THE BIRTH OF A NEW TORTWade v State of Victoria & Anor. The Victorian Supreme Court delivered its judgment in the case of Wade v State of Victoria & Anor. on 30 June 1998. In a single judgment Harper J. held that an employee or former employee has an action in tort against an employer who carelessly releases incorrect information such that the employee or former employee suffers financial loss as a consequence. Although Harper J.'s judgement did not actually deal with the question of liability, it does consider the possibility of the emergence of a new tort. 

Background

 David John Wade worked as a member of the Victorian Police until 1984. Then from 1984 to 1991 he was employed as general manager of Olympic Amusements Pty. Ltd. who manufactured and supplied gaming machines to New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. In 1990 the Queensland Government announced plans to introduce gaming machines into the State, and commissioned a report to investigate criminal involvement in gaming. As part of the report the Queensland Commission approached the Victorian Police.In May 1990, the Victorian Police released information to the Commission that gave an adverse representation of Wade. This information related to Wade's relationships with an illegal supplier of gaming machines , internal complaints against him, and his association with convicted criminals and corrupt police.  As a result, Wade lost his positions both with Olympic Amusements, and with another company involved with gaming machines. He was also refused employment with a third gaming company and was forced to relinquish his 10% holding in a fourth gaming company. Consequently, Wade brought actions against the State of Victoria (the first defendant) and the police officer who had actually released the information (the second defendant). Wade was forced out of the business world.

Olympic Poker Machines Sold for $170 Million. Wade and his family Lost $17 Million.

But in the End I fought to establish the truth. Now it is case law for all those who were falsely accused.

This is the type of beleif that my Father and Mother instilled in me that I used to fight the Cancer and not to 
just blindly except the word of a Doctor and to seek the truth and the facts
Just seek the truth and the facts. Please read on.

 

THE REAL WORLD OF DAVID JOHN WADE -  "Always seek the Truth and the Facts" 

I was unceremoniously retired from the Victorian Police Force on grounds of ill health 1982 suffering from Testicular Cancer and secondary lymph nodes and given 6 months to live  . In a strangely predetermined kind of way my career path led me into the addictive world of gaming. Oddly enough it was with two known operators of video gaming machines, the use of which was illegal in Victoria at the time. I created a new position for myself after I retired, as I was a man succumbing to cancer and trying to make some money for my family before I died. This was my numbing mind set and against the odds I succeeded in obtaining a license to manufacture video  poker machines in New South Wales, then Australia’s premier gaming State, with the two operators existing at the time.

The two company directors with whom I became associated repeatedly promised me 10% of the business, and my only thought was to try to make enough money for my family in case the cancer took me out. My associates promised that if I died they would look after my family and provide them with an allowance. At the time I believed everything; I was a drowning man clutching at straws. It was a sorry day I ever believed that these men would look after my family. Their greed was beyond fathoming.

The two illegal video poker machine operators became licensed through my efforts, and in time they went on to be, through my business acumen, the major players in the nation’s gaming world. But they cheated me in a way that defies human decency and then they had to get rid of me because of the adverse findings of the Queensland Criminal Justice Committee enquiry into my police career.

The Directors of the company even tried to accuse me of stealing money through a court case in which the company was involved. On behalf of the company, I was granted a witness cheque of $8,000 for the company solicitor’s costs, which was later found to be in a police trust witness fund as it was not sent to me at all. The allegation of theft by the company was withdrawn. The Directors tried to use this as a way of breaching my contract and to avoid paying me any money. I was always sorry that they had to resort to false accusations to implement their treachery. I was not a thief and I had been very hurt by their accusations. I never received an apology.

The next thing they tried to get me on was a claim that I had not had the right to authorise $20,000 to fund a private detective. He was engaged to work on illegal theft of government-approved gaming machine logic boards that controlled the machines manufactured by the company. I defended myself in court against the best efforts of the company’s legal team and the case was dismissed. It was easy to defend myself against false allegations, but still they constantly tried to bear false witness against my character - to no avail.

I tried to continue my fight for my rightful reward, but in the end I could not continue the litigation because of the amount of money it took for me personally to mount a case against this conglomerate that I had created. I made not one cent out of a company that was eventually sold to a large American gambling firm for AUD $170 million.

I was also brought into the limelight because I had brought to the attention of the police in charge of gaming concerns for the State of New South Wales a little known fact. The reason for calling in a private detective was that the poker machine technicians were tampering with the computer programs of the video gaming machines. They were setting them up in such a way that if a certain combination of the betting buttons were pressed, then a jackpot would come up and there would be no way of detecting that the computer programme had been tampered with. The fact still today that none of the State of New South Wales 80,000 video gaming machines is on line and monitored, is testimony to my actions.

Furthermore I had the computer technicians at the company set up a sample gaming machine that would demonstrate my assertions of fixed jackpot wins by computer programme tampering. I had ten police from the Government Gaming Commission come to the showroom to view the demonstration, and they were astounded and dismayed at just how easy it was to set up video gaming machines to give jackpots. They even noted the sequence that had been programmed into the code and as a result, formulated a more demanding approval system for video gaming machines. I informed them I had a private investigation company gathering intelligence to substantiate my claims. The company Directors tried to hide this fact, and had me charged in a civil action, claiming that I did not have authority to initiate this investigation, nor were the funds approved. It was shown finally in court that the Directors did know and stopped the investigation when it was proved that there was some tampering of the video gaming machines’ computer logic board. It was obvious there was a cover up; the court saw this and dismissed the action against me.

