How the AFP Police Commissioner’s former right hand man Gary Fahey gambled $1m
Gary Fahey had five betting accounts, and secretly gambled more than $1 million away while he was a top AFP cop who also acted as a bodyguard for former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
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Exclusive: An Australian Federal Police officer who acted as a bodyguard for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, foreign dignitaries and AFP Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin, had a not-so-secret life with an out-of-control gambling addiction.
Meet Gary John Fahey — the AFP’s million-dollar-man.
At the peak of his career, the 42-year-old, had top secret government clearances, rubbed shoulders at the highest-levels of government and travelled with the AFP Commissioner around the world attending “Five-Eyes” intelligence and law enforcement briefings.
At the same time, Fahey who was in one of the AFP’s most demanding positions, was using gambling as a stress reliever — punting on horses, greyhounds, and harness racing with bets anywhere from $10 to $10,000 a time.
Until now the full story of Fahey’s fall from grace, his potentially compromised national security position, and his apparent unanswered cries for help, have never been revealed.
It has never been made public that the AFP officer, on a sergeant’s salary of about $120,000 a year, managed to gamble away more than a $1 million in eight years — in just one betting account without raising a murmur at the AFP.
It has also never been made public that he gambled away another $77,202.11 in a separate account, in the eight months before he was caught taking $45,000 in government funds using his AFP-issued Citibank Master Card.
Fahey was the good guy everyone liked.
Colleagues say he and Commissioner Colvin were extremely close.
But Fahey’s world unravelled, after he took the money and lodged false explanations and a false statutory declaration in his reconciliations.
He was charged with 64 offences which were eventually rolled up and he pleaded guilty to one count of dishonestly causing a loss.
The other charges were withdrawn. He escaped a maximum five-year jail term and received an intensive corrections order to be served in the community which expires this week.
News Corp has obtained court documents which revealed the money was funnelled into accounts with Luxbet, Crownbet, ClassicBet, Ladbrokes, and William Hill betting, to pay various bills and $1300 to a Canberra law firm.
On one occasion, Fahey admitted withdrawing $600 from his AFP credit card in Brisbane and spending it on food, beer and gambling.
But he was also spiralling into debt and he admitted racking up a string of debts totalling more than $100,000 across eight gambling and loan accounts and a home loan of $475,000. He said he had drawn $70,000 on his mortgage and borrowed $30,000 from his former partner.
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The behind the scenes story of Fahey’s problems has been revealed at a time when the AFP is under extreme pressure after a string of suicides and widespread criticism about its actions raiding the homes and offices of journalists.
Commissioner Colvin will leave the office this week after five years at the helm and he will replaced by incoming Commissioner Reece Kershaw, the Commissioner of the Northern Territory Police and a former AFP officer.
For AFP officers it is more turmoil for an organisation they feel is fractured, dysfunctional, and riddled with officers suffering low morale and anxiety and a lack of support for mental health issues.
Court documents obtained by News Corp show for the first time the extent of Fahey’s gambling, the lack of support shown to him when he revealed his addiction.
It has also laid bare the inadequacies of the “security vetting processes” supposedly ensuring Australia’s law enforcement and intelligence officers entrusted with the nation’s secrets — are not in positions where they might be manipulated, coerced or blackmailed.
Law enforcement experts said Fahey’s admissions about his gambling addiction should have triggered welfare support and high-level investigations by the security vetting agency — especially because of Fahey’s trusted position in the Commissioner’s office.
“A spiralling debt level, out of control gambling and high risk activities makes the person vulnerable to approaches by organised crime groups,” said one expert.
There is no evidence that has linked Fahey to any organised crime group.
“This should have raised a red flag — Fahey was EO to the AFP Commissioner which meant he saw everything the Commissioner saw.”
It was not as if Fahey’s gambling problems were not well known among AFP staff for a long time. Many people knew he loved a beer and a punt. His relationship with another AFP employee had broken up because of it.
“All of these issues should have triggered a response at least with welfare issues let alone security implications, “said the law enforcement expert.
In a pre-sentence interview with forensic psychiatrist Dr Antony Henderson, Fahey admitted he had gambled from the age of eight and throughout his entire adult life and employment with the AFP.
Fahey began his career in 1999 working in crime operations and surveillance officer, before moving to East Timor as a senior liaison officer.
From 2003 to 2014, he worked on and off in close personal protection teams including for the former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd.
He also acted as bodyguard to visiting US officials winning him plaudits for his “excellent leadership skills” and his “affable, mature and easy going nature”.
Dr Henderson’s report said when Fahey started working in close personal protection in 2002 his gambling escalated “on account of having a significantly higher income and having more time on his hands.”
The report said Fahey’s gambling worsened in 2007 after the death of a close family member. At the time he also developed symptoms of depression and had suicidal thoughts. He had also accrued a debt of about $60,000.
Fahey had self-reported his gambling addiction he believes for the first time when he joined the AFP a numerous times during his security clearance updates every five years.
In the two weeks before his offending began in 2015, Fahey said he had attended the AFP counselling service, he also contacted Gambling Help Relationships Australia.
Yet Fahey told Dr Henderson he “received no assessment, monitoring, counselling or other treatment for his condition following his disclosures …”
Dr Henderson diagnosed Fahey with a major depressive and gambling disorder.
“He gambles when he is feels distressed, (sic) had attempted to conceal the extent of his involvement in gambling, has borrowed money to cover debts from gambling, made multiple unsuccessful attempts to control or stop gambling … and gambling has had a significant adverse impact on his relationships and resulted in the loss of his career.”
A Freedom of Information request from News Corporation to the AFP revealed potential implications for agency security were not even discussed after Fahey’s fraud had been discovered.
