First Class Correctional Officer Timothy David Burt

Parklea Prison

The New South Wales Department of Corrective Services has never had a good reputation in supporting junior officers.  Head office, (commonly referred to as “Coward’s Castle”), in their wisdom, have developed a standing where they sacrifice junior officers in support of officers higher up the food chain.   

The following extract is an example of making junior officers a sacrificial lamb.

At about 10.30 hours or shortly thereafter, two prisoners escaped over the wall in the activities/oval of the prison.  They were Silva and McMillan and one prisoner failed the fitness test as he was unable to pull himself over the formidable wall of the oval in Parklea Prison, his name was Cooper.  As can only be expected, the “suits” within the Department had to head hunt someone to blame at the lowest level possible in order to protect their mates a little higher up the promotional ladder.    

Mr B Kilcourse of the State Investigative and Security Group, whatever that may be, a senior investigator, was appointed to the task of investigating the circumstances surrounding the escape. He took a statement from Mr Sean Burke, a project manager from Sielox Security Systems who installed and maintained the electronic security and CCTV system. He also took records of interviews from Senior Correctional Officer James Linos and 1^st Class Correctional Officer Timothy Burt.

On the 10^th January 2002 Mr Kilcourse presented his final report to Mr John Klok, Acting Senior Assistant Commissioner for his perusal and consideration.  I knew Mr Klok from my days working at Long Bay.   If my memory serves me correctly he was a displaced officer from Grafton following the closure of the intractable section and the down grading of HM Gaol Grafton. He was a massive man and he spent sometime in the Special Operations Division SOD. It’s fair to say he was a very good and reliable prison officer.  However I would have thought he may be a little out of his depth as Acting Senior Assistant Commissioner.   My understanding is Mr Kilcourse in his report recommended disciplinary action to be considered against SCO Linos only.  

     

On the 20^th January 2002 Mr Klok appointed Deputy Superintendent Robert “Bob” Maher to conduct a preliminary inquiry into alleged breaches of discipline by SCO James Linos and this time included First Class CO Timothy Burt.  Sometime in late February 2002, Mr Maher submitted his report and findings to Mr Klok for his further perusal and consideration.  Mr Maher recommended that SCO Linos and First Class CO Burt be dealt with for a breach of discipline. 

On the 28^th February 2002 Mr Klok signed a “letter of charge” against both these fine and well respected officers. By the 2^nd April 2002 both officers had submitted written responses to the alleged charges and both denied being negligent. On the same date Mr Burt at least, also made oral representation to Mr Klok, all to no avail.

Mr Klok on the 24^th April 2002 found the charges proven and asked both offices to make submissions or representations as to appropriate punishment. A written submission was made on behalf of both officers on the 22^nd May 2002 by Mr John Scullion of the NSW Public Service Association. On the 13^th June 2002 Mr Klok determined that the punishment would be a fine of $1500 for SCO James Linos and a fine of $1000 for 1^st Class CO Timothy Burt.

What happened following the above incident in the case of Mr. Burt, is a complete disgrace on the part of the Department of Corrective Services.  To see how this case turned into a complete fiasco in order to save the Superintendent and the Deputy Superintendent of Parklea Prison, please read my book, “Australia’s Best Prison Stories”, available through Amazon or through this website.

This I believe.

Peter T. Egge

THE BRUCE BRAGG BASHING

On 28^th January 1985, prisoner Bruce Bragg was bashed in his cell in 3 Wing while he slept. There were two major times when a prisoner became vulnerable against attack, while showering was normally the number one in maximum security prisons which had almost been eliminated at Parklea due to every cell having its own shower allowing the prisoners to safely shower after lock in. The second was being asleep in bed after the cell doors are opened in the morning. This is what happened to Bruce Bragg.