I was also the person who in time brought to the attention of the head of the Gaming and Gaming Licensing Police that the public officer in charge of the video gaming machine approvals was in fact also running an illegal prostitution racket. This was never investigated nor exposed, even though the head of the Government Gaming Approvals division did retire and continued with his escort company.

In the eventuality I was sacked from my company and consequently all were satisfied that a corrupt element had been removed, due entirely to the Queensland Criminal Justice Committee’s adverse findings on my former police career. It took me three years and a precedent at law to prove the information in my police file had been misinterpreted, but in those three years my life in the business world was destroyed.

The Directors of the company know the truth, but they have $170 million to ease their consciences.  

Following is the transcript from the Queensland Gaming Commission showing how I had to answer the false information supplied by the Police Force that I had served so well. The Mata Hari boys gave me another serve. They never forget. Moreover, the information they supplied to the Commission was that of an officer from the Bureau of Intelligence, who relayed his thoughts and comments to a journalist, who in turn added his slant. It was what you would have expected from a Police State.

 

The Decision of the Supreme Court

There were two questions of law before Harper J:1. Does an employer owe a duty to an employee or former employee when passing information about that person to a third party in circumstances where it is foreseeable that, if the information is false, the employee or former employee will suffer economic loss? 2. If such a duty exists, can an action in negligence be brought and maintained concurrent with an action for defamation? In respect to the first question, Harper J. answered in the positive. His Honour felt that while an employer would not always owe a duty of care to an employee or former employee, there were situations in which such a duty would arise because of the proximity between the two parties. Harper J. felt that, if a relationship of sufficient proximity could be shown, then actual reliance by the employee or former employee on the employer would not need to be proved. "...it seems to me that an employee about whom incorrect information is carelessly disseminated by his [sic] employer or former employer has a cause of action against that employer if the employee suffers financial loss thereby." With respect to the issue of defamation, Harper J also answered in the positive, stating that, "Restricting the employee's rights to those available under the law of defamation may produce real injustice".  A defamation action would be appropriate in cases where the employer's allegedcarelessness is in the subjective assessment of an employee’s or former employee's character. Where the employer's statements extend to conduct and other issues of fact then negligence is the appropriate action. Therefore Harper J. held for Wade on both issues. Commentary The judgment is essentially a restatement of the fundamental concepts of the law of negligence. According to Harper J., the recognition of a new duty on employers is not new law but rather an extension of existing principles. 

From this decision, the court is warning employers to exercise care when making statements about employees or former employees, even if the employment contract was terminated years ago.

 At the same time, however, Harper J. was quick to point out that employers are not bound to guarantee the accuracy of any opinions expressed about employees and that, as long as reasonable care is exercised, an employer should not be found negligent.

Queensland Criminal Justice Committee Hearing
PCJC - Gaming MachinesDAVID JOHN WADE (DJW), examined: The CHAIRMAN: As you have been present, you are aware of the processes. For the record, would you please state your full name and address? DJW: My name is David John Wade. My address is 324 Maroubra Road, Maroubra, Sydney, New South Wales. The CHAIRMAN: You are accompanied by…?DJW: The Managing Director of Olympic Video Gaming.  The CHAIRMAN: You are appearing, Mr Wade, in your private capacity, and Olympic Amusements is being represented by your colleague; is that correct? DJW: I am representing myself. I have been named in the CJC report.  The CHAIRMAN: I just want to ensure that both yourself and Olympic are here. You are two legal entities. DJW: We are both here. The CHAIRMAN: You have seen the processes and you are also aware of what was said that neither you nor your company, following our report and the processes of the Government, are excluded from the process in Queensland. You are fully aware of that? I now simply invite you to make whatever submission you see fit. I notice you have provided us with a document today. DJW: That is correct. The CHAIRMAN: I will hand that to you. DJW: Thank you. I wish to clarify some issues that have been made concerning myself, and should you find any reason that I am unsuitable for the good of the company and staff, I will stand aside. I was married on 15 September 1982 to Georgina Triantafillipoulos at Melbourne and we have two children by that marriage. My wife is not related in any way to Mr Balagiannis. In fact, I had no knowledge of Mr Balagiannis until 1983, when he visited me at my home whilst I was very Ill. I was a member of the Victorian Police Force from 1 January 1971 to 21 May 1984, a period of 13 years. I resigned due to my ill health alone, and not for any other reason. During my service, I worked at busy suburban police stations - ones which would give me experience in a wide range of investigation activities, as it was my intention to become a member of the CIB. To achieve this aim, it was necessary to have extensive experience in criminal investigations and court cases, and also to be considered hard-working and active in this area of police work.  Unfortunately, due to an administration decision that was made in 1978, a large number of aspiring detectives, myself included, were prohibited from becoming members of the CIB. This was due to the short time available to serve as detective senior constables prior to promotion to sergeant and thus being forced to leave the CIB and return to uniform duties. I was always an active worker and, as can be seen by my record of service, I was commended on five separate occasions for the manner in which I executed my duties. The commendations all related to my dedication to duty, which resulted in the arrest of criminals for serious offences. The recommendations for the commendations were submitted by various supervisors and authorized by separate Commissioners of Police over a period of four years from 1977 to 1981. My official record of service signed by Assistant Commissioner Robertson also states that I was officially reprimanded in 1973 for carelessness in recording times on a running sheet, and in 1974 for delay in attending an accident. I was also counselled in 1983, as a suspect was giving me information concerning corrupt senior members of the Licensing Gaming and Vice Squad who were involved in illegal activities.  I advised him (the suspect) about possible immunity. I was counselled that this immunity advice might only be given by persons of Inspector rank or above, and not by subordinate officers such as myself. It was also recommended that I be counselled for breach of discipline concerning an incident whilst I was on sick leave that I have difficulty in recalling, due to amnesia caused by cancer-denial. The overall comments on my record of service with the Victorian Police Force indicate that I was a very energetic and efficient worker, and had demonstrated a potential for criminal investigation. I also had an aptitude for working amongst the criminal element, as stated by Chief Superintendent Caddle. The report also states that I required supervision and guidance to curb my exuberance. As an active and energetic member of the Victorian Police Force involved in criminal investigations and aspiring to further my career, I accept the comments made. I also wish to point out that most active police members make mistakes, and I believe all members are counselled. Most are counselled frequently during their initial years of service. Counselling is advice and guidance, and I received such advice and guidance as mentioned on my official record of service. Many members receiving such counselling or reprimands from their respective supervisors or district commanders would not have them recorded officially. I also received other counselling that is not mentioned on my record of service. Over my 13 years of service, I had 19 separate official complaints made against me. This, I submit, is not abnormal for an active member. If a member has five complaints in two years, the member's complaint files are reviewed and, if appropriate, action may be taken. This never occurred with myself. I have had specific complaints made against me concerning my honesty that have been mentioned adversely in the CJC report. I would like to comment on these allegations that were fully investigated and conclusions reached, and other adverse comments. The first occurred in December 1976, when a person named Miriklis bought drugs from premises, which were under investigation by members of the Drug Squad. Miriklis secreted these drugs in his underwear. When apprehended and searched, Miriklis' wallet was checked and the wallet was left in the police car. When charged at the Nunawading watch-house, he stated that he had no money. Later, he claimed that he did have $13.00 that was missing. At court, he made no mention of the alleged $13.00 being missing. It was common practice among persons of his standing to make false allegations in an attempt to have charges against them either withdrawn or reduced. I did not see any money, and Chief Superintendent Ryan of Nunawading, who reported in the investigation conducted by Inspector Hanrahan, states as follows - "There does not appear to be any evidence to support Miriklis' allegation. In addition Miriklis is a known thief, assailant and drug addict. He is a proven liar. His attitude and that of his family and associates is such that he would not hesitate to make a false allegation of this nature to exert counterpressure upon the arresting police. I am satisfied that the complaint of theft is false and recommend no further action in that aspect."  A person named Antoniadis, who conducted illegal gaming, made the second allegation concerning my dishonesty. He alleged that property, including a gold bracelet and money, was missing after a number of police, including myself, searched his premises on 6 and 7 April 1981. A thorough investigation into these allegations was undertaken by Chief Inspector Cartwright, and reviewed by the District Commander, Chief Superintendent Caddle, who stated in his findings the following:  

