Miscarriage of

Justice
The Mickelberg Brothers
Contents
01 Elements
What is includedof
in aafair
Fair
trial Trial

02 The Mickelberg
Who they Case
are, what happened

03 Miscarriage of Justice
How was the miscarriage conducted, by whom

04 Conclusion
Final words and bibliography
Introduction

The case of the Mickelberg Brothers is tied to that of the

Perth Mint Swindle. This was a gold heist at the Perth Mint
where 68 kg of gold was stolen. The Mickelbergs were
framed by corrupt police officers who forced them to make
false confessions. This led to a miscarriage of justice where
they were placed in jail for many years.
Elements of a Fair Trial

Defendant told of Charge

The defendant has the right to be told of their
charge in detail before their trial

Fair Court
The defendant has the right to a fair and public
trial before a competent, impartial and
independent court

Trial Without Undue Delay

The defendant has the right to a trial without
undue delay keeping in mind reasons for delay
and length of delay
Right to a Public Trial Right to Legal Aid
All proceedings of court must be The defendant has the right to a lawyer
available to the public with some and if they cannot afford one, it will be
exceptions and rules paid for by the government

Right to Translator Confess Guilt

The defendant has the right to a The defendant has the right not to be
translator if they do not speak or compelled to confess guilt or testify
understand the language in court against themselves

Time to Prepare Presumption of Innocence

The defendant has adequate The defendant is also presumed innocent
time and facilities to prepare for until it has been proven beyond reasonable
the trial doubt that they are guilty
 The Mickelberg Brothers

Raymond Peter Brian

SAS and Vietnam veteran. He served Abalone diver who was first arrested Light plane pilot who was released in
8 of his 20 years before having his and beaten in a police interview. He 1984 after serving only 9 months in
conviction quashed. served 6 of his 14 year sentence jail. However, he died soon after in a
before being let go plane crash in 1986.
Events
•
On June 22, 1982, three men who called themselves Mr York, Mr Blackwood and Bob Fryer called the
Perth Mint and bought a total of 68 kg of gold
•
The gold, in the form of 49 bars was worth $653,000 at the time which is $6.4 million in today's money
•
The next day, it was found that the cheques were fake and the money wasn’t real
•
The cheques were found to have been stolen on two different occasions when bank buildings were
robbed and then set on fire
•
The police did not have a lot of leads and found nothing
•
On July 26, 1982, Peter Mickelberg was arrested and questioned by Don Hancock and Anthony
Lewandowski
•
He allegedly made a confession which included his brothers but did not sign the confession note
•
Police also performed several raids on Raymond Mickelberg’s home which were filmed by TV cameras
•
Gold and silver were found under his floor boards but there were receipts to show that they were
rightfully his
•
Raymond’s fingerprint was also found on one of the cheques
•
In 1983, the three brothers went on trial at the Supreme Court where Justice Des Heenan sentenced
Raymond to 20 years, Peter to 14 and Brian to 12
•
Their charges were: two counts of burglary, two counts of arson, three counts to the fraudulent
presentation of the cheques and a conspiracy to defraud the Director of the Perth Mint into giving
them gold without payment
•
Raymond and Peter were found guilty with all 8 of the charges while Brian was only charged with some
of the charges
Events
•
Over the years, the brothers appealed a total of 8 times, the last being the only fully successful one
•
Brian was partially successful in his appeals and was released in 1984 after only 9 months in jail
•
However, he died in a plane crash in 1986
•
In 1989, a portion of what could have been some of the stolen gold was left outside the channel 7
building with a note that claimed the Mickelbergs were innocent
•
Until then, none of the stolen gold had been found
•
Three months later more of the stolen gold was delivered to channel 7 with another note claiming
that the Mickelbergs had been framed
•
In 2002, one of the police officers, Anthony Lewandowski, confessed to framing the Mickelberg
brothers and tampering with the evidence for the case
•
Don Hancock had been killed in a car bombing in 2001 by a bikie gang so he never faced court or
charges for his part in the miscarriage of justice
•
With the new evidence, they appealed again which led to their conviction being overturned in 2004
with Raymond serving only 8 of his 20 year sentence and Peter 6 of his 14 years
•
Chief Justice David Malcom and Justice Christopher Steytler accepted the appeal and quashed
their convictions without a trial
•
Justice Michael Murray did not support this decision, believing that no miscarriages of justice have
occurred
•
Anthony Lewandowski was charged and sent to court but he committed suicide in 2004
 Events
•
In 2008, the brothers received a combined ex-gratia payment of more than $1 million from the
government 
•
The Mickelberg brothers have taken civil action against Anthony Lewandowski, Don Hancock and 5
other police officers who are believed to have assisted them in framing the brothers
•
In December 2007 the police publicly apologised to the Mickelbergs for the corrupt officers who had
framed them 
•
In 2009 the case was settled by a confidential payout to the Mickelbergs
•
The payout was believed to be six figure and the brothers had refused the $400,000 one offered to
them previously
•
The government had paid for most of their legal bills while they were in jail for their appeals
•
This fee came up to around $658,000 and was considered as part of their ex-gratia payment
•
In 2016, the Legal Aid Commision sued Raymond Mickelberg for unpaid bills dating back as far as
1990
•
The amount apparently unpaid by Raymond was more than $145,000 even though all their legal
expenses were supposed to have been paid by the government 
•
The Mickelberg brothers are now free but they had spent 3 decades of their lives in court battles
fighting for their freedom and compensation for their time in jail
•
The person really behind the Perth Mint Swindle is still unknown to this day
 Timeline of Events

