The discovery in America after 35 years of a fugitive key figure in Australia's sensational Nugan Hand Bank scandal has created mounting interest in many quarters, especially Darwin . The bank was a front for the CIA and dealt in drugs , guns and money laundering . It has even been suggested it had a hand in the dismissal of the Whitlam government, diverting money to the Liberal Party for election campaigns.
As a result of the latest development , the New South Wales State Coroner , Michael Barnes, has reportedly said he would consider reopening the case into the suspicious shooting death of the bank's founder , Frank Nugan , 37.
Nugan, an Australian lawyer, reputedly associated with the Mafia in Griffith, was found shot dead in his Mercedes on January 27, 1980, near Lithgow , NSW, a .30 rifle found with his body. Intriguingly , in his briefcase was a list of prominent Australians in politics, sport and business , with handwritten amounts of money , some six figures, next to names . Also discovered in Nugan's wallet was a calling card from William E. Colby , a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and legal adviser to the bank .
At the first inquest into the death, held in the Lithgow courthouse in May 1980, there was a finding Nugan had died of a self inflicted shot to the head . Nugan's partner in the bank, Michael Jon Hand, a former US Green Beret ,who had served in Vietnam , told the inquest the bank was insolvent, owed at least $50million. Then, after destroying the bank's records, sporting a false moustache and possibly even a beard , see above, looking like a Marx brother , he flew out of the country on false identity papers to Fiji in June and seemingly vanished . As a CIA operative, it was said he probably re-entered the US and was given a new identity.
Midst ever astonishing revelations about the shonky bank in which many Australian investors lost money , attracted by the promise of high interest , it was suggested the body had been that of a drug dealer and that Nugan had faked his death and gone into hiding . If that was the case, who was the body in the Merc ? The body was exhumed after a statutory declaration statement Nugan had been seen in a bistro in Atlanta and , based on dental evidence , it was confirmed to be that of Nugan.
The co-founder of the bank, Hand, was recently tracked down by Sydney author, Peter Butt, to Ohio Falls, USA, where he is living under the name of Michael Jon Fuller and manages a business which makes tactical weapons for US Special Forces , hunters and others .
Nugan, an Australian lawyer, reputedly associated with the Mafia in Griffith, was found shot dead in his Mercedes on January 27, 1980, near Lithgow , NSW, a .30 rifle found with his body. Intriguingly , in his briefcase was a list of prominent Australians in politics, sport and business , with handwritten amounts of money , some six figures, next to names . Also discovered in Nugan's wallet was a calling card from William E. Colby , a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and legal adviser to the bank .
A bizarre report said a bible with the name William Colby, a Catholic, nicknamed "the warrior priest ", had also been found in the car. [It is interesting to note that Colby drowned in a lake under uncertain circumstances in 1996 when he went for a canoe trip alone late at night . His son subsequently was quoted as claiming his father had grown tired of life and burdened by his CIA involvement had taken his own life.]
The bank , founded in Sydney , had branches in the Cayman Islands, Chiang Mai , Manila , Singapore, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Taiwan and Washington.
At the first inquest into the death, held in the Lithgow courthouse in May 1980, there was a finding Nugan had died of a self inflicted shot to the head . Nugan's partner in the bank, Michael Jon Hand, a former US Green Beret ,who had served in Vietnam , told the inquest the bank was insolvent, owed at least $50million. Then, after destroying the bank's records, sporting a false moustache and possibly even a beard , see above, looking like a Marx brother , he flew out of the country on false identity papers to Fiji in June and seemingly vanished . As a CIA operative, it was said he probably re-entered the US and was given a new identity.
Midst ever astonishing revelations about the shonky bank in which many Australian investors lost money , attracted by the promise of high interest , it was suggested the body had been that of a drug dealer and that Nugan had faked his death and gone into hiding . If that was the case, who was the body in the Merc ? The body was exhumed after a statutory declaration statement Nugan had been seen in a bistro in Atlanta and , based on dental evidence , it was confirmed to be that of Nugan.
The co-founder of the bank, Hand, was recently tracked down by Sydney author, Peter Butt, to Ohio Falls, USA, where he is living under the name of Michael Jon Fuller and manages a business which makes tactical weapons for US Special Forces , hunters and others .
Confronted by Channel 9, Fuller/Hand retreated to his home and locked the door. Subsequently, his company reportedly issued on his behalf the following short statement : "A recent news story has surfaced from 60 Minutes Australia condemning Michael Fuller as a criminal because of an incident that occurred in Australia over 35 years ago. This is untrue and inaccurate. While we empathise with those who lost money , as with any investment, Michael Fuller is not to blame."
It has been pointed out that Butt was able to find Hand, yet the top security and detection organisations of Australia and America could not-despite the fact the runaway still had his original American social security number .
