Australia: Unconfirmed Claims of Police Officer Involvement in Michael McGurk Murder
September 8th, 2009Via: The Australian:
THE NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is to investigate the murder of Michael McGurk, amid unconfirmed claims a police officer could have been involved in the Sydney businessman’s death.
NSW police and the corruption-fighting body met yesterday, with the police handing over undisclosed evidence, understood to include a tape recording that allegedly contains claims of government corruption related to the property sector.
A new twist in the increasingly murky case was aired on Seven Network news yesterday, with associates of Mr McGurk reportedly saying the businessman had told them he had visited Sydney’s Surry Hills police station just hours before he was murdered last Thursday.
They said Mr McGurk had feared for his life and that an influential Sydney businessman had bribed a corrupt detective to frame him. It was alleged the detective had become aware of Mr McGurk’s complaint and had contacted the business associate.
But NSW police quickly issued a statement hosing down the latest claims.
They said they had no record of Mr McGurk attending Surry Hills “or any other police station” on the day of his murder.
A police spokesman said Strike Force Narrunga, which is investigating Mr McGurk’s murder, was not investigating any allegation of police corruption made by Mr McGurk.
The ICAC said it was undertaking a “preliminary investigation” into Mr McGurk’s murder after meeting NSW police, but would not comment further.
Research Credit: cptmarginal