5 weeks later June 23, 1982

blank bank cheques are
stolen from the Perth cheques found to be
Building Society building stolen and of no value
before it was set on fire

April 7, 1982 June 22, 1982

blank bank cheques are stolen
three men call and buy a total of
from the West Australian Building
Society building before it was set 68 kg of gold which was collected,
on fire cheques were handed in
 Timeline Continued

1982 1984
The brother’s house is An appeal is partially
searched by the police. successful and Brian has
Raymond’s latex hands his conviction quashed
are taken.

July 26, 1982 1983

Peter Mickelberg was arrested by trial ends and the
detectives and forced to confess to Mickelbergs sent to jail
the crime by police officer Don
Hancock and Anthony Lewandowski
 Timeline Continued

December, 1986 November, 1995

Raymond is allowed appeal on they appeal again with new
all of his charges as he said he evidence and the whole case
found new evidence regarding is referred back to the
the case Criminal Court of Appeal.
The appeal is unsuccessful.

1986 January, 1987

Brian dies in a light plane Peter Mickelberg presented a petition to
crash the Governor saying that he had also
found fresh evidence. Both said that the
police evidence including Raymond’s
fingerprint and the police interview
transcript were fake and forged. Both
 Timeline Continued

1998 2001
another unsuccessful Dan Hancock dies in a
appeal on the new car bombing
evidence

1998
a portion of what could 3more
months
gold arriveslater
at the
have been the stolen same building with
gold is left outside another note
channel 7 with a note
 Timeline Continued

June, 2002 Late 2004

Mickelbergs appeal for Mickelbergs have
the 8th and last time with convictions overturned
the confession as new and are set free from jail
evidence

2002 2004
Anthony Lewandowski Anthony Lewandowski is
confesses to framing the charged and sent to
Mickelberg brothers court but he commits
suicide
 Timeline Continued

2008 2009
the brothers receive a the case is settled
combined $1 million as through a confidential
ex-gratia payment payout to the brothers

