‘EVERYONE WAS DOING
SOMETHING ILLEGAL!’
of the law to build a private
investigator business.
“Every business in Kings
Cross sold capsules of cocaine,”
he says. “It was just the place
you went to get them. The
leaseholders didn’t really get
involved but they got $20,000
a week rent for something that
was worth $2000 a week and
they didn’t care what was
going on.
“I can’t really justify that
I didn’t know what was going
on or who the players were
but I kept a distance from their
work. The only time I became
involved was when the police
became involved.
“That was their [the police
and the Kings Cross
businessmen] world.
“You weren’t going to break
up that world – that’s just what
happened. It had nothing to do
with me except ... Don’t set up
Bill [Bayeh] ... Don’t set up
anyone I know!
At this time, Charles was on
a good wicket and was enjoying
the perks his notoriety was
bringing him.
“I had a really nice apartment;
I got a really good deal on a
Porsche and I enjoyed being
a bit of a playboy,” he recalls.
“I had lots of friends in the
music industry, so whenever astar came to town they’d always
ring me and say, ‘Charlie, come
down.’ I’m not in awe of any pop
star. I’ve met them all – Whitney
Houston still owes me $50!
“Paul and Linda McCartney
had finished a show and they’d
had this discussion, ‘Whenever
you’re in trouble in Sydney, youwant Charlie.’ And they said,
‘Bring him down’, because
Joe Cocker had been in town
the year before and we’d partied
hard ’til stupid o’clock in
the morning. We just had
a great night.”
But in 1994, the fun ended
when Charles was subpoenaed
to give evidence at the Royal
Commission into police
corruption hearings.
After refusing to answer
questions about his business
dealings with now convicted
drug trafficker Bill Bayeh, he
was jailed for a year.
On his first night in Long“THEY NEARLY KILLED A GUY
ON THE FIRST NIGHT THINKING
IT WAS ME”
Bay, he learnt that as an ex-cop,
there was a price on his head.
“I’d been to the jail thousands
of times and I was aware of the
protocols and behaviour and
how it all worked,” he says.
“It would be a random
person – someone who wanted
to climb up the rank – whowould have a go at me.”
Because Charles had clients
who were behind bars he
believed they would look after
him in prison. But he got that
one wrong. “They [the other
prisoners] nearly
killed a guy
on the first night
thinking it was me,”
he recalls. “These
guys bashed
[him] within an
inch of his life. In the
morning, one of my
best friends in the
police force pleaded
with me to reconsiderAbove left: Charles also
spent time in prison in
Quebec, Canada. Right:
Proud dad with his son,
Danial, at his father-in-
law Bernie’s property.and answer the questions at the
Royal Commission, and I said no.
“I remember that night when
they said, ‘Make that phone call
[to your family]. My youngest
son Timothy said, ‘I know, I know,
dobbers wear nappies’.
“That gave me a resolve that
my children had listened to me
and that was the number one
moral in our lives: you don’t tell
tales on anyone.
“The Royal Commission
was meant to be about police
corruption in the force, but the
only people who went to jail
were Bill Bayeh and me. Of
course the people I was helping,
they weren’t really innocent,
but the police didn’t have a case
against them, they said. I take
umbrage at police
cheating – there are
rules. If you can’t get
someone by the law,
don’t be as bad
as them!”
By Emma Babbington- The Good Bloke by
Charles Staunton is
out July 23, RRP
Main image by Brendan O’Sullivan $32.99.