"As a result of the extensive investigations conducted into this complaint file, I am quite satisfied that no jewellery or money was removed illegally from the complainant's premises during the gaming raid concerned. I am also quite satisfied that on the following day no police members illegally recovered any liquor or cigarettes from the complainant's premises."

 From information received, I ascertained that Antoniadis was involved in paying protection to police from the Licensing and Gaming Squad. I passed this information on and, as a result, it was discovered that the gaming police had instructed Antoniadis to make the false allegations of theft against myself, and other members who attended at his premises. The police members from the Licensing and Gaming Squad who were involved in corruption were also charged as a result of the information I received. This led to ill feeling between some members and myself. I am of the belief that this is still the case to this day. A further allegation involving dishonesty involved a known prostitute and drug addict named Danielle Sinclair-Freeman. She had been charged with possession of a drug of addiction. She at all times denied being in possession of such a substance. 

The circumstances were that Sinclair was in possession of capsules, which she had admitted. The capsules, she stated, contained Royal Jelly. A pharmacist examined the capsules and stated that Royal Jelly capsules should contain a yellow liquid, and not the white powder substance that the capsules did contain. The contents of the capsules were also subjected to preliminary testing, by using a Narcotise Disposal kit, by a supervisor of the Bureau of Customs. It tested positive to a drug of addiction. I also attended at the chemist shop where Sinclair stated she purchased the capsules, and he informed me that he had not stocked that brand of Royal Jelly for two months.

 A prima facie case had been clearly established, one that clearly warranted the charge of possession of a drug of addiction. Subsequent tests by the State Forensic Science Laboratory showed that no such drug was in the capsules, and the charge was withdrawn. Later, it was ascertained that the capsules contained a drug called ‘Angel Dust’. The finding by the investigating officer, Inspector Knight, is as follows:  

"Following the analysis of the contents of the capsules found in Sinclair's possession, it was obvious that her complaint that she had been 'loaded up' with a drug of addiction was unfounded. There was never a suggestion that the police had 'planted' the capsules. The allegation was that they had placed the drug of addiction in capsules previously purchased by her."

 I submit that the actions by myself on that night were correct, and I could not have done anything other than what I did in the circumstances. A further allegation is that I ‘loaded up’ some tow-truck drivers charged with possession of small quantities of heroin. I was involved when one tow-truck driver named Cambareni was intercepted driving a tow-truck. A search of the cab located a matchbox containing a small amount of white powder, which was considered to be heroin. Cambareni was subsequently charged with possession of a drug of addiction. He admitted in a signed record of interview that the drug was found in his truck, but denied knowing it to be there. This being the case, it was incumbent upon me to ensure that he was charged with the offence, and Cambareni was required to give evidence on oath before a magistrate to prove that he did not possess the drug. At all times he agreed that the drug was found in his truck. The following report from Superintendent Game of the Victoria Police Internal Investigations Department states: 

"Mr Cambareri states that on 10/12/1980 about 1.45 a.m. he was stopped by two policemen in Upton Road, Windsor. They searched his truck and found a matchbox in it, which contained some white powder. He was taken to Prahran Police Station, and made a signed record of interview about the matter. He has no complaint about the police actions in the matter”.

