‘Underbelly’ murder plotter Andrew Perish released on parole

Andrew Perish, whose gang killed and mutilated a police informant, walked free from jail today to start anew in a little halfway house on the outskirts of Sydney.

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Andrew Perish, whose gang killed and mutilated a police informant, walked free from jail today to start anew in a little halfway house on the outskirts of Sydney.

The 2001 death of Sydney drug dealer Terry Falconer and the long-running police search for his killers became so notorious it was the subject of the TV series Underbelly: Badness.

Andrew Perish has been released on parole to a halfway house in Campbelltown to serve out the remainder of his sentence for conspiracy to murder of drug dealer Terry Falconer in 2001. Picture: Toby Zerna

Under electronic monitoring, Perish left Silverwater Correctional Complex this morning and moved into a secure, gated boarding house in a semi-industrial part of Campbelltown.

Wearing dark shades, t-shirt and shorts and a grey ankle monitor above his sneakers, Perish surveyed his new digs.

Falconer was kidnapped, murdered and found cut into pieces in the Hastings River in 2001.

Perish, who had links to the Rebels bikies, was convicted of conspiring to kill Falconer while his brother Anthony Perish and another man were jailed for murder.

A State Parole Authority judge said Andrew Perish had completed his programs in jail and was ready for release. Picture: Toby Zerna

The Perish brothers had formed the suspicion Falconer was behind the grisly murder of their grandparents in 1993.

Andrew Perish was jailed for at least nine years in 2012 and, although his non-parole period ended in October, a serious offender review found he had not completed a violent offenders course or arranged suitable accommodation so he was kept inside.

Andrew Perish in 2001.

Murder victim Terry Falconer.

A State Parole Authority hearing last month decided Perish was now ready to walk free.

“Despite the seriousness of the offence and the existence of the offender’s other criminal activities, we are persuaded by his behaviour in custody – which has been overall good – and his completion of programs,” State Parole Authority Judge David Freeman said last month.

“He is ready for release.”

Anthony Perish will not be eligible for parole until 2027.

A State Parole Authority judge said overall Andrew Perish’s behaviour in jail had been good. Picture: Toby Zerna