Erin Patterson trial: the summations
For news, features, previous episodes and more
Subscribers get our bonus Sunday shows with crime reporter Anthony Dowsley. CrimeX subscribers: find this episode in your podcast feed.
Subscribers to the Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, Courier Mail, Adelaide Advertiser or News regional titles can listen through the App.The Mushroom Cook team is Brooke Grebert-Craig, Laura Placella, Anthony Dowsley, Jordy Atkinson and Jonty Burton.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
21 hours ago
- News.com.au
Grisly details emerge after man found dead outside petrol station with stab wounds
Grisly new details have emerged after a man was found stabbed to death next to a petrol station in Melbourne's southeast. Police were called to Potter St in Dandenong shortly before 5am on Tuesday after reports a man had been assaulted. When emergency services arrived, they found a man unresponsive on the nature strip outside a BP petrol station. Paramedics attempted to treat the 39-year-old man, but he died at the scene. Police believe the man may have been stabbed at a home on Potter St before fleeing the address. A house further down the street has also been cordoned off, the Herald Sun reports. 'The exact circumstances surrounding the man's death are yet to be established,' police said in a statement.
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Sky News AU
‘Cut off his access': AFP veteran David Craig outlines how to target exiled illicit tobacco kingpin Kazem Hamad
A law enforcement veteran has outlined what Australian authorities can do to go after exiled crime boss Kamez Hamad. Hamad is widely reported to control the majority of Victoria's illicit tobacco trade, with experts estimating his profits to be in the billions – well above the wealth accumulated by the likes of Carl Williams and Tony Mokbel. In a series of articles published on Monday, the Herald Sun revealed the luxury Middle Eastern lifestyle of the crime boss, with trips to idyllic beach destinations like Bodrum in Turkey. According to Deakin University criminologist James Martin, Hamad likely makes an 'extraordinary' amount of money from the illicit tobacco trade. 'Whichever way you look at the numbers, if he controls the majority of the illicit trade – and that market is worth billions of dollars – he is making an extraordinary amount of money,' he said. Speaking to Sky News Australia on Monday, former Australian Federal Police detective superintendent David Craig said Hamad had managed to remain in control of his organisation despite being deported to Iraq in 2023 following a prison sentence for heroin trafficking. Asked how Hamad managed to get his profits out of the country, Mr Craig said while international organised crime still used cash couriers who were 'willing to carry large amounts of cash on assignment on a percentage basis', this method would not work for the amount of money Hamad was accruing. 'I would expect that he's diversified his money laundering efforts and that would be one method he would rely upon,' he said. 'The other is the traditional Middle Eastern Hawala banking system, where money isn't actually transferred across international lines, so it stays below the radar of the monitoring of the local governments. 'What I highly suspect is occurring in this case is cryptocurrency – mass crypto being transferred into his wallet or wallets of his associates in the Middle East, directly from Australia. It's very, very hard to police that.' While stating Australia does have extradition treaties with the UAE and Turkey – where Hamad has reportedly spent time - Mr Craig said attempting to extradite him might not be the best use of law enforcement resources. 'The question in my mind would be, do we want to actually bring this person back to our justice system again so then we can deport him again, or do we spend those resources to cut off his access to the illegal gains coming out of Australia,' he said. 'And the people that are working for him in Australia, if they can be deported, let's move them on as well.' The law enforcement veteran also said the Australian government was ignoring a major tool to go after the illicit tobacco trade. 'Australia is actually a signatory to the… prevention of illicit Tobacco Goods Act,' he said. 'We signed that in 2013 and came into power two years ago in September 2023… the main thrust of that agreement is to have a track and trace system so that tobacco products could be tracked from manufacture to point of sale. 'That allows law enforcement multiple access points that allows us to monitor the illegal bleed between illegal markets and legal markets. It allows us to not just guess what's happening in the marketplace, but to proactively plan interventions to stop this. 