Casefile True Crime - Case 24: Russell Street Bombing (Part 2)

Episode Date: July 10, 2016

[Part 2 of 2] We left part one just after the government announced a 500 thousand dollar reward for any information to help solve the case. It was hoped this large reward would be enough to entice a male caller to make contact again. He had already called numerous times before, claiming to know who the bombers were… For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-24-russell-street-bombing-part-2

We left part one just after the government announced a $500,000 reward for any information to help solve the case. It was hoped this large reward would be enough to entice a mail caller to make contact again. Police staked out phone boxes in the St Kilda area in the hope that the caller wouldn't be able to resist the huge reward. While waiting to hear from him again, police received hundreds of other calls from members of the public. One female witness was of major interest.

She said she saw a man getting out of the bomb car on Russell Street about 12.30pm, half an hour before the explosion. An identity kit sketch was made up of the man she saw. Detectives started to get excited when they felt the sketch resembled somebody who they knew well, Claudio Crupi. He was known to have a hatred of police and held a special grudge against one particular detective in the Magic Crime Squad. When detectives started digging around Crupi, they got even more excited when they received

information he was seen with sticks of jellignite, the morning of the bombing. Things got more interesting when Crupi's neighbours reported he left home before the bombing. Crupi returned home after the bombing, and then he quickly left town and hadn't been seen since. Search warrants were carried out at Crupi's house and at houses he was known to frequent. Nothing of interest was located, including Crupi himself. They were unable to check him down.

A few hours after the bombing, when all of the police resources were in Russell Street dealing with the aftermath, a bank robbery was committed in Donvale, a suburb of Melbourne about 20km or 12 miles away from Russell Street. You couldn't pick a better time to rob a bank. The getaway vehicle used was a stolen, special edition Peter Brock Holden Commodore. It was found on the 7th of April, 11 days after the bombing and bank robbery. This located at Underwater in the Yarra River near Wonga Park, not too far away from where the bank robbery was committed.

A alarm bell started to ring when it was discovered that the shazzy number had been drilled through, exactly the same as what was done in the bomb car. This unusual method of drilling through the shazzy number and the fact the vehicle was used in a bank robbery when all available police resources were assisting with the bombing led police to believe the two cars were connected. Despite the shazzy number being drilled out and the vehicle having no plates, police were able to identify the Brock Commodore found in the river. It was a special addition, not exactly a common car.

It turns out the registration was CCH 997 and those registration plates had actually turned up three weeks before the bombing. The plates were found in the boot of yet another stolen car that was involved in a police chase. The car crashed but the driver was able to get away by stealing another car at gunpoint. Detectives quickly questioned the officer who was involved in the chase. He did get a glimpse of the driver, so they showed him a whole heap of mug books in the hopes he could pick out a face.

And they were in luck. The officer picked out a man by the name of Peter Reed. You haven't heard his name until now, but I have spoken about him. He was the suspect at the very start of this story who was under police surveillance in the morning of the bombing. The suspect driving the red Jaguar. That surveillance operation was totally unrelated to the bombing. He was under surveillance because he was a suspect for several violent bank robberies.

While some detectives were trying to piece together the stolen cars and Peter Reed's involvement, others were still working hard on who was their number one suspect, Claudio Crupi. And on the 15th of April they finally caught up with him and he was arrested. He denied having anything to do with the bombing and he denied being seen with Jellignite on the morning of the bombing. His story was that he was actually making a fake bomb that he intended to throw through the window of Flemington police station just for a scare.

