Corrupt detective repeatedly lies to Judge Ian Thomas – the affidavit’s in support

As has been noted in previous blogs Detective Malcolm Thomas felt at home swearing false affidavits in support of his various legal applications. This bog post deals with one of Thomas’s applications for a search warrant and is a continuation of the post:

Jenni McManus, Detective Malcolm Thomas and the real story behind the repossession’s

Corrupt Detective Malcolm Thomas

Thomas was in a little trouble with the witnesses he had arranged for the false charges of theft he had laid against the family; especially in the Hi-Lite matter; the charges were beginning to look decidedly shaky and needed  to be shored up. The false charges against one of the brothers and his mother were about to be dismissed by the court.

Thomas and Phil Cooper, the crown prosecutor, were seriously berated by the presiding Judge. Thomas desperately needed to find a way to have the interim decision of the High Court in the civil claim over turned.

Thomas knew that the brothers were about to take action against Hi-Lite to recover the $26’000.00 Hi-Lite had in fact owed them. Immediately after the first high court civil hearing, held in Gisborne, Alexander Lee met with Malcolm Thomas and advised him of the devastating outcome.

Thomas then conspired with another friendly “local” solicitor  Gordon Webb to invent a conversation which both Thomas and Webb falsely alleged occurred on the steps of the Gisborne Courthouse, wherein the two falsely claimed the brother had shown Alexander Lee a copy of a signed contract – this of course had never occurred.

After conspiring with Webb, Thomas then called Willcox and Willcox in-turn called Alexander Lee so as to cement the plan in place. Having covertly obtained everyone’s agreement Thomas then sent a telex to Willcox formally requesting that he contact Lee and obtain the supporting statement as discussed. Alexander Lee of course exited the conspiracy before it reached the courts after being sprung by the brothers and fleeing to the United Kingdom, hoping the conspiracy would collapse upon his departure.

Had the conversation on the steps really occurred there is absolutely no doubt that Thomas would have known about it within a matter of hours; importantly, prior to Lee having left Gisborne.  Lee, Pearce, Mitchelmore, Willcox and Thomas were joined at the hip constantly telephoning each other, conspiring and sharing information – The tapes reveal that much;  it was obviously vital, so as to cover each others arse’s.

Thomas, until Lee was sprung, was wholly aware of all that had occurred in the civil case, after all he had a vested interest. Had the conversation on the steps genuinely taken place Thomas would have immediately taken the statement himself – after all we know that Thomas met with Lee whilst he was in Gisborne both before and immediately after the civil hearing.

The evidence clearly points to Thomas having manufacture this small but necessary deviation to the conspiracy a week or more after Alexander Lee had returned to Christchurch!

As canvassed in a previous related blog the brothers had discovered the plot between the cops and Lee whilst covertly investigating Thomas’s instigation and personal involvement in every repossession and attempt that had occurred.

Lee had used a falsified and incomplete contract in an attempt to shift the purported debt to the brothers personally. The judge, Thorpe J, had fortunately seen through Lee’s false evidence and the spurious documents Lee had presented. Thorpe dismissed Lee’s application for a summary judgement, Thorpe also noted that he would have awarded cost against Lee had the brothers been represented by council.

Lee , in one of the taped conversations he’d had with Jonathan Parker( aka the brother) admitted that Detective’s Malcolm Thomas had supplied him with the documents he’ used during the summary judgement hearing.

Alexander Lee then made another mistake.  He admitted that he was about to make yet another false statement to Detective Matt Willcox and the circumstances surrounding this particular statement. The brothers had now been alerted to the fact that Detective Thomas was again up to his old tricks; falsifying a statement in yet another attempt to pervert the course of justice.

One last call was made to Lee. On the afternoon of 4th November 1988, Lee was now aware that his confessions had in fact been made to one of the brothers and not a repossession agent, as he had believed.

Hi-Lites solicitor Alexander Lee on terminating that call knew that the game was over. He had been caught red-handed intentionally lying to a High Court Judge, Justice Thorpe and now conspiring with detectives Thomas and Willcox to knowingly make a false statement.

Lee was aware that intentionally misleading any Judge would land him in hot water and that the brothers, evidence in hand would doubtless be taking steps to have him disbarred as a barrister and solicitor. Lee immediately called Willcox to let him know what had happened. Thomas was then in turn telephoned by Willcox; Lee had withdrawn from the conspiracy, without providing Willcox with the spurious statement he desired*.