'Now this government has done nothing to actually start this. It's in law. They have it in the UK, they have it in Europe and a number of other countries. Australia simply hasn't done that.' According to Mr Martin, the size of Australia's illicit tobacco market was directly linked to government policies designed to reduce smoking rates. 'If you overtax a product, like we've seen with tobacco, then it doesn't make sense to purchase it legally, so it will drive demand to black market substitutes and that provides opportunities for organised crime and that's what has happened here in Australia.' He said in order to combat the issue, the tax on legal cigarettes and vapes needed to come down and enforcement ramped up. 'It's an issue of resourcing and if these people are making billions of dollars and we are only funding our law enforcement agencies $300m then who's got the resources to win a fight like that,' Mr Martin said. Mr Craig said the penalties associated with trafficking in illicit tobacco were significantly less than with illicit drugs while the profits were higher. 'Why wouldn't you go to a softer market, which is exactly what these people are doing, going to illicit market of tobacco,' he said.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Rusty regrets his telephone-throwing arrest in New York
Regrets, Russell Crowe has a few. The New Zealand-born actor, 61, was arrested in New York in 2005 for assault after throwing a telephone at a hotel concierge, and has now reflected on the incident in an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Sunday. "Look man, at 61, I can forgive my bad days," he said. "I'm not at all one of those people that say you shouldn't have regrets, I absolutely respect regret," he said. "Regret is one of the greatest processes. "You know, you're not gonna be finding any improvement by not being honest with yourself about who you are and what you did, what you might've said." Crowe was led from the Mercer Hotel in handcuffs after lashing out at staff when he was unable to place a call to his then-wife, Danielle Spencer. He spent six hours in custody before being charged. Crowe references the incident in the music video for his latest single Save Me, recorded with his band, The Gentlemen Barbers. The Gladiator star was in New York in June 2005 to promote his film Cinderella Man, about the heavyweight boxer Jim Braddock. He had tried to call Spencer at their Sydney home so he could say goodnight to their young son. After failing to connect through the hotel's phone system, Crowe went down to reception and threw the device at Nestor Estrada, the 28-year-old concierge. Police said the actor broke down in tears when he was handcuffed. "I can't communicate how dark my life is right now. I was at the bottom of a well," he admitted at the time. He said he was "very sorry" and acknowledged problems controlling his anger. Crowe initially faced felony charges but later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a reduced offence. He was fined and avoided prison. He settled a civil case brought by Estrada, reportedly paying about $US100,000 ($A153,587). Speaking about the incident in connection with his new music, Crowe reflected on the highs and lows of his career. "The song is just a reminder that not every night you get to play in front of 12,000 people – sometimes you're singing Irish folk songs to the prison officer who is looking after you in jail." Regrets, Russell Crowe has a few. The New Zealand-born actor, 61, was arrested in New York in 2005 for assault after throwing a telephone at a hotel concierge, and has now reflected on the incident in an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Sunday. "Look man, at 61, I can forgive my bad days," he said. "I'm not at all one of those people that say you shouldn't have regrets, I absolutely respect regret," he said. "Regret is one of the greatest processes. "You know, you're not gonna be finding any improvement by not being honest with yourself about who you are and what you did, what you might've said." Crowe was led from the Mercer Hotel in handcuffs after lashing out at staff when he was unable to place a call to his then-wife, Danielle Spencer. He spent six hours in custody before being charged. Crowe references the incident in the music video for his latest single Save Me, recorded with his band, The Gentlemen Barbers. The Gladiator star was in New York in June 2005 to promote his film Cinderella Man, about the heavyweight boxer Jim Braddock. He had tried to call Spencer at their Sydney home so he could say goodnight to their young son. After failing to connect through the hotel's phone system, Crowe went down to reception and threw the device at Nestor Estrada, the 28-year-old concierge. Police said the actor broke down in tears when he was handcuffed. "I can't communicate how dark my life is right now. I was at the bottom of a well," he admitted at the