Flemington station isn't too far away from Russell Street. It seemed ludicrous, but it actually turned out to be true. Crupi couldn't have picked a worse day to make a fake bomb, but he was eventually eliminated from the Russell Street investigation. The day after Crupi's arrest and release, the 16th of April, the unknown caller got back in contact with the Victorian police commissioner. The lure of the big reward had worked. As soon as the call was made, detectives in the area headed for the phone boxes in St

Kilda where the other calls had come from. A detective grabbed the phone off one man and on the other end was the Victorian police commissioner. They had just found their unknown caller. The man was a chemist, Vladimir Richter, and it didn't take long to work out he knew absolutely nothing about the bombing or who was involved. He was charged with hindering a police investigation. Many many hours had been wasted investigating these calls and staking out phone boxes in

St Kilda, all for nothing, a complete waste of time. Vladimir was later sentenced to two-month jail for his efforts. On the 20th of April, 24 days after the bombing, Constable Angela Taylor lost her battle. Her funeral was attended to by over 1,000 people, 500 of her fellow officers lined up outside the chapel forming a long guard of honour. Constable Angela Taylor became the first female officer to die in the line of duty in Australia. Constable Taylor's death only made the police more determined to find out who was responsible. Creepy had been cleared, the unknown caller had been found and he knew nothing.

That left Peter Reid and the stolen cars. He's being picked out of a mugbook by the officer involved in the police chase. Peter Reid had been placed under close surveillance for a second time. Everywhere he visited, everyone he spoke to, it was all recorded. Now remember, Reid hadn't been seen in the Brock Commodore. He was driving another stolen car with the registration plates of the Brock Commodore in the boot. That's how he was linked to the car.

And that car was used in the bank robbery a few hours after the bombing and had its chassis number drilled out in the same way as the bomb car. Which was unusual and something police hadn't encountered before, it was a unique M.O. That's how Reid and the cars were linked to Russell Street. Police weren't exactly sure what his involvement was, if any. Maybe he just supplied the getaway car. Maybe the cars with the drilled out chassis numbers were just a coincidence. Or maybe he was a major player.

It was time to find out. Peter Reid was living in Alpine Crescent, Calista. Calista is just outside the metro area of Melbourne, about 36 kilometres or 22 miles from the city. It was the 25th of April, near one month after the bombing and police were ready to bring Reid in. They had enough evidence on him for the police chase and other crimes not related to Russell Street.

But they did plan to interview him about the bombing as well. Police kicked in his door in the early hours of the morning, a pre-dawn raid. Some officers made their way right, while two officers opened the door to a bedroom on the left. Reid was waiting for them. He was kneeling on the bed, pointing a gun straight at them. The officers moved out of the bedroom doorway and screamed at him to drop his gun. Reid responded by firing at them, screaming, take me out, take me out.

Police returned fire. Officer Mark Wiley was shot in the exchange, before Reid himself was shot twice. Reid was hit making his way from the bed, sweeping around the bedroom, so he could get a clearer shot at police. But Reid was put down before he was able to hit any other officers. The gun was kicked out of his hand and he was handcuffed. And the ambulance was called to take Officer Wiley and Peter Reid to hospital. Crime scene examiners were waiting outside, ready to comb the house for any forensic evidence

that could link Reid to the bombing. Things were now a bit more complicated. The scene would have to be processed in relation to the shooting as well. Two crime scenes in one. So what did they find? Well something immediately stood out on the gun Reid was shooting at police with. The serial number had been drilled through, in exactly the same manner as the bomb car and the Brock Commodore.

They also found a shotgun underneath Reid's pillow. The serial number had been drilled through that as well. In the lounge room they found a heap of different stolen registration plates. And three more shotguns. Two with the serial numbers drilled through. And then the jackpot. Two detonators found inside a bag, as well as four sticks of gelignite individually wrapped in newspaper.

Both the detonators and gelignite matched the ones used in the Russell Street bombing. They also found a hand grenade, knuckle dusters, stolen car parts that were from the Brock Special Edition Commodore, and police scanners. Wire found in his place was cut with the same tool used to cut the wires on the bomb. The tool used to cut the wire had left a distinctive mark, much like a fingerprint. Not only that, they found plastic bread crates inside the house. Remember the robbery committed at Brayside six weeks before the bombing, where the bread crates, cigarettes and confectionery were stolen.

