Christine Nixon vs. Paul Mullett: Top cop in sting operation that brought down police union boss
FORMER Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon worked with corruption busters on a sting that ended the policing careers of union heavyweight Paul Mullett and Noel Ashby.
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FORMER Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon worked with corruption busters on a sting that ended the policing careers of union heavyweight Paul Mullett and Noel Ashby.
Ms Nixon today told the Supreme Court she had been briefed by Office of Police Integrity director George Brouwer in September 2007 that police were leaking to undermine an investigation in to the murder of vampire gigolo Shane Chartres-Abbott.
Ms Nixon said Mr Brouwer told her Vicpol media director Stephen Linnell, former Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby and Mr Mullett were leaking information about the explosive murder
investigation.
“I was fairly shocked,” Ms Nixon.
Mr Brouwer requested Ms Nixon help with a “sting operation” being set up by the OPI, a supposedly independent oversight body.
The operation was that information would be fed to the trio and they would be recorded passing it on.
“He was really suggesting that what he wanted to do was to have Assistant Commissioner Cornelius and Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland become involved in a guess what I might describe as a sting operation,” Ms Nixon said.
“I think what was later called “flushing the dye through the tubes.”
The sting led to Mr Mullett to be dragged before a public OPI hearing where he gave evidence that led to his suspension and prosecution.
Ms Nixon said she suspended Mr Mullett on 15 November 2007 after receiving legal advice from eminent silk Peter Hanks QC that criminal offences had occurred.
“He gave advice, verbal advice, around his belief that Mr Mullett had committed criminal offences, and he explained those in relation to the Police Regulation Act as it applies to the OPI,” Ms Nixon said.
Today Ms Nixon flatly denied suspending Mr Mullett because she had any sort of vendetta against him.
“I think Mr Mullett and I had a cordial relationship, we’d met on a number of occasions over different issues and they’d always been conducted in a very decent manner,” Ms Nixon said.
The former Chief Commissioner said she was aware a bullying complaint against Mr Mullett by someone at the police association, but she did not know the specific allegation.
she denied ordering an investigation in to the bullying complaint to bring Mr Mullett unstuck
Mr Mullett is suing Ms Nixon claiming he was maliciously prosecuted.
The hearing before Justice Terry Forrest continues.