Police News

The thief.

Alleged Crimes of the East

Words Gary Larson

Fraudster’s watery death

Facing prosecution and jail for an investment scam, Melissa Caddick walked to the cliff line near her luxury Dover Heights house. The tide was high, the waves rolling over the rocks below. She jumped over the edge.

That is the scenario police are now looking at after the discovery on the South Coast of a decomposed foot which has been DNA-matched to Caddick.

The businesswoman disappeared from her home at 5.30am on November 12 last year, the day after financial investigators raided the house.

While all the indications are that the 49-year-old took her own life, detectives have not completely ruled out the possibility she was the victim of foul play. Caddick did not leave a note, which is unusual in cases of suicide. And she had notched up her share of enemies, having defrauded superannuation clients out of $25 million-plus.

Documents lodged by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission have shown how the funds bankrolled a luxury lifestyle, with Caddick spending a fortune on designer accessories and overseas holidays.

Randwick man ran $500K car scam - police

A man is said to have run a scam selling non-existent classic cars from his Randwick unit - which allegedly yielded an Aladdin’s cave of luxury goods when police raided it.

Joshua Peter McIntosh, 51, was arrested at his Barker Street home by officers from Eastern Beaches Area Command. He was taken to Maroubra Police Station where he was charged with four outstanding warrants and 47 fraud-related offences.

Next port of call for McIntosh was Waverley Court, where he was remanded in custody after the court heard evidence he sold and took payment for more than 40 bogus vehicles worth more than $500,000. His victims are said to have come from all over Australia.

The vehicles are said to have included vintage and veteran cars like a 50-year-old Chrysler that an Adelaide con victim paid $26,000 for and never received. McIntosh is said to have found his victims through ads on Gumtree.

It is alleged McIntosh set up fake bank accounts to receive the funds for his bogus cars. In a search of McIntosh’s unit, police allegedly found a cache of designer handbags, watches and electronic goods.

Maroubra man jailed for big ice deal

A Maroubra man has been jailed over a $460,000 drug deal after his client in the transaction turned out to be a police informant.

The District Court was told Corey Spagnol, 31, a former member of the Finks bikie gang, organised the sale of 5 kilograms of methamphetamine. He set up the deal while on holiday in Bali, using an encrypted phone and referring to himself by the code name ‘The General’.

The court heard he had abused cocaine and steroids for ten years and had been attending drug counselling sessions since being released on bail.

Spagnol, the owner of a Botany-based demolition company, received a four and a half year jail term after pleading guilty to supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

Ex-priest charged with sexual assaults on boy, 9

A former priest was arrested at his Randwick unit and taken to Maroubra Police Station where he was charged with five counts of sexually assaulting a nineyear-old boy.

The arrest of Robert Maximus Blumenthal, 85, followed a police investigation into historical allegations of sexual abuse at two schools in Bathurst. It is alleged that Blumenthal committed the offences in the mid-1980s.

After a night in custody, Blumenthal appeared at Waverley Court where he was granted $10,000 bail. His case was adjourned to Bathurst Local Court on April 12.

Another man, aged 59, has also been charged as part of the same investigation and was arrested in Bathurst around the same time as Blumenthal.

Risky business

A young male P-plate driver stopped his car in an interesting position one night recently.

The VW Golf flipped and came to rest upside down in the middle of Mirrabooka Crescent, Little Bay.

To make matters worse, the driver allegedly tried to flee the scene and was restrained by residents until police arrived. And to make things worse still, it appears the red P-plater had been drinking. He was arrested by police and the matter is now before the courts.