 To state that I ‘loaded up’ some tow-truck drivers, and then that the charges were withdrawn, and no result is known of the internal investigation, is again incorrect. This is the only instance, to my knowledge, where a tow-truck driver and drugs were involved. On 6 January 1981, a Mr Leversha, the owner of a tow-truck firm, made an allegation that I had been harassing his drivers. Leversha also commented that, whilst stationed at South Melbourne in 1974 -75, I asked for an envelope every week. These allegations were fully investigated due to the seriousness of the allegations, and despite a withdrawal (of the complaint) by Leversha, all available witnesses were interviewed and statements obtained. The conclusion arrived at by the investigating officer and Superintendent Game of B11 was: 

"The complaints are denied by the members complained against, and are not substantiated by the evidence."

 These, I believe, are the only complaints that concern my honesty and have all been investigated and I have been fully cleared.  There have been other allegations made against me involving disciplinary or behavioural breaches. All such allegations were investigated and conclusions reached based on the evidence. The results of these investigations clearly indicate that I have done nothing during my period of service with the Victorian Police Force over seven years ago, which would prohibit me from being involved with video gaming machines.  The CJC report states that I have associations with Athos Mandylaris, a nightclub owner with a conviction for carrying a loaded firearm in a populous place. I met Mandylaris through a family contact, not through any police involvement. I was not aware of his conviction until reading it in the CJC report. As far as I was concerned, he was a respectable businessman who was a family friend, and he wanted to avail himself of company when he visited Greece. I have not seen him since 1982, and I was not aware of his associates, either criminal or otherwise. This includes the deceased drug-dealer Pinakos.  Mention has also been made of my having an association with Ian Fleming. Fleming was a fellow policeman working at the same police station. When he was found to be acting illegally, I was on sick leave with cancer. I had no knowledge of what he was doing whatsoever. I was on good terms with him prior to this incident, and his wife and my wife became friends for a short time, and then we all drifted apart. I spoke to him a few times after retirement, but due to his continued association with prostitutes I dissociated myself from him. Victor Umek, an associate of Dominic, has also been mentioned as being subordinate to me. Umek was at St. Kilda Police Station as a uniformed constable. I was a sergeant at the Prahran Crime Car Squad. We had no contact at all. In fact, I do not think I have met him. He was a subordinate in rank; that is all. This comment by the investigating officer is misleading and mischievous.  There appears to have been a lot made concerning Lou Dominic, and my association with him. I wish to point out that when I contracted cancer and was undergoing the extensive treatment required, he was a fellow police officer and was with me nearly every day. He helped both my family and myself over this trying period of my life. Even though he used me as a scapegoat when he tried to pass some of his trouble on to me, I believe that I owe Dominic friendship because of his actions when I was very ill. I have had nothing to do with any illegal activities that Dominic may have been involved in, nor did I have any knowledge of them, and nor have I been interviewed by the Police regarding Dominic’s activities. I do not think that Lou Dominic would approach me concerning such activities. He is aware, as are my friends and former associates, that I would not even contemplate any activities involving dishonesty or drugs. I feel sorry for Lou Dominic, and the way that he has fallen from grace into crime. Although I still consider him as a friend, I have not in any circumstances been associated with him or any other person in any illegal activity, and I do not wish to be found unsuitable due to my previous connection with him.  I believe that the records that have been produced on behalf of Olympic and myself have shown beyond any doubt that the original investigation by the Commission did not fully or properly investigate either Olympic, the directors - Mr Mitris and Mr Balagiannis, or myself. If it had done so, the documentation that was freely available to them would have produced the fair and just conclusion that we are innocent of any criminal involvement. I also wish to point out that Olympic is a responsible company, one that is willing to assist in any inquiry and also one that pursued its own investigation in an attempt to clear its name. Such a course cost a great deal of time and money, together with personal anguish. I consider that this was unnecessary if a competent investigation had been conducted in the first instance, and not one that has cast serious, unfounded doubts on our characters. I believe that the investigator's report was grossly inaccurate and apparently biased against Olympic. Assistant Commissioner Falconer and Inspector Ashby of the Victoria Police Internal Investigations Department have reviewed the CJC report concerning myself, and compared it with the original files pertaining to my police career that were made available to CJC investigators. They are also critical of the report submitted, as stated in their correspondence, a copy of which was forwarded. I submit that the evidence that we have presented clearly rebuts the known allegations made in the CJC report supposedly based on facts, but were clearly grossly inaccurate.  We at Olympic have no knowledge of any other matter that should prohibit us from participating in the video gaming industry. We are willing to answer any questions and assist this committee in any way possible. Olympic has brought to the attention of the Liquor Administration Board of New South Wales discrepancies and anomalies in the poker machine legislation. We have also brought to the attention of the Superintendent of Licences information concerning illegal activities in the industry, and have taken action ourselves to make the industry aware of possible illegal activities and of the legal obligations on operators.  In 1989, we sought guidelines for promotions concerning poker machines by manufacturers. This is currently being addressed. I believe that Olympic has clearly demonstrated an active and willing role in the regulatory scheme to better the industry in an effort to make it as crime-free and controlled as much as possible. If Olympic was not allowed to participate in Queensland because of the false conclusions contained in the CJC report, I consider that it would be a travesty of natural justice and against the Australian code of giving a fair go to all persons. I also request that this committee endeavours to rectify the mistakes made by the Criminal Justice Commission by publicly acknowledging that the Commission report into myself and Olympic contained many inaccuracies, and was mischievous in its interpretation of the facts as they stand. I also recommend that Olympic be allowed to participate in the gaming industry of Queensland. I refer further to the Report of the Gaming Machine Concerns and Regulations by the Criminal Justice Commission of Queensland. The CHAIRMAN: This is in addition, Mr Wade? DJW: That is correct. The CHAIRMAN: You will provide that to the committee, will you? DJW: Yes, I will. I have it here to present.  There is mention here of a person by the name of Angelo Duros, a well known manufacturer and operator of illegal amusement devices in New South Wales. He is believed to have provided some input into Olympic's early manufacturing operations. Sorry. I will let that go for the Director. I wish to further go through some of the allegations in the CJC report concerning myself. ‘In regards to Wade and a subordinate officer, Lucio Dominic, who were investigated in relation to a complaint from a possible prostitute that she had been loaded up with a small quantity of heroin. This investigation was discontinued’. Again, as I have previously stated, this investigation was not discontinued and there was a result by the Victorian Police Force.  ‘A matter concerning Wade and two subordinate officers, Dominic and Fleming, was investigated in relation to allegations that they had been bribed to supply certain information in relation to an investigation. The internal investigation was discontinued after the death from natural causes of one of the complainants’. The file from the Victorian Police Force in regard to that was that the policeman named was Ward, W-A-R-D, and not Wade and that I had no involvement in it whatsoever. Dominic and Fleming were not involved in that allegation whatsoever. ‘Wade and two subordinate officers, Lucio Dominic and Ian Fleming, were investigated in relation to an allegation that they had travelled overseas in June with a one, Athos Mandylaris, a Greek night club owner’. This person was not a Greek night club owner. He was an owner of a night club, an Australian night club rather, and this person was a family friend. I was not charged or counselled over that matter. ‘Wade and subordinate, Dominic, were investigated in relation to an allegation that they had attempted to induce the victim of a crime to offer a reward. Wade was officially on leave at the time. One of those allegedly involved in this incident was reputedly active in the illegal gaming industry’. In regard to this matter, I had a week to go before I was operated on for an operation that only one out of every three people - they die from. I was not thinking of myself as a policeman at that time and I had no recollection of what was actually going on. I was at a friend's house. This lady came out in the investigation with the police, and I was not counselled over this matter. I mention about the matter of ‘Wade's subordinate, Lucio Dominic, and others who were investigated in relation to an allegation that a gold bracelet and $1,000 had gone missing during a raid on gaming premises; no result is known from this internal investigation’. That internal investigation itself led to the charging of eight policemen. They resigned from the Police Force, some of them. The senior sergeant in charge of the Licensing and Gaming Squad went for trial and we had to give evidence at that trial. They were taking money from this casino that was operating, and they advised the owner of the casino to make allegations against us so that their charges would be dropped. One of our informants, who was in the casino, gave evidence as to where the $1,000 and the gold bracelet were, and later that person was charged with making a false report to the Police.