December, 2017 2009

police publicly apologise the Mickelbergs take civil
to the Mickelbergs for the action against the police
miscarriage of justice
Miscarriage of Justice
•
Dan Hancock and Anthony Lewandowski as well as 5 other police officers were responsible for framing
the Mickelbergs
•
When Dan Hancock and Anthony Lewandowski arrested Peter Mickelberg for questioning, they beat him
and made him strip naked in order to force him to confess
•
However, Peter would not sign the confession note which had being forged by the officers
•
This note was later used as an important piece of evidence against the brothers in court even though it
was unsigned
•
It is one of the rights of the defendant to not be compelled to testify against themselves or confess guilt
to a crime
•
The police then forged part of the transcript for the interview to hide what they had done
•
Another piece of evidence planted by the police was one of Raymond’s fingerprints which was found on
one of the fake cheques paid to the mint for the gold
•
Raymond liked to cast hands in latex and other materials and had several pairs of his own hands at
home
•
When the police searched his house, they took some which were later returned to him
•
This means that the fingerprint found on the cheque may not have been from his actual finger as he had
never touched the cheque
•
The only time he touched the cheque had been when it was handed to him by the police
•
He had touched only the very edge so his fingerprint couldn’t have been left 
•
The police officers Dan Hancock and Anthony Lewandowski lied on oath on multiple appeals and in the
original trial
•
All of their actions were illegal and led to the miscarriage of justice
 Conclusion

The case of the Mickelberg Brothers is one with great miscarriage of justice.
The brothers were framed by corrupt police officers who had fabricated
evidence and lied under oath. They also beat one of the brothers during
an interview in order to force him to make a confession to a crime that he
did not commit. They made fake police interview transcripts, planted
fingerprints and lied about their actions in court. Brian died shortly after
being released from jail early while his 2 other brothers, Raymond and
Peter spent many years before being released. The brothers were sent to
jail for a crime they did not commit and ended up losing 3 decades of their
lives fighting for justice. 
Bliblography
Websites
Author Unknown, 31/7/2015, Attributes of a fair trial, https://www.alrc.gov.au
/publication/traditional-rights-and-freedoms-encroachments-by-commonwealth-laws-
alrc-interim-report-127/10-fair-trial/attributes-of-a-fair-trial/, 10/6/2023
Author Unknown, N.A, Fair trial and fair hearing rights, https://www.ag.gov.au
/rights-and-protections/human-rights-and-anti-discrimination/human-rights-scrutiny/public-se
ctor-guidance-sheets/fair-trial-and-fair-hearing-rights#:~:text=Fair%20trial%20and%20fair%2
0hearing%20rights%20include%
3A,or%20tribunal%20established%20by%20law., 10/6/2023
Author Unknown, N.A, Fair trial and fair hearing rights, https://humanrights.gov.au
/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/fair-trial-and-fair-hearing-rights, 10/6/2023
Pallaras, Stephen, 2/7/1999, The Mickelberg Saga and the Public Purse, https://clant.org.au/
wp-content/uploads/the-bali-conference/1999/Pallaras-Stephen-The
-Mickelberg-Saga-amp-the-Public-Purse-BampW.pdf, 12/6/2023
Bliblography
News Articles
Fairfax Media Australia, 2/7/2004, Mickelbergs win 20-year fight to clear their names,
https://www.smh.com.au/national/mickelbergs-win-20-year
-fight-to-clear-their-names-20040703-gdj95j.html, 1/6/2023
Fitzsimmons, Hamish, 19/1/2008, Mickelberg brothers vow to fight on,
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-01-19/mickelberg-brothers-vow-to-fight-on/1017342,
1/6/23
Mayes, Andrea, 1/4/2023, The other Perth Mint scandal: the Mickelberg brothers and the great
gold swindle, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-01/the-other-perth-mint-scandal-of-the-
mickelberg-brothers-swindle/102113790, 1/6/2023
 Bliblography
Videos
Two of us: The Mickelberg Brothers, 5/5/2010, video, SBS2, Clickview, https://
online.clickview.com.au
/exchange/categories/8306/personal-development/videos/39622162/two-of-us-the-mickelberg-brot
hers
,