Furthermore, it has been published that only 2000 of the 18,000 pages of a royal commission and other reports into Nugan Hand have been declassified , indicating there is a massive cover up .
In a series which started in this blog in November 2010, it revealed a strange Nugan Hand connection with Darwin when detailing the story of the independent newspaper -The Darwin Star -named after the blood and guts Hong Kong Star , which kicked off soon after the 1974 Cyclone Tracy ( See THE DARWIN STAR MEDIA WARS, Parts l and ll .) Also mentioned was another strange American organisation in Darwin which called itself the Institute for Cultural Affairs, ICA for short ,which described itself as a supposed American Australian friendship organisation, believed to be a Central Intelligence Agency front.
In the posts we told how one of the principals in the Darwin newspaper, Sandra Byrnes, had been surprised to receive telephone calls from a person she believed to be Frank Nugan , above, who asked many questions about the paper and others interested in it .
There were astonishing revelations at a subsequent royal commission and a joint task force report on drug trafficking regarding the activities of the Nugan Hand Bank. It was said the bank had acted as a CIA front to finance the war in Laos by laundering drug money.
On the Australian front, Frank Nugan was even linked with the mystery disappearance of Griffith politician, Donald Mackay. The name of prominent businessman Sir Peter Abeles was mentioned as Hand, who migrated to Australia in 1967, had once worked for one of his Australian companies .
During the shock revelations and reports, Sandra Byrnes's ears pricked up when she heard the name of an American , a member of the odd Darwin organisation , the Institute for Cultural Affairs , who came to the newspaper office from time to time .
The very initials , ICA , could and were taken to really be the CIA. Three American families lived in the ICA compound in Parap Road , outside of which was a small brass plate with the letters ICA above the street number.
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Taekwondo exponent Kerry Byrnes, invited to odd ICA sing-a-longs , on his souped up ride on mower , about to cross Mason-Dixon Line .
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The folksy Americans approached Sandra's husband , Kerry , above , and invited him to join their organisation , which held picnics at places like Berry Springs, where they sang songs . It was not a religious group, extolled the American way of life, said Pine Gap was good for Australia and that the US was sorry so many people had been killed in Vietnam but Communism had to be kept at bay .
The ICA had presented poorly written press releases which were usually binned at The Star . However, the ICA newsletter was printed on the premises . What was plainly a public notice was presented as a news item and Kerry told them they would have pay for it as an advertisement. In the minds of many people in Darwin at the time , it was a CIA front.
As The Star grew in popularity, challenging the Murdoch owned Northern Territory News , various groups , including the Territory government tried to influence its content. A number of large media organisations showed and indicated an interest in the paper.
A strong approach was made by the well connected Jewish journalist, PR , politician ,organiser of Royal tours and a Papal visit , Sir Asher Joel , of Sydney, through one of his companies , Carpentaria Newspapers , Queensland. Joel, with backing from Mount Isa Mines, had forced News Limited to close the Mount Isa Mail .
Another organisation which "sniffed about "was thought to have been connected with the Sydney Morning Herald. There was hearsay that Sir Frank Packer's Consolidated Press had an agreement with Murdoch not to get involved with any competitive Darwin paper because ConPress had or was interested in the TV station.
Kerry Byrnes also received a number of unexpected calls from Catholic Action leader, B.A. Santamaria,who warned about the danger of allowing " Communist unions" into the newspaper. During one of these conversations , Santamaria addressed him as "son", and asked Kerry , a Catholic , where he had been educated. On stating Marcellin College ,Camberwell, Melbourne, run by the Marist Brothers , Santamaria said he knew it well .
At a Darwin location , quaintly described as being deep in horse shit and empty beer cans , a polo cross gathering at Fred's Pass, Kerry Byrnes ( not Packer) and The Star were soundly abused by a somewhat tired and emotional millionaire,who suicided some years later . In an unsolicited testimonial , the gruff fellow described The Star as a fucking , pinko, commie publication , or words to that effect . Furthermore, he said he would call in at the paper office on Monday and buy the wretched rag.
Unfortunately , he did not keep his promise , which would have produced a dramatic change in the lifestyle of Kerry and Sandra. They now run Arnhem Nursery at Humpty Doo.
For a highly detailed account of the Nugan Hand affair see Crimes of the Patriots : A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money and the CIA by respected Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Jonathan Kwitny and Google .
Unfortunately , he did not keep his promise , which would have produced a dramatic change in the lifestyle of Kerry and Sandra. They now run Arnhem Nursery at Humpty Doo.
For a highly detailed account of the Nugan Hand affair see Crimes of the Patriots : A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money and the CIA by respected Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Jonathan Kwitny and Google .