 Again it says here that ‘no result was known from this internal investigation’. Out of all of these matters that are mentioned, it was probably the biggest matter that occurred in the Victorian Police Force for some time regarding its Licensing and Gaming Squad. The Commission also: ‘has no knowledge of whether there were grounds for investigation of Wade in relation to any of the above allegations. The Commission does, however, have grave concerns over the number and nature of allegations, and with Wade's associations with Dominic, Mandylaris and Fleming. The possibility exists that Wade's retirement from the Victorian Police Force was not unassociated with the indeterminate result of a number of these investigations’.  Probably that out of anything is the most concerning thing to me. I served my community for 13 years. I was nearly killed in that process. I received a blow to my back and from that injury I developed cancer. I was up against a person who was on the ‘Top Ten’ wanted list. He tried to kill me. His brother I also charged, who was a person by the name of Pettingel. He recently, involved with some other people, killed two policemen in Victoria. To make any assumption that I retired from the Victorian Police Force because of these inquiries is probably the greatest insult and the greatest hurt that I have felt. I served my community and I retired on grounds of ill health. I retired one year from the date of the last mention of counselling and I was under no investigation whatsoever. In regards to the mention of Athos Mandylaris, I have answered that question on numerous occasions. He was a family friend, and still is to this date, seeing his conviction - it was a minor conviction. In regards to Dominic and Fleming, two policemen -I worked with them as policemen. I knew them as policemen and there were other people who worked with them as policemen also. I have not had association with them from that time to any extent other than to reminisce over matters that occurred during (my time in) the police force and, as I said, I have not seen Fleming for quite a period of time. It mentions a lot of things about Dominic and it says what he had gone and done. I have a letter here from the Victorian Police Force and it states: 

"I regret that you consider that the report of the Criminal Justice Commission of Queensland strongly infers that you were implicated or involved in the incidents which led to the arrest of Lucio Dominic and Victor Umek on 30 November 1989. I am able to confirm that there is no evidence that indicates your involvement with Dominic or Umek in that incident."

