‘Modern-day Santa Claus’: Son of late Rossarden man Barry John Weston wants to clear his dad’s name

“All I want is Dad’s name to be cleared.” A Hobart man has come forward in a bid to clear his late father’s name, claiming he was no crime lord and had nothing to do with a 1990s murder. HIS STORY >>

THE son of Rossarden man Barry John Weston has come forward to clear his late father’s name – claiming he was no “crime lord” and had nothing to do with the 1990s murder of Paul Winston Byrne.

Barry John Weston – who was connected to the now-infamous Rossarden criminal syndicate that had taken over the township during the 1990s – died in 2019 at age of 80 after a hard life that included a stint at Pentridge Prison’s infamous maximum-security H Division.

Weston’s story was recently highlighted in News Corp’s podcast The Lost Ones, which detailed an alleged “love triangle” between Weston’s then-girlfriend and Paul Byrne.

Mick Weston, son of Rossarden man Barry John Weston, says his father was not a crime lord

It is believed Mr Byrne, whose body has never been found, died at the remote Tasmanian township in 1996 after a brutal killing – albeit not at the hands of Weston.

Claims of an affair have long led to speculation, including by retired Detective Bob Coad, that Mr Byrne was bashed and tortured in a bid to “teach him a lesson”.

But Weston’s son Mick watered down suggestions the two men killed Mr Byrne because he’d betrayed his father, who Mr Coad described as the Rossarden criminal syndicate “patriarch”.

Instead, he described his father as a “modern-day Santa Claus” who had “gone soft” years before Mr Byrne’s disappearance – and was anything but violent.

Listen to the latest podcast episode of The Lost Ones below:

Mick Weston said his late father had a rough start to life, being kicked out of home at age eight in Melbourne during the Great Depression.

“At 10 years of age, that’s how rough it was, he got caught with a hand gun to protect himself,” Mr Weston said.

“I’m not going to say he was a saint because he was far from it. But he did a lot of these things when he was younger to survive.

“He wasn’t, in no way, some of the things people have said in the past.”

Mr Weston said his father may have been involved in the Rossarden gang ATM and safe robberies, which a number of residents then became known for, but never “violent stuff”.

Mick Weston, son of Rossarden man Barry John Weston, says his father was not a crime lord

“When he was younger, he obviously had a history. But he mellowed out so much,” he said, adding he never asked why his dad was locked up at Pentridge.

“Any sort of problem, violence was never brought into it.”

He said after the podcast, people contacted him to say how good he was to them.

“I used to say, ‘Dad you’re too soft’,” Mr Weston said.

“If anyone was going bad … there would be groceries on their doorstep.

“He was a modern-day Santa Claus to them because he never had it when he was younger. He never had the chance, to be honest.”

The son of late Rossarden man Barry John Weston (pictured here with his late wife) has come forward in a bid to clear his father's name, saying he was no "crime lord" and never involved in the Tasmanian murder of Paul Winston Byrne. Picture: Supplied

Mr Weston said his father moved to Rossarden – a run-down former tin mining town in north-east Tasmania – for peace and quiet rather than criminal connections.

He said his father left the rural community just 18 months before his death.

“All I want is Dad’s name to be cleared,” he said.

To listen to episode eight of The Lost Ones podcast, go to lostonespodcast.com.au

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