I was rostered 3 Wing Commander on that day and it was a public holiday. Bill Bailey was rostered Watch Commander. The Officers paraded at 06.00 hours and went directly to their post. Shortly afterwards the Wing Officers commenced the let go and at the same time they did a head count.  Mr Alan Pitt was the First Class Prison Officer in charge of 3 Wing bottom floor and Mr Scott, a baggy arse, was his offsider. I remained on the compound with Mr Bailey, the Deputy Superintendent Ken Jones, and Assistant Superintendent Noel Lenham, waiting for all of the Wing Officers to report the correctness or otherwise of their posts to Mr Bailey.

Mr Bailey had received the reports from all Wing Officers. We had turned and were heading back to the Watch Commander’s office when I heard something that drew my attention.  I turned, facing back towards 3 Wing where I saw a prisoner running towards us, completely naked. At that stage I did not recognise who it was, I simply thought it was some flip being stupid. Mr Bailey was still walking towards his office when I said, “Hey Bill have a look at the cock on this thing”.  We were both laughing our heads off and as Bragg came closer we could see he was bleeding profusely. I enquired, “What happened to you?” Bragg replied, “I fell out of bed”. That was code for ‘I have just been assaulted and I’m not telling you anymore than that’.

Mr Bailey escorted Bragg to the clinic and I went to 3 Wing to attempt to ascertain what had occurred.  Mr Pitt and Mr Scott were at a loss and they genuinely had no idea what had occurred. I went to the cell occupied by Bragg to see it covered in blood.  Had I not seen Bragg running naked towards me, I would have expected someone had been murdered in the cell.  I locked the cell in order to protect the crime scene and reported back to Mr Bailey who was still in the clinic with Bragg, now being attended to by Sister Brown.  I advised Mr. Bailey of how I found the condition of Bragg’s cell.

*  *  *  *

Although violent critical incidents such as this are common occurrences in Maximum Security prisons, I wasn’t to know how six months later this incident was in part responsible for changing my entire life.  To find out more of what occurred within the Bragg bashing and how it affected the rest of my life, read my best selling eBook, “It’s all in the Fall’, available through this website or Amazon.

This I believe.

Peter T Egge

Aerial view of Parklea Prison – 1983

HUEY CARSON

The Huey Carson Drama

The Metropolitan Remand Centre at Long Bay was rarely referred to by its full name.  Sometimes it was simply called the Remand Centre, but mostly it was called the MRC. 

The MRC had two, three story wings, being 12 and 13 Wings, (cell blocks), each having 112 cells, housing 150 prisoners.   All 300 prisoners believed they would beat their charges and would be going home once they had been to court, that is until two or three days prior to their case being heard in court, at which time the realisation that they were about to be told they would not be going home for quite some time, if at all, would hit them hard.  It was for this reason that many of the prisoners were unpredictable and others were just plain dangerous. One such prisoner was Huey Carson, who was often both unpredictable and dangerous.

Carson had a long history of violent behaviour.  He had attacked me in 1972 in the MRP hospital and he was also involved in the Bathurst Gaol riots on 3^rd and 4^th of February 1974.  You can read all about both incidents in my first book “It’s all in the Fall”. Additionally, I was aware he was involved in several other skirmishes with prison officers.

It was early 1980 when Frank “Karate Jack” Hutchen was relieving the Deputy Superintendent in the MRC. It was not unusual for Mr Hutchen to be relieving in higher positions within the Long Bay complex. It was about 16.00 hours when he was putting his cap on ready to go home, it had been a long day and I can only guess that he was thinking about going home to his beloved wife Rose and to feed his birds in his exceptional aviaries.

A young junior prison officer hurried in to Mr Hutchen’s office and exclaimed, “A prisoner has just tried to stab me with a pair of shears”.  He continued, “He’s gone up to the maintenance shed”.  If there was one thing I had learned about Mr Hutchen, regardless of the fact that it was knock off time, he was always going to support his junior officers.  I know he had supported me on numerous occasions.

Mr Hutchen made his way to the maintenance shed where he found a prisoner Huey Carson holding not a pair of shears as the young prison officer had thought, but a pair of scissors that he had taken from the barber in one hand, and a shovel in the other.  Mr Hutchen tried to talk to Carson one on one in the hope that he could calm him sufficiently to disarm him. Instead Carson said in his very aggressive manner, “I’m going to cut your head off with a shovel”. With that said, Carson swung the shovel hard and fast at Mr Hutchen, who managed to dodge the shovel as it hit the top of the door frame with such force that it broke and dislodged a brick.

