 33,000 ecstasy tablets in Manly.

"I did not know the people in the document, I did not know the information 
I was supposed to have given.

"I didn't know the quantity or anything about this document except that I 
was in shock when I read it and thought that this would definitely help 
me," P6 said.

P6 received a 6 month sentence and said she telephoned Mr Wilding, whom she 
knew as "Guy W", and thanked him for his help.

"I called him and thanked him for faxing the letter promptly that day, 
that's all I said, I was discreet," she said.

The hearing, before Acting Commissioner Tim Sage, continues.
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