Bennett Mark - Mirrors of death: the Great Bookie Robbery, part three

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Lee Bennett was born and raised in suburban Melbourne. A tradesman by nature, he worked for over ten years as a butcher in Broadmeadows and Ballarat before discovering his lineage as the son of notorious career criminal Ray Chuck Bennett. Since then he has dedicated himself to researching his family and the history of the Melbourne underworld.

First published in Australia 2015

This edition published 2015

Copyright Mark Bennett 2015

The right of Mark Bennett to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The information in this book is based on the authors personal experiences and opinions. The publisher specifically disclaims responsibility for any adverse consequences which may result from use of the information contained herein.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Bennett Mark

The Great Bookie Robbery Part 3: Mirrors of Death

ISBN: 9781925281668

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Port Campbell Press

www.portcampbellpress.com.au

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I dedicate this book to every family that has lost loved ones, and also to the many friends and family members that I have lost.

Chapter 1

Broadmeadows

I was born as Mark Lee Fowler in 1971 at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. My mothers name was June and my fathers name was Braydan. I grew up on Buckley Street, Essendon before the family moved to a new house on Graham Street, Broadmeadows.

As only a young boy, I can only remember occasional things from growing up. During the holiday periods, the family went camping at different sites around Victoria usually Blackwood, but sometimes along the Murray River or in Rosebud as well. The camp sites had been used by family and friends for decades. We also visited Ballarat on numerous occasions, as I had an older brother living there and playing football for Redan Football Club. We would travel up to Ballarat to watch him play on weekends.

On one weekend in 1979, the family and I were in Ballarat, at one of the local football clubs. I had been playing in one of the drains near the bike track at the back of the football field with a mate, Brett, who had come to Ballarat to watch my older brother play. While the match was on, I had slipped and fallen in the drain, and my head had gone under the slimy, dirty water. Three weeks later, I developed a major infection in my ears and nose from the dirty water. I was rushed to hospital and admitted for surgery; I had tubes inserted into my ears to drain and clear the infection.

On most occasions, we would get away as a family for Christmas or long weekends for holidays, to Blackwood or other sites. After I had the operation on my nose and ears, I wasnt allowed to get water in my ears as this would destroy the tubes, and create the need for another operation. This made it very hard as friends and family used to swim a lot in the local waterholes at Blackwood or up the Murray River.

Our families enjoyed the holidays and taking the time to swim and enjoy themselves, as there was a lot going on at the time. In 1976, Ray Chuck Bennett had masterminded the biggest armed holdup in Victorias history to date. It was about three years since Ray Chuck (who I would later learn was my biological father), Norman Lee (my uncle) and the rest of their crew had pulled off the robbery and were continuing to avoid the police and the media. They also had to dodge the Toe Cutters, a Sydney-based gang that used to extort the proceeds from underworld gangs that did armed holdups. Ray Chuck also had to contend with the Kane brothers and corrupt police officers. Family and friends kept very close to the crew, and had continued to meet up with Norman, Ray Chuck and the rest of the crew at various camp sites around Victoria. No one had been charged with the robbery Norman Lee had been acquitted of charges but the investigation continued.

I was only young at the time of the bookie robbery, about five years of age. That one robbery affected my family, and the families of the rest of the crew, for decades. In the 118 calico bags stolen from the bookmakers, jam-packed with untraceable notes, there were also documents. The information was incriminating for a wide variety of officials connected to the Victoria Club, and made a lot of people nervous.

At the same time there was a death in the family. Raymond Patrick Chuck Bennett was on a minor gun charge while he was being escorted from Pentridge Prison to the City Courts on Russell Street on the 12th of November, 1979. When Ray Chuck entered the courthouse, he was shot three times outside Courtroom 10.

At the time, Ray Chuck was in remand for two charges: the minor gun charge, and an armed robbery on the Bond weaving mill in Yarraville, stealing $70,000 dollars. He was escorted into the courtroom by two police officers that flanked Ray Chuck as he approached the courtroom. They released the handcuffs and walked off, leaving Ray Chuck. Rays son Des my half-brother was sitting outside the courtroom with the rest of the family, and attests that he heard the policemen threaten Ray Chuck before the gunman shot Ray and ran out the courts unhindered, despite the presence of so many police officers.

Ray Chuck collapsed out front of Courtroom 11. He was rushed to St Vincents Hospital, and later died after 68 minutes on the operating table.

Around two weeks after Ray Chuck was shot in the City Court, I was admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital, still feeling the effects from the fall in the drains at Ballarat, for the ear and nose operation. I was only eight years old, and had no idea that Ray Chuck was my biological father. I was told later in life 31 years of age that I was Ray Chucks son, and I had a DNA test to prove this.

After the operation, while I was recovering, I had woken up to find that in the bed next to me was my football coach, Allan. He was the under nines coach at Broadmeadows Football Club. Hed had the same operation as me. I spoke to Allan and also his son at the hospital; I played football with Allans son at the Broady Bandits, and we both attended Campmeadows Primary School.

After spending around two weeks in hospital, I was discharged. However, while in hospital the doctor had put too much anaesthetic in my system, so once I was released I had to use a wheelchair. The doctors had overdosed me; a simple error, but it left me incapacitated for four weeks.

After getting back to Graham Street, Broadmeadows, I couldnt walk or talk or eat. I had no feeling in my legs and hands. My parents had to feed and shower me. My parents were going to sue the hospital for damages, but decided they wanted to wait for the right time. After a month or so I was stable enough to go back to playing football in the under nines at the Broadmeadows Football Club. The coach, Allan, was also back on his feet after his operation.

I had knocked around with Allans son and many boys from the football club and Campmeadows Primary School, alongside many friends from the local area of Broadmeadows and Jacana. It was around four months since being discharged from hospital, and around the same amount of time since Raymond Patrick Chuck Bennett was shot dead. The police claimed that the shooting of Ray Chuck was most likely a revenge killing for Lesley Kanes recent disappearance. From the familys perspective, it still didnt add up that the shooting happened right opposite the biggest police station in Australia at the time, and with many police officers there on the day of the shooting.