A Sydney Water Police officer was part of a gang that stole up to $250,000 from ATMs before double-crossing his partners and spending the money on luxury items for himself, a hearing has been told.
Senior Constable Daniel Ryan, 35, of Kurnell, is alleged to have stolen between $228,000 and $250,000 from ATMs in late 2001 with the help of his brother Darren and a Chubb Security officer whose name cannot be disclosed. He denied the claim before the Police Integrity Commission yesterday, saying the money had been saved from his brother's T-shirt production business. The money had been given to a man in Melbourne to invest in property.
The Melbourne man, known as SV1, had "lied and deceived" him and "stolen [the money]", he said.
However, in a telephone conversation intercepted by police operation Sandvalley on February 17, his brother Darren angrily told their mother that Senior Constable Ryan had taken the money, which "belonged" to the Chubb Security guard, and blown it on "ridiculous boats, ridiculous cars, houses, holidays and everything".
"Imagine how he's going to look when he's driving around
here in that Hummer," Darren Ryan said.
I didn't enjoy one cent of it. The only person who enjoyed any of
the money was Daniel." In an earlier conversation between
the pair, Mrs Ryan told Darren that "[Daniel] could sell the
Ferrari" and his "boat" to raise money to pay back
the security guard.
Last month Darren Ryan warned his brother that the situation was becoming a "nightmare", the commission heard.
Senior Constable Ryan, a member of the NSW Police force for 16 years, is being investigated by the commission for allegedly engaging in criminal activity and serious police misconduct. He has denied taking part in the 2001 ATM robberies.
In a telephone conversation recorded last year, he confessed to SV1 that he had placed a contract on his head but that it had not been carried out. Appearing before Commissioner Terry Griffin yesterday, Senior Constable Ryan said he was only "bullshitting" about offering a group more than $40,000 to make the hit.
He had agreed to let SV1 invest the money in Melbourne real estate, but SV1 had repeatedly "lied to me and deceived me" so he had resorted to making "every threat imaginable. I threatened to have him killed". After telling SV1 of his plan to kill him in the November 7 conversation, SV1 replied: "Knock me off - as in D E D?"
"Yeah D E D," Senior Constable Ryan said. But the deal had never been carried out. "That's heartening . . . well done," SV1 said.
Terry Lynch, counsel assisting the commission, accused Senior Constable Ryan of obtaining the money through the ATM robberies. "I put it to you that you, your brother Darren Ryan and [the security guard] were all involved in a series of robberies from ATMs at the end of 2001 and the money that you took to Melbourne was part of the proceeds from those thefts," Mr Lynch said.
He referred to tapes played to the commission earlier: "Those jobs you were referring to [were] those thefts of ATMs which were associated with Chubb Security, where you knew that [the security guard] was employed."
"That's not correct," Senior Constable Ryan said.
Earlier the commission heard Senior Constable Ryan had operated a frozen daiquiri business, Frozen Concepts, between January 2001 and December 2002 without a liquor licence.
The hearing continues today.