To find out how this story unfolded and more about Frank (Karate Jack) Hutchen, read my eBook “Australia’s Best Prison Stories”, available through this website or Amazon.

Joseph (John) Payne Bridge – Fighting for Justice

First Class Prison Officer, John Bridge

John Bridge, as he was commonly known, was not your common, every day prison officer.  He was a man to be admired.  His achievements went far beyond the pale considering his background and how he believed in, and fought for justice for all.

John Bridge was born on 6th January 1942, and sadly passed away at the age of 75 years on 7^th July 2017.   

He was an Australian Aboriginal man who was reared under horrific conditions on a cattle property, aptly named Koonjie, meaning “Place of Home”, in the Bungle Bungle Range area of the east Kimberly region of Western Australia, and was of the Gijia People.   He later moved to Halls Creek to work on a cattle property there.

His father Ernest Kimberly Bridge was of European decent and his mother, Sarah Parnell, was a Gijia person.  Sarah was part of the “Stolen Generation”. They had seven children together, Joseph (John), Ernie, Benny, Margaret, Peter, David and Ethel.   Ernie Bridge went on to become a State Politician.   He became famous for his visionary attributes, including his proposal in 1984 to pipe water downwards from the Kimberly to Perth and everywhere in between, a dream I’m sure most people would like to see eventuate.  He also was a renowned singer and released several records.

Remarkably, John Bridge completed only one year of schooling at the age of 16 in 1958, at Halls Creek at the original town which is about 11 miles from Halls Creek as we know it today.   This was to be the catalyst for his yeaning to learn more and from then on, he never stopped.  

In 1969 he became one of the very first Australian Aboriginal men to become a Justice of the Peace (JP) in Western Australia.  He was required to travel to various police stations in the harsh Australian outback, including Halls Creek, Wyndham, and Kununurra.   As a JP he would often be called upon to adjudicate and sentence people, delivering swift justice wherever and whenever it was required in these hard country townships.

I had already more than 12 months service with the Department of Corrective Services and had completed my probationary period when John Bridge became a prison officer in mid 1972 at the Long Bay Prison Complex at Malabar, Sydney.   He remained at Long Bay for about a year whilst completing his 12 months probationary period, after which he moved on to Her Majesty’s Gaol, Parramatta.  

*  *  *  *  *

John Bridge stayed in the Department of Corrective Services for ten years, reaching the rank of First Class Prison Officer at Emu Plains Training Centre in New South Wales.  It is what John achieved following his resignation from the Department of Corrective Services, right up until he passed away in 2017 that made him a man to be admired and a man among men.

To read more about John’s dedication to justice for all during his life time, read my latest eBook “Officers, Criminals and Amazing Prison Stories”, available through this webpage or Amazon.

This I believe.

Peter T Egge

WOODHAM’S DOG KENNEL

In the mid 1980’s, Ronald (Rotten Ron) George Woodham, who at the time was the Superintendent of the Internal Investigation Unit of the New South Wales Corrective Services, embarked on one of the most corrupt practices ever encountered in the New South Wales legal system.  He recruited some of the most dangerous, long term, drug affected prisoners as witnesses against prisoners, prison officers and police officers, in return for favours, ranging from extra visits, interstate transfers and assistance for early release. 

Woodham was not alone in this practice.  It also involved a number of police officers including the infamous Detective Inspector Aarne Tees.  The prisoners that were recruited often gave evidence in several criminal cases.  This practice was considered so corrupt that it came to the notice of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).  The ICAC embarked on an investigation and was scathing in their report that was published in January 1993.  The practice of using prisoners as witnesses has since been refined and their input must be supported by other substantiated evidence.