The AFP claimed in response to the FOI there was no correspondence, emails, letters, or reports, talking points and or briefings regarding the potential security implications involving and or flowing from his fraud against the AFP and gambling debts or any action taken to mitigate such security issues or complications.
However, News Corp has seen emails that show the Commissioner, Mr Colvin, was told in January 2017 — after the fraud was discovered — Fahey had been gambling on behalf of others outside of Australia and owed large amounts of money to overseas punters.
It is also known that the Commissioner asked professional standards to look into the issue of welfare for Fahey and “the broader implications for the agency”.
But approaches by a Detective Sergeant in Professional Standards to investigate the matter were marked “unofficial” and appeared to go no further.
The former head of the National Crime Authority Peter Faris QC said the AFP should have conducted a thorough forensic examination of any officer’s history if they had stolen money to make sure there was nothing bigger than that and investigated whether his security had been compromised at any stage. “They are a police force after all.”
An AFP media spokeswoman said they were satisfied all allegations in relation to Fahey were fully investigated and have been fully tested through the court process.
“The AFP considers this matter finalised and will make no further comment.”
If you need help with gambling, seek help here.
INSIDE THE AFP COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE
It is a privileged but pressured atmosphere inside the office of the AFP Police Commissioner.
As former executive officer to the Commissioner, Gary Fahey said in his police record of interview, it “involves doing anything the Commissioner needs”.
Fahey told police investigators he provided close personal protection, travel planning, strategic advice, media advice, transport and briefings to the Commissioner.
He would also travel with the Commissioner domestically and internationally 80-90 per cent of the time.
Fahey said he would use his corporate credit card to pay taxis, parking and for all their meals and incidentals and it was rare for the Commissioner to pay or use his card.
“I used to run the Commissioner’s office. I travelled with him and paid for his expenses, I would take cash out with the MasterCard and use it later or use my own money and then withdraw money to pay back myself at a later date …. I had poor documentation of receipts,” Fahey said in documents tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court.
He said in his record of interview the Chief Operating Officer has said he should withdraw cash and pay for the Commissioner’s receipts. “The withdrawal of cash had never been raised with him”. He said acquittals for expenses took too long and he had other priorities for the Commissioner.
Commissioner Colvin was by all accounts pleased with Fahey’s work praising him in his Performance Development Agreement as having a “depth of strategic insight and thinking that positions him well to continue to perform at a high level”.
The Commissioner also said “Federal Agent Fahey continues to perform his duties within the Commissioner’s office, to an exceptionally high standard. One of his greatest assets is his ability to communicate with, and work across, a range of internal and external partners from all levels and ranks, consistently finding ways to achieve a desired outcomes, influence outcomes or progress work allocated to him.”
At time Commissioner Colvin completed the PDA he was unaware of the fraud.
Fahey said he was in the practice of making purchases without receipts and had done for about two years. He said his practices were never questioned before.
Although he was aware he should have put in receipts but his administration was poor. He would guesstimate what money was spent between himself and the Commissioner — for he knew who had what meals. Fahey said he was regularly chased for his expense acquittals
But the hours working for the Commissioner were long and arduous and he found himself working in excess of 60 hours per week.
A report prepared by Forensic Psychiatrist Dr Antony Henderson said Fahey had become increasingly stressed, exhausted and felt unsupported in the role.
Dr Henderson said “he was aware of the guidelines relating to the use of the credit card, however reported that the Chief Operating Officer had given him permission to withdraw cash from his credit card facility in 2014. He reported that the previous executive officer purchased items without the provision of receipts….”
The AFP have now significantly reduced the capacity for AFP members to withdraw cash using their corporate credit card with the introduction of an international per diem rate and the reduction in standard cash withdrawals (for extraordinary circumstances) to a daily amount of $200 or monthly amount of $1000.
GARY FAHEY STARTS A NEW LIFE
“Make your future bigger and better than your past” says Gary Fahey on his Brisbane fitness company SCRaM Shed’s Facebook page.
Fahey, 42, has already started a new life encouraging others to get fit and healthy and whiling rebuilding his own life running his gym out of Woolloongabba on Brisbane’s southside.
His business Facebook page shows he has more than 400 followers and he is posting inspirational videos and recipes to get people started on a new life getting in shape.
Fahey is now writing a book about his experiences.
He wants to warn people that if a gambling addiction can happen to him, a highly-educated professional police officer, it can happen to anyone.
“I continue to face challenges but have worked hard to use my experiences to develop a process for battling depression and gambling,” he told News Corp.
But “I hope to continue my recovery by shedding light on these experiences working with others facing similar battles and sharing my story in the hope that others will not have to experience the depths that I have.”
Fahey also gave a heartfelt apology to the court when he was sentenced earlier this year.
Part of his apology said “while the past two years have been a turbulent post script, gambling issues have had a negative effect on my life for over 10 years.”
“Having first sought treatment in 2007, this up and down battle has cost the loss of family and friends, financial stability, self-confidence and opportunity.
“This occurrence has also cost the trust of those I served and a career I devoted my life to for 17.5 years.
“While I was committing these offences and gained only brief periods of escape, I ultimately lost everything as I gambled the proceeds away. My own actions leaving me with nothing.
“I understand there is little I can do to change the actions of my past, but I have been in ongoing treatment since 2016, am working hard to rebuild the faith in myself and for those close to me and have begun building a new life helping members of the community through my work and community activities in Brisbane — actions which can hopefully one day restore the trust in my potential.”
Originally published as How the AFP Police Commissioner’s former right hand man Gary Fahey gambled $1m
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