Deadline: Jetsetting life of accused soccer hooligan Paul Malone

One of the soccer fans accused of storming the AAMI Park pitch has done plenty of expensive globetrotting for his love of the beautiful game.

Mark Buttler and Andrew Rule with the latest scallywag scuttlebutt.

Accused lout a real jetsetter

Paul Malone is accused of being one of the troublemakers involved in last month’s A-League derby mayhem, but he must have a pretty good job.

Malone works in Luxembourg and has done plenty of expensive globetrotting in recent times to follow the world game.

He flew here just before Christmas for a break, a portion of which police allege was spent on the AAMI Park pitch.

Mr Malone flew back to Luxembourg a little ahead of schedule and police will wait for his return to discuss goings-on at the big game.

A month earlier, the frequent flyer was in Qatar for the World Cup where he was pictured with fellow Socceroo supporters.

There was no danger of a pitch invasion in a country where wrongdoers can find themselves exposed to much harsher justice than is meted out in Melbourne.

Malone has done plenty of expensive globetrotting. Picture: Supplied

Accused soccer hooligan Paul Malone has flown back to Luxembourg. Picture: Supplied

The day Mad Dog and Bicky copped crumbs

Back in 1978, prison escapee and career criminal Russell “Mad Dog” Cox was in Melbourne researching his next big armed robbery. But he wasn’t alone. He had a trusted associate steering a potential payroll target his way.

This was a likeable rogue named Rex James McAdam, widely known as “Bicky”, who’d struck up a conversation with a Mayne Nickless employee in his club at Surfers Paradise.

“Bicky”, the middle man, had later contacted this potentially valuable inside man in Melbourne, and made delicate inquiries about big payroll cash deliveries. But it turned out the “insider” was either honest or nervous or both, and he tipped off his boss at Mayne Nickless, who quietly tipped off the police.

Enter Robbie Robertson, ex-soldier, former machinery salesman, keen shooter and brand new undercover cop. Robbie played the part of a knockabout character, Brian Robert Wilson, and was swiftly “recruited” by Mayne Nickless as a guard under that name.

Through the “insider”, Robertson arranged to meet “Bicky” at a pub, then met Bicky’s mate “Kelvin” at Werribee races. He noticed that Kelvin seemed fit and watchful. He had no idea yet who Kelvin really was and who he ran with.

Russell “Mad Dog” Cox in custody at Doncaster Shopping Centre in 1988.

Bicky was the cheerful front man. Behind the scenes, apart from the mysterious interstater Kelvin, there was Ray Patrick “The General” Chuck (a.k.a. Ray Bennett), Dennis William “Fatty” Smith and Linus Patrick “The Pom” Driscoll. All associates of the dim sim king, Normie Lee.

Robertson excelled at playing the part of a bent armoured car guard. He drove Kelvin to the target, the then Country Roads Board headquarters in Kew. It was only after handing over a floor plan of the office that he realised it was a test — Kelvin revealed he had already been inside the place to map it.

Robertson was no typical cop. The son of a racing writer had gone to school in Essendon with the Moran brothers, Lewis and “Tuppence”, and had served in Vietnam, specialising in explosives and firearms.

All of which helped him think straight under pressure when things went wrong. Robertson and Kelvin were meeting near Victoria Market, waiting for Bicky to produce his $5000 down payment for the inside information, when three uniformed police officers happened to pull up.

Robertson was terrified one of them would recognise him and use his real name. He jumped in first, hissing at them to do what they were told. He then disarmed the three, fearing Kelvin might shoot them if he was spooked.

Former undercover cop Rob Robertson. Picture: Alex Coppel.

He and Kelvin then forced the three police into a giant market bin and Robertson threw the officer’s guns and radio on the market roof to show they were no threat. It probably saved their lives.

Kelvin ran off. Robertson never saw him again. It was only later he learned that the lean, fit stranger was Russell “Mad Dog Cox”, the most wanted man in the land.

Forty years later, Robertson was belatedly given a bravery award for his quick thinking.

According to Deadline’s eagle-eyed sources, “Bicky” is still running a club at Surfers Paradise, where he’s a much-loved identity.

In 2008, he effortlessly played the role of the scallywag “Peppermint Jack” in the film Crooked Business.

He’s also the proud dad of a respected Gold Coast family lawyer.

Now that’s crack cocaine

Protecting our borders looks like interesting and important work if the TV shows filmed at the airport are anything to go by.

Every so often, though, those charged with such responsibility must wish they’d chosen some other career path.

There was such a case last week when an Australian Border Force examination of an Irish tourist’s luggage came up positive for traces of cocaine.

A scan was done on the visitor, showing some most unusual shapes inside of him, so he was taken into custody.

Next up was the waiting game, toilet roulette, with Australian Federal Police officers sitting tight for hours until the cargo dropped from the Paddy’s baggage chute.

After a good clean-up, it was found he had been holding onto plastic capsules which would normally encase delicious Kinder Surprise kiddy treats.

No chocolate on the inside, though. Just 120 grams of cocaine.

Race to the judge

A Deadline spy notes that race five at Sandown on Saturday was the Peter Couzens Handicap.

It bore the name of the respected judicial figure and former Adult Parole Board head who is a devotee of horse racing, particularly the jumps. He has had horses trained by Eric Musgrove and other leading jumps trainers and, back in the day, would time his holidays to take in big jumps races around the world.

Still, punters will be hoping that having a race named for him is not an honour conferred too often on the great man. Truth is, the Peter Couzens Handicap was a wipe out for the betting fraternity.

They watched with gritted teeth as On the Lead hit the line (greeted the judge?) ahead of odds-on pop Inundation.

While on the sport of kings, a shout out to a long-time associate of Deadline who has been confined to a hospital bed since suffering a nasty spinal injury on December 30.

He took a major step to recovery on Saturday by being able to hold up a Herald Sun form guide and identify Netanyahu at a sweet price.

Naming horses after Israeli leaders is nothing new … one Deadline staff member rode a tough old campaigner named General Dayan at a picnic racing meeting in the olden days. His namesake might have won the Six Day War but the four-legged General couldn’t overcome the handicap in the saddle.

Brett Prebble riding On The Lead to victory in the Peter Couzens Handicap. Picture: Getty

Phoney war on crime

West Australian cold case detectives have just gone back to the future, getting hold of 80 old phone books and street directories dating back to the 1970s.

They believe the relics can help assist in old unsolved cases because they “provide a historical snapshot of who was living in certain houses and streets at a certain time,” the West Australian reports.

Of course, back in the bad old days, phone books were sometimes seen as police tools of trade in other ways.

One observer last week reminded us that the white (or yellow) pages were viewed by some thuggish law enforcement elements as useful in extracting “confessions”.

The chief reason was that they didn’t leave bruises on those who didn’t want to play ball.

The opening interview room scene of ABC crime classic Blue Murder in which Roger Rogerson meets Neddy Smith is probably a pretty fair example of this interview technique.

Crims got rolled

It’s sometimes hard to work out how crooks get rid of their stolen goods.

Detectives from the western suburbs crime squad last week charged four people with having a trafficable amount of firearms after seizing three double-barrel shotguns, a rifle and a handgun stolen in recent burglaries.

Among a vast array of other hot property found at Bullengarook, Sunbury and Riddells Creek were a steam roller and a kids’ jumping castle.

The roller was stolen from Rockbank and the jumping castle in a raid on a Westmeadows church on New Year’s Eve.