Bent Solicitor Gordon Webb

Thomas, however, was not about to give up. He couldn’t, he had far too much to lose. Thomas had also arranged for Gordon Webb a local solicitor to provide the required false testimony in support of Lee’s statement. Webb, however, had been kept in the dark by Thomas and was unaware that Lee had withdrawn. When informed by one of the brothers Webb panicked and telephoned Malcolm Thomas. Thomas then had the brother arrested for breaching bail conditions. These events all occurred in October/November 1988.

By February the following year Thomas was getting desperate, he needed more to vilify the brothers and support the malicious criminal information he’d laid.

On the 22nd February 1989 Thomas applies for yet another search warrant. As with all warrants there needs to be evidence of a crime and or an affidavit in support. Thomas in his affidavit lies, advising the district court judge Ian Thomas of the (manufactured) conversation on the steps of the court-house.

Thomas further alleges that the brothers had intentionally swapped the Hi-Lite contracts 18 months earlier – according to Thomas again in this affidavit: Pearce noticed that he did not have a signed copy when he returned to Christchurch. Who in their right mind would continue to supply $64’000.00 worth of goods without a valid contract – again false.

Thomas goes on to allege that the brothers at some point then called Robin Pearce at Hi-Lite Industries to gloat – again false!  Why would they? They already knew what Thomas Lee and Pearce were up to; the systemic corruption and all the other parties involved Thomas, unfortunately, didn’t know that!

Thomas intentionally lies about events and presents his totally constructed fable as fact throughout the sworn affidavit, inferring amongst other spurious claims that, the brothers owed Hi-Lite Industries $64’000.00; whilst fully aware that Hi-Lite had in fact only claimed, albeit falsely, a modest $16’000.00 debt.

After reviewing the official documents there is a concern and an obvious question: in the documents Detective Thomas repeatedly alleges to both his police superiors and the courts that the brothers sole intention had always been to rip the creditors off – why then had the brothers paid all but an average of 10 percent to most of the suppliers contracted?

We here at LAUDA FINEM think that Police command and or the New Zealand courts are either thick or corrupt – we will however leave our readers to draw their own conclusions!

Thomas had made these false statements so as to obtain unprecedented access to the Court record in a civil litigation; interfering in civil law had, after all, become a specialty of Detective Malcolm Thomas; a modus operandi that he’d utilized throughout the entire four-year saga.

Thomas knew that he had supplied Lee with the documents, he desperately needed to know what the brothers had so he could manufacture evidence to counter it and perhaps, if need be, remove some of Lee’s documents, you know the ones he himself had managed to produce the documents Lee had claimed: “were helpful in my civil case”.

We also suspect that Thomas needed to know if Lee had made any creative additions to his own handiwork; after all it was no longer simply a matter of picking up the phone. Lee had left the country in November 1988.  Thomas, obviously, no longer enjoyed unfetted access to Lee or his records.

Lee’s employer’s, Duncan Cotterill & Co had also been warned in November of Lee’s corrupt behaviour; doubtless, Thomas was not about to invite a complete stranger to his “locals only” party – we know Thomas had psychological issues but that would have been complete insanity.

In short, if the brother had surreptitiously, as we are led to believe by Thomas in his affidavit, shown Lee a copy of “the real” contract, which he apparently possessed, on the steps of the court that surely implies that the brother did not want Lee or the court getting hold of it.

Not very smart then to have included a copy of “the concealed contract” in submissions; which would have, as a matter of course, been given to Lee during the hearing; then destined for court record.

No, that would have been just plain dumb. Not as dumb as the judge. He believed Thomas’s claims and the very unlikely suppositions he advanced in support; granting him a warrant.

Thomas had already conspired with half the population of Gisborne and manufactured a truck load of evidence; it was beginning to get a little messy, to say the least – especially now that his star witness Alexander Lee had disappeared into thin air.

*Footnote:

The taped (click to listen) conversation with Lee occurred the 2nd November 1988, the day before he had intended providing Detective S M Willcox with a statement; falsely alleging an incident on the court steps in Gisborne. In that conversation Lee indicated that he would no longer be providing Detective Willcox with that statement – which of course riled Willcox – Willcox immediately blowing his cover to phone the brothers; bad move Matt.

Police records further support the fact that no statement was given by Lee to Detective S M Willcox – If he did the document appears to have mysteriously disappeared (requested under freedom of information legislation)