Chapter 14 argyle - State Law Publisher

FINAL REPORT
from the property. Roddan said, “I can’t do it, but the police can”. This was before he
placed the call to Max.
One of the people present when Moore was sacked was Mr Manuel Barriero. Barriero
recalled that Roddan did use the telephone, or was going to use the telephone, that “he
had the power, he had the people and, you know, could do things”. Barriero could not recall
that any names were mentioned at the time. Roddan denied that he had threatened to
throw Moore from his property, or that he had telephoned anyone called “Uncle Max”.
Moore said that, on another occasion, Roddan told him that he had friends in the Police
Service. This was in the context where Roddan offered to make an inquiry in relation to a
firearm of Moore. He said, “I’ll soon get that fixed up for you. I’ve got people I know in the
register where you do your guns”.
Barriero gave evidence that Roddan told him “many times” that “he’s got friends in high
places in Midland, anywhere, and he could just sort things out just like that”. It is unclear in
what capacity these friends were employed, if, indeed they existed. In an interview with the
AFP, Barriero said that in the car coming back after the incident involving Moore, Roddan
said he had “good friends in the police force, but he didn’t say who or what … ranks or how
high or low”. Barriero stated that similar claims had been made to him by Roddan on many
other occasions.
FORMER WAPS OFFICER
A former police officer, who had previously been married to a former wife of Roddan, gave
evidence at the Royal Commission. In relation to conversations he had with Roddan, he told
the Royal Commission, “I don’t think the actual inquiry was discussed, but the fact a
number of names that he used to throw around, names of high-ranking police officers like
you know, who’s who in the Yellow Pages”. He told the Royal Commission that Roddan
mentioned these people “as though he was being protected by them”. He said “Jeff Noye
topped the list. He never referred to Max Kiernan, other than he was ‘Uncle Max’, but when
he said, ‘You know who I’m talking about’, I said ‘Yes’. He mentioned Frank Zanetti … oh
there was a heap of them … ”, and Roddan had used the expression “looked after” in the
context of CIB officers. The former officer said that “looked after” was not an expression he
queried with Roddan, but said “he made no … no doubt about that he was giving them
something. And he may have on occasion even mentioned money and favours and
diamonds and jewellery and what have you”. The former officer said that he never acted
upon these claims as he simply did not believe Roddan. He said that “[b]y the time I’d
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