Woodham had recruited so many prisoners willing to say “whatever was required”, that he had to build a special prison to hold these prisoner informers.  Prisoners who give evidence against other prisoners suffer the wrath of the main stream prisoners and are referred to by them as “dogs”, hence the nickname given to Woodham’s protection prison being “Woodham’s dog kennel”. 

One of the prisoners in the kennel was well known escapologist Raymond John Denning.  His crimes and the help given to him by Woodham and Tees are beyond human belief. 

Raymond John Denning

Sketch by Robert A Wood

A small example of the type of prisoner Raymond John Denning was is as follows:

On Saturday 14^th September 1974, four extremely dangerous prisoners attempted to escape from Parramatta Gaol.  They were Raymond John Denning, Warwick James, John Bradley and Errol Manley.  Two were armed with knives and Raymond John Denning was armed with a hammer like implement.   Denning was reported as saying the previous day that he wanted, “To kill a screw” before he escaped.

 

Karl Faber, as he was commonly known within the prison officer fraternity, was on duty as an Overseer, which was equivalent to a First Class Prison Officer, only working in prison industries. The four dangerous cowards, Denning, James, Bradley and Manley, confronted the unarmed Mr Faber, with Denning hitting him so hard from behind with his hammer that he caused Mr Faber severe compound fractures to his skull.  They locked his unconscious body into the storeroom where they left him lying in a pool of his own blood, essentially leaving him to die.  Mr Faber never stood a chance.

Three of the failed escapees were quickly rounded up while Denning had managed to make his way into another yard but was quickly uncovered by an alert prison officer realising he was in the wrong location.  All four prisoners were transported to the OBS (Observation Section) in the Central Industrial Prison at Long Bay.   I was instructed to accompany Principal Prison Officer William “Bill” Bartlett to the OBS where the four prisoners were placed in single cells on the bottom floor.  Mr Bartlett and I were instructed to stay there until the Special Operations Division (SOD) officers came to collect them for their “trip north” as the saying went, referring to the Grafton Intractable Section.   We were to make sure that nothing was to happen to the prisoners, especially from officers who may want to take some form of revenge.   That thankfully did not become an issue.

To read more about Woodham’s dog kennel and Raymond John Denning, read my latest eBook “Officers, Criminals and Amazing Prison Stories”, available through this website or Amazon.

Peter Arthur Crofts

14 Years Hard Labour

Painter & Docker, Stand over Man, Armed Robber and Perhaps Murderer

Inside Peter Crofts’s story you will find the following people and prisons:

PRISONERS

Russell (Mad Dog) Cox

(Born Melville Peter Schnitzerling)

Gregory Workman

Lance Woolcock

Robert Bowers

John Stewart

Robert Davis

Robert Kidd

Marco Motric

Allan McDougall

Raymond John Denning

Robert Vandine

Peter Train

Lawrence Johnson

Graham (Abo) Henry

Edward James Mawson

Michael Carl Lingman

Rodney Stanislau Finlay

Rodney John Finlay

Gregory  McNamara

Harley Shambler

David (Diane) Sutton

PRISON OFFICERS

Peter Egge

Phillip Egge

Paul Cafe

Sandy Storrier

Ron Woodham

Frank Hutchen

Stan Morgan

Ernie Worth

Joe Carter

Mal Robinson

William Poulton

Jimmy Roulston

John Fitzpatrick

John Boyd

Brynley Hill

George Cornford

PRISONS:

Central Industrial Prison

Metropolitan Reception Prison

Katingal

HM Gaol Goulburn

Cessnock Corrective Centre

HM Gaol Grafton

Parramatta Gaol

HM Prison Cooma

POLICE:

Cessnock Local Police

Newcastle CIB

Australian Federal Police

OTHER PERSONS:

Justice Nagle

Costigan Commission

Bob Hawke Government

Alphonse Gangitano

Virginia Gangitano

Frieda Cornford

If you are wondering why all the above people and prisons are inside my story on Peter Crofts, you can find out by reading my latest eBook, “Officers, Prisoners and Amazing Prison Stories”, available through this website or Amazon.

Peter T. Egge