 The CHAIRMAN: You have provided that to us already. DJW: I just wanted to go over that. The CHAIRMAN: That is fine. I am not arguing about it. I just want you to know that we already have a copy of that.DJW: I also wish to point out the matter of ‘Wade's name making its way on to a list of principals in the prohibited amusement device industry of New South Wales in 1989’. The company, Olympic Video Gaming, and myself, were charged by Detective Vincent of the New South Wales task force. We received over 300 charges. I suppose that the comment was made at the time that, “where there is smoke, there is fire”. However, I also make the comment that, where there is an arsonist, that destroys that theory. Out of all of those charges, not one was sustained. They were all dismissed totally. I was awarded $22,000 in costs. Never before had the Superintendent of Licences had costs awarded against him. The magistrate made the comment that I answered 264 questions in a record of interview. He had never seen anything like it in all his life. He said that I should never have been brought before the court. Yet, it is here in the CJC report, ‘but it was not known on what basis his name was included’. It was a major case. If they had obtained this information from the Police, certainly they would have obtained information concerning the court case. ‘Wade told journalists in 1988 that he had evidence of a plot to keep any new gaming machines from replacing in-line machines in Queensland clubs. That conspiracy allegedly involved Bally, corrupt dealings between New South Wales and Queensland Police and a bagman, who had been planted in his organization as a spy. This Commission has not seen the detail of those allegations and can make no comment on their content except to point out that they are nearly identical to allegations made by Ainsworth and Lamont, a lobbyist connected with Ainsworth’. In relation to that article that was written in the newspapers, I have just obtained this information of late. They are copies of a letter that I sent to the editor of the Sunday Telegraph. It states: "Re: THE FITZGERALD INQUIRY ARTICLE-25/9/88.I refer to the above article titled "Pokies maker seeks probe" published in the Sunday Telegraph, 25/9/88. ‘I have been incorrectly quoted, and now seek a retraction. I have no evidence of a conspiracy by the American Bally Corporation in relation to on-line machines in Queensland, and deny making this statement. The only person I have spoken to on this matter was a Ken Blanche, and I only informed him, that the person, Robert Walker, who previously worked for Olympic Amusements Pty. Ltd. was the same person named in the Fitzgerald Inquiry, and I advised Mr Blanche that I would be mentioning this in a court case coming up shortly. I have no knowledge of dealings between police in New South Wales and Queensland, nor evidence re. the Bally Corporation, and once again ask you for a retraction.’ I also forwarded a copy of that to the Superintendent of Licences. The person, Walker, was mentioned in the Fitzgerald inquiry; he was introduced to Olympic Video Gaming by the General Manager of IGT in America. He was looking for a job in the hotel industry selling poker machines. We had no knowledge of him. The person was licensed by the New South Wales task force. We can only draw conclusions from what occurred. The whole matter concerning what was mentioned about myself as a general manager of Olympic Video Gaming, I feel, has discredited Olympic. It has caused me great concern to see my name mentioned in newspapers as ‘loading up’ prostitutes and truck-drivers with heroin. My family and my children took great umbrage over this. My children did not even want to go to school the next day. My relatives and family have seen these things in the newspapers and they know that I served my Police Department well, and I served my community. The mentioning of this to taint Olympic Video Gaming has not only concerned all of those involved with Olympic Video Gaming, but also makes us wonder, this information that is being passed about, this information that is being obtained, why was it not obtained correctly? If it had been obtained correctly, why was it not reported correctly? Why are we getting all of these things saying that it was discontinued? Why are we not telling the truth? Why does the Victorian Police Force now have a whole new system in which information passed on to Commissions can only be done now by Assistant Commissioners? Why is the Victorian Police Force saying that this information was public dissemination, and why was it used so? These are the questions that we have to ask ourselves. We are licensed people and we are going about it the right way. We are producing an Australian product. It amazes me, and those mentioned, that we cannot find out anything about the American firm and the Japanese firm, so we do not say anything. Yet, we know everything about the two Australian companies and we report information whether it is correct or incorrect. It doesn’t matter; we just report it. When I have customers coming in to our showroom to show them our machines, I spend all my time answering questions about my entire police career.  Some of the people mentioned in that CJC report were informants who gave information on matters over drug inquiries. One of the girls that I had charged, went away the next two days after she was charged. She was the person who gave the drugs to Roger Rogerson at the airport. Those are the sorts of inquiries in which I was involved. Why the goddamn hell are we mentioning them? It was not for public dissemination. I was involved with people who have killed policemen. I do not want anyone to know where I am. I do not want anyone to bring up my police career any more. I acted to protect the community from drug offences. Why is this all being said? I did not retire from the Police Force for any reason other than ill health due to cancer. The company has suffered a lot through the report. The Directors of the company know me. They know that this is not true and have stuck by me from the start. I will defend myself against these allegations for time immemorial, because they have offended me to that extent. When you put 13 years into something and you believe in something and you have to defend yourself over these allegations that have been plastered over the newspapers, it is an embarrassment to myself. I would not be associated in any way with any illegalities. The company, Olympic, I hold in the greatest esteem. I always stand by the directors  The CHAIRMAN: The extra material you have referred to after the written material, if you could table it before you leave. We will note it as being tabled now so that we can read it. Does that include the newspaper article and the copies of the letters you wrote to the
Sunday Telegraph? DJW: That is correct. The CHAIRMAN: There are just a couple of things that I want to do. As you would appreciate, you have already provided us with some very substantive detailed material. DJW: Yes. The CHAIRMAN: That was provided to us on 31 July 1990. You have also sent us additional material on 2 April 1991. DJW: That is correct. The CHAIRMAN: I want to go through in summary. We have read the material and I just want to make sure we have got this correct. If it is not a correct summary of your position, please let us know. As I did with Mr Ainsworth, this is just an overview. Don't expect any detail in it. I just want to make sure I have got what you are saying correct in the minds of the committee.   I will deal firstly with the material on 31 July last year. You firstly said that the CJC did not comply with its Act and breached the principles of natural justice. You said the CJC's information is not accurate or reliable. You did deal with each allegation in the material in some detail.

