IT WAS A CONCISE AND UNAMBIGUOUS opinion delivered forthrightly by the former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Les Ayton. He was giving evidence in an inquiry into a botched investigation of diamonds stolen from the fabulous Argyle Diamond Mine. About $100m worth, according to some reports. Mr Ayton told the inquiry that a former police officer who did ‘character checks’ for the company was “corrupt to the core.” He was referring to my old bête noir, Colin ‘Burns’ pace.
“Pace [was] crooked as a dog’s hind leg.”
Mr Ayton told the inquiry that, “Pace is an ex-chief inspector who was corrupt to the core. He’s a person who, the unfinished inquiry that I had to finish off, and we bundled him out of the job because the Commissioner [Mr Brian Bull] decided we shouldn’t charge him. But I had recommended that we charge him with two criminal counts and six disciplinary counts. He’s corrupt to the core.”
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