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Michael Croke: Disgraced Sydney lawyer ‘terrified’ of other inmates: Court

Disgraced Kings Cross lawyer Michael Croke fears for his safety behind bars as he awaits sentencing for perverting the course of justice, a court heard.

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Disgraced Sydney lawyer Michael Croke is “terrified” behind bars and wants to be placed into prison protection, a court heard.

Next month the solicitor will be sentenced for a number of charges including perverting the course of justice - which carries a maximum 14-year jail term.

In April a jury found Croke guilty of helping a money laundering crime ring concoct a lie to the police about a bag containing $700,000 cash that was seized from Sydney’s Hilton Hotel in 2011.

The 70-year-old prostate cancer patient now “fears for his safety” at Silverwater jail, believing he’s under threat from fellow inmates, Downing Centre District Court heard.

Lawyer Michael Anthony Croke leaves the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney. Picture: AAP
Lawyer Michael Anthony Croke leaves the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney. Picture: AAP

The prosecution says Croke delayed his criminal trial for four years with claims of bankruptcy, and while appearing via video link from prison he had repeated difficulty connecting to the virtual courtroom.

“You’ve got to live here to find out how useless the place is,” he said on Thursday.

A joint NSW Police-FBI investigation began in 2011 after a police tip-off about a gun in a Sydney hotel, which ultimately led to the discovery of $702,000 cash in a suitcase.

Detectives soon unravelled a criminal drug enterprise that extended from California to Sydney, netting high profile American drug kingpin Owen Hanson in 2016 and a number of key players in Australia.

Croke was arrested alongside Sydney underworld figure Craig Haeusler and concert promoter Andrew McManus, who testified that the solicitor had coached him to provide a false story to police.

The Woollahra man used his legal experience to “mislead or hoodwink” the NSW Police over an extensive period of time, Crown prosecutor Chris Taylor said.

But defence barrister David Dalton SC argued Croke was not the ringleader of the syndicate and “stood to gain the least” of all offenders.

Croke is in prison for helping a crime syndicate lie to police. Picture: AAP
Croke is in prison for helping a crime syndicate lie to police. Picture: AAP

McManus has already been sentenced to a 20-month intensive corrections order while Haeusler awaits sentencing for his role in the syndicate.

It was operated by Hanson, who sent shipments of cocaine from the United States to Double Bay-based man Jonathan Fagan.

Fagan was jailed for 13 years in 2019 after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges while Hanson, a former college football star, is now serving a 21-year sentence.
Croke will be sentenced on July 16.

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts/disgraced-sydney-lawyer-michael-croke-terrified-of-other-inmates-court/news-story/ecd34d7fba99d11c5a7f5e59d5d9363f