All are denied, except the Managing Director, Mr Balagiannis, who in fact did it again, acknowledged convictions for the minor offence of "lending a device for gaming in 1982" and was fined $100, and a smuggling matter under the Customs Act, and was fined $1,550 in 1986. He has covered both of those today, and he acknowledged that. On 2 April 1991 you went on to say that Olympic is a responsible manufacturer and supplier of gaming machines, in that it supports the New South Wales regulatory system and in fact has contributed to its development. It has assisted in the policing of the industry. It has been smeared by guilt by association and there is no evidence of any wrongdoing. It was licensed in Victoria and New South Wales after full licence hearings. It proposes the use of, and employs, the highest standards in its manufacture, with the best technology to avoid criminal activity in the industry; i.e. central credit, cashless betting, full licensing. Their machines are the most sophisticated in Australia. That is a claim that others will argue about, but I am just summarising what you say. I am sure Mr Ainsworth would not agree with that, for example. DJW: No. The CHAIRMAN: The CJC report concentrates on pre-1985 times when the industry was not regulated. DJW: That is correct. The CHAIRMAN: Olympic suggests that post-1985 should have been of more interest to the CJC. Police critical of Olympic were themselves involved in the industry. The charges brought by police in 1989 in relation to the use of prohibited devices were dismissed with costs. Perhaps the most sensitive part of it, Mr Wade - and I will read this to you and you tell me if you disagree, is: "Mr Wade says that the CJC misinterpreted the Victorian Police files about him. While it was recommended that Mr Wade be counselled because of his closeness with persons owning licensed premises, with a convicted person, with officers under his command, and with failing to fully report matters, the Victorian Police investigation concluded that Mr Wade was guilty of indiscretion, but there was insufficient evidence to suggest any wrongdoing of a criminal nature." Is that a correct assessment of my reading of the document? DJW: Yes. The CHAIRMAN: I just repeat what I said when Mr Ainsworth was here, that there has now been established a Machine Gaming Commission arising out of our report. The commissioners were appointed yesterday under a former State Auditor-General, Mr Vince Doyle, and they will now start the processing as a result of our report, and because of the checks and balances in place, you are not excluded from the industry in Queensland. I have said that a number of times and I want to make it clearly understood that the Machine Gaming Commission will decide the processes and terms of the application.  We will go around. Mr Gunn? Mr GUNN: Once again, Mr Chairman, I do wish to study the report in detail but I would like to ask Mr Wade a few questions. Have you ever been investigated by the National Crime Authority? DJW: No. Mr GUNN: Did you ever sell Olympic machines illegally in New Zealand? DJW: No. Mr GUNN: Do you know that Olympic machines are operating illegally in New Zealand? DJW: No. Mr GUNN: How long did your friendship last with Lou Dominic? DJW: Lou Dominic to this day is a friend of mine. If he walked in here I would stand beside him. He will always be a friend of mine. Mr GUNN: When did you first realize that he was involved in criminal activities himself?  DJW: When I came home and my daughters told me they saw him on television.Mr GUNN: Do you think it was really sensible to continue that friendship? DJW: It is a very hard thing. I mean, it is the same thing, a guy will be in Vietnam and he is fighting with a guy, and then they come home. The guy gets a bit phased out with what happened in the war, and he will go and commit crimes, and you see it many a time, you see a Vietnam veteran go to court and give a character reference. I was with that man when people were trying to kill the both of us, and he ran through a plate glass window. I cannot stop that. I am not going to commit crimes with him, but I cannot stop those feelings. When I was dying with cancer, he was there, all the time. You cannot just wash that away. I would be a liar and a hypocrite if I said it, and I would never say it..Mr GUNN: What about Fleming, how long were you involved with Fleming? DJW: Fleming was working for us for four months as a senior constable - he was in the squad I was in. Other sergeants worked with him. It is not as though he was assigned to me - it was a squad of 30 guys; he could be working with anybody. And the time that Fleming got himself into trouble was when I was off sick. It had nothing to do with me; I was not his sergeant. The only thing that happened was, that when I was still sick with cancer, the Inspector who was doing the investigation, Frame, (he is now one of the Commissioners), knew that I had information about what was going on with this Fleming. Fleming was quite confident to speak to the Inspector in front of me, so the Inspector asked me if I would assist him in respect of that inquiry. It says there in the report that I assisted in his retirement, or when he retired on ill health. I was the sergeant who was asked to fill out reports of what I thought of his mental condition during his time as a policeman, but when Fleming was in all this trouble, he had nothing to do with me whatsoever. Mr GUNN: Never when you were working with any of those two men did you have any idea that they were involved in criminal activities? DJW: Their criminal activities started when they got out of the Police Force. Mr GUNN: They were not while they were in the Police Force? DJW: No, they were never charged. Fleming was retired on ill health. He was not checked out of the Police Force, and Dominic did not get charged with anything until he was out of the Police Force, and we are talking, what, seven years ago. Mr GUNN: So there was no criminal activity…? DJW: No, they were policemen. Mr GUNN: ….to your knowledge, while those two people were in the Police Force? DJW: When they were policemen with me, Dominic was not charged with any offences, criminal matters - they were not involved in anything. It was when I was off sick that Fleming got himself into trouble and he was not working with me -he was working with another sergeant by the name of Williams - and he got himself involved with a prostitute who was involved with trafficking firearms in massage parlours. It had nothing to do with me whatsoever. Mr GUNN: I am not arguing about when they were charged, but did you have any knowledge whatsoever that they could have been involved with criminal activities during the time they were in the Police Force? DJW: No, none whatsoever, there was nothing that came to light whilst we were in the Police Force together, doing anything of a criminal nature. The CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr Gunn. Mr SCHWARTEN: I have one question that I would like answered, and I asked the same one of Mr Ainsworth: at no time ever did an officer of the Commission have a talk to you? DJW: Never.Mr SCHWARTEN: So when did you first learn of the allegations that had been made against you? DJW: I got it from the Channel 9 News; they faxed it down to me.  