time. He said he was "very sorry" and acknowledged problems controlling his anger. Crowe initially faced felony charges but later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a reduced offence. He was fined and avoided prison. He settled a civil case brought by Estrada, reportedly paying about $US100,000 ($A153,587). Speaking about the incident in connection with his new music, Crowe reflected on the highs and lows of his career. "The song is just a reminder that not every night you get to play in front of 12,000 people – sometimes you're singing Irish folk songs to the prison officer who is looking after you in jail." Regrets, Russell Crowe has a few. The New Zealand-born actor, 61, was arrested in New York in 2005 for assault after throwing a telephone at a hotel concierge, and has now reflected on the incident in an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Sunday. "Look man, at 61, I can forgive my bad days," he said. "I'm not at all one of those people that say you shouldn't have regrets, I absolutely respect regret," he said. "Regret is one of the greatest processes. "You know, you're not gonna be finding any improvement by not being honest with yourself about who you are and what you did, what you might've said." Crowe was led from the Mercer Hotel in handcuffs after lashing out at staff when he was unable to place a call to his then-wife, Danielle Spencer. He spent six hours in custody before being charged. Crowe references the incident in the music video for his latest single Save Me, recorded with his band, The Gentlemen Barbers. The Gladiator star was in New York in June 2005 to promote his film Cinderella Man, about the heavyweight boxer Jim Braddock. He had tried to call Spencer at their Sydney home so he could say goodnight to their young son. After failing to connect through the hotel's phone system, Crowe went down to reception and threw the device at Nestor Estrada, the 28-year-old concierge. Police said the actor broke down in tears when he was handcuffed. "I can't communicate how dark my life is right now. I was at the bottom of a well," he admitted at the time. He said he was "very sorry" and acknowledged problems controlling his anger. Crowe initially faced felony charges but later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a reduced offence. He was fined and avoided prison. He settled a civil case brought by Estrada, reportedly paying about $US100,000 ($A153,587). Speaking about the incident in connection with his new music, Crowe reflected on the highs and lows of his career. "The song is just a reminder that not every night you get to play in front of 12,000 people – sometimes you're singing Irish folk songs to the prison officer who is looking after you in jail." Regrets, Russell Crowe has a few. The New Zealand-born actor, 61, was arrested in New York in 2005 for assault after throwing a telephone at a hotel concierge, and has now reflected on the incident in an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Sunday. "Look man, at 61, I can forgive my bad days," he said. "I'm not at all one of those people that say you shouldn't have regrets, I absolutely respect regret," he said. "Regret is one of the greatest processes. "You know, you're not gonna be finding any improvement by not being honest with yourself about who you are and what you did, what you might've said." Crowe was led from the Mercer Hotel in handcuffs after lashing out at staff when he was unable to place a call to his then-wife, Danielle Spencer. He spent six hours in custody before being charged. Crowe references the incident in the music video for his latest single Save Me, recorded with his band, The Gentlemen Barbers. The Gladiator star was in New York in June 2005 to promote his film Cinderella Man, about the heavyweight boxer Jim Braddock. He had tried to call Spencer at their Sydney home so he could say goodnight to their young son. After failing to connect through the hotel's phone system, Crowe went down to reception and threw the device at Nestor Estrada, the 28-year-old concierge. Police said the actor broke down in tears when he was handcuffed. "I can't communicate how dark my life is right now. I was at the bottom of a well," he admitted at the time. He said he was "very sorry" and acknowledged problems controlling his anger. Crowe initially faced felony charges but later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a reduced offence. He was fined and avoided prison. He settled a civil case brought by Estrada, reportedly paying about $US100,000 ($A153,587). Speaking about the incident in connection with his new music, Crowe reflected on the highs and lows of his career. "The song is just a reminder that not every night you get to play in front of 12,000 people – sometimes you're singing Irish folk songs to the prison officer who is looking after you in jail."