Mr SCHWARTEN: Have you got any reason to believe that officers of the Victorian Police that you served with were sufficiently crooked on you to have caused that sort of mischief for you? DJW: You see, it is called “mess room assassination”. Like, it was the Licensing and Gaming Police who set us up, and when it was found out what they did and eight of them got charged, it does not leave a good taste in other policemen's mouths. They do not even want to know the story, but it is the old stigma about ‘you got another copper charged’, and ‘you are working with Internal Affairs’. It always caused some concern in those days, and the “mess room assassination” goes on, but they do not know the full story; they do not know it was cop versus cop, because they were setting us up over them getting a quid out of an illegal casino. These are things that happen. It is not pleasant out there, and life goes on, and probably there are people who have still got a bad taste in their mouth who have actually served on the Licensing and Gaming Squad with these blokes. There is a camaraderie amongst policemen, and rightfully so. You can understand it: you do not sanction it, you do not agree with it, but you can understand it. Mr SCHWARTEN: How did you become interested in poker machines? DJW: When you are 29 years of age, and you have got six months to live, and some bloke comes your house and says, "If you ever make it, come and see me and I will give you a job", and your whole career is shattered, and you have got nowhere to go and nothing to do, probably if you had asked me to be a motor mechanic, I would have been a motor mechanic. There was not much left at the time, so I took the bait. The CHAIRMAN: Mr Santoro? Mr SANTORO: Just the same question that I asked of Mr Ainsworth: do you believe that in pursuing its role under the terms of the Act, this committee has in any way compromised itself in its dealings with you, Mr Wade? DJW: Nothing at all. The CHAIRMAN: Mr Harper? Mr HARPER: No, thank you, Mr Chairman.The CHAIRMAN: Mrs Edmond? Mrs EDMOND: Yes, I have a couple. I am just going back to the fact that Mr Balagiannis - and I do not know who answered this - came to see you in 1983 when you were ill, and you say you had no knowledge of him until then. Is it a personal question? But I find that rather strange. DJW: Sometimes the truth is strange, but that is exactly how it was. I had never met Mr Balagiannis ever before in my life, but he knew my brother-in-law, and they came to my house. I was lying down on the floor watching television. I was ill at the time, and my brother-in-law came to visit me. He had known Nick for some years, and Nick christened my brother-in-law's daughter, and they were just going through making the arrangements with the godfather - I should not use that term - and they came to my house, and Nick said to me, "What are you going to do?", and I said, "I do not know", and that is how the conversation went. “If you get better, or are out of the Police Force, come and see me”, and that is basically how simple it was. Mrs EDMOND: On page 16 of your submission you seem to expect that you will be excluded from the poker machine industry in Queensland. I think we have been at some pains to make it very clear that… DJW: We were not aware of that until we actually came here today - we were not aware of that. Mrs EDMOND: I guess it was. Maybe we were suffering that identity crisis again. DJW: You can understand what has been built up in us for some period of time, and even when we heard it today, it was refreshing, but it will still take a while to sink in. Mrs EDMOND: We have also published a report. It is a shame it has not been read as well as the original report. DJW: Yes. Mrs EDMOND: It is basically that fear of being excluded from the Queensland industry that makes you feel that there has been a major travesty of natural justice, is it? DJW: If you have done something wrong, then report it correctly. That is the first thing I ask. All I ask is that. Whatever has happened to either myself or other directors, just report it correctly. You can make interpretations of what has actually transpired, but at least give us the benefit of reporting correctly what has been said. The greatest thing is that – (even the Police Force in Victoria is saying) - the Victorian Police Association have now entered into it, because you have got to be very careful when you start just throwing a policeman's files all around the place. Then you are letting him out to the press because of parliamentary privilege. It gets to be a very dangerous situation for a member. You do not want to get reinvolved in some of the matters that have come up over the years, once you are retired. You are no longer a policeman, and your life is now behind you. You do not want it to come up. I personally think that no-one else - I do not own the company, I am not a shareholder, I am not a director - and no one else out of any other companies got such a serve, put it that way, as I did. I feel I have been used to discredit Olympic Video Gaming, and that is another point of conjecture. I suppose if you went through all the other General Managers and Sales Managers of all the other companies you might find a couple of other little stories in there that might be open to interpretation also, but I got one that will never ever be forgotten in this industry. Mrs EDMOND: I would just like to thank you for coming today and making the time available with the changes, etc. DJW: I thank you for having that opportunity. The CHAIRMAN: We will study the material that you have given us, Mr Wade. Are there any other things you want to say in conclusion? DJW: No. We have got nothing further to add other than at any time - the same as our rival, Mr Ainsworth said - we are here to assist. We have done it numerous times before, and we have a lot of information that would be advantageous to all concerned in gaming, in regards to security and all aspects of gaming. We are available at any time to assist. The CHAIRMAN: Thank you. We will now adjourn and resume.The committee adjourned at 11.25 a.m. 
In the end they got me or so they thought. But I lived to fight another day. My gaming business world was destroyed, of that they made sure. I should never have shown the gaming world how video poker machines can be programmed, set up to be programmed to give out jackpots when certain betting buttons are pressed. This brought me unwanted attention. I should have just kept my mouth shut. I was exposing the perfect crime

 

But I would never allow a Police State. I fought this evil my own way.