The bread crates were then used to put the bomb in, while the bread crates that were found at Peter Reed's house matched the one stolen from the Brayside robbery. Police were able to pull a fingerprint off the newspaper that the gelignite was wrapped in. The print belonged to Rodney Minogue. Rodney's brother Craig Minogue had also left a fingerprint on the toilet door. The Minogue brothers were both well known to police and had served jail time. They were added to the suspect list.

At the same time that Peter Reed's place was raided, a raid was also done on his brother Stephen's house. Stephen lived in Baronia, about a 25 minute drive away from Peter's place. Inside Stephen's, police found a chamois, two tracksuit tops, a red-handled screwdriver and a tow rope. The reason these items were of interest was because they were reported as missing from the bomb car. The owner of the bomb car later identified the items found in Stephen's as belonging

to him. They also found a drill bit with paint fragments on it, identical to paint from the bomb car, and a number of guns with the serial numbers drilled through. Another person police were keen to speak to was Carl Zelinka. Carl didn't have a criminal record at all, he was totally clean. He lived in Harris Avenue, Nanna Wadding, the house where the police surveillance team followed Peter Reed to on the morning of the bombing. Carl lived there with his girlfriend Karen.

Police conducted a search of his place and they found cigarettes and confectionery that matched those stolen from the Brayside robbery, where the bread crates were stolen as well. They also found a sawn-off shotgun. During questioning Carl denied knowing Peter Reed at all. Police of course knew this was a lie because they had seen Reed at his house during surveillance. He said he had no idea who the Minogue Brothers were either, he had never heard of them. Police were unable to locate the Minogue Brothers, word on the street was they had skipped town after the bombing.

Both Peter Reed and Officer Mark Wiley made a full recovery from their gunshot wounds. On the 3rd of May Reed was out of hospital and at the police station being questioned. He denied having anything to do with the bombing and refused to answer any questions about the Minogue Brothers or Carl Zelinka. Police were still processing all of the forensic evidence, they didn't have enough to pin the bombing on him directly but they certainly felt he was involved somehow, given what they had found. They did have enough to charge him with shooting at police, so he was held on that charge while

the investigation continued. Despite the fact that nobody was talking, police were able to find the link between Peter Reed and Rodney Minogue, they had served jail time together. So that explained the connection and why Rodney's prints were inside Reed's house on the Jellignite. It was through Rodney that Reed then met his brother Craig Minogue. They found something else interesting. In their files was a report of a vehicle that Craig Minogue was seen getting into after

an unrelated court appearance from back before the bombing. The vehicle belonged to Carl Zelinka. So much for Carl not knowing the Minogue Brothers. Police went back and spoke to a number of Carl Zelinka's neighbours, they easily identified the Minogue Brothers, saying they were at Carl's place all the time. So why was Carl Zelinka lying? On the 14th of May police paid another visit to Carl Zelinka, but any other crime scene examiners had worked out something else about the bomb.

So the alarm clock was attached to a piece of metal, which was then attached to the wooden fence post. Up until this point they had struggled to work out where the piece of metal was from, but now they knew. It was a handle from a metal rubbish bin. When they went back to visit Carl Zelinka, they saw attempts had been made to cut the handle off his metal rubbish bin. Whoever made these attempts had failed and the handle was still there.

But the lid was missing. The lid would have had a handle as well. Carl said he wasn't sure where his bin lid was, or where the cut marks came from on the side handle. Up until now police had also failed to find out where the wooden fence post had come from that the alarm clock was attached to. It didn't match any of the fences at the houses they had visited so far. But that day, the 14th of May, that little issue was solved as well.

A detective had a look at a few of Carl's neighbour's fences. Much to his delight, he found a perfect match. It was hidden behind a large tree and wasn't immediately obvious, but he found it. Carl's neighbour's fence had been cut and it was a perfect match to the fence post found on the bomb. Within their discoveries, police formed the opinion Carl's house was where the bomb was made, bomb HQ as they called it. And that was finally enough for Carl.

He had remained silent and played dumb up until that point, but the evidence had become too much. He said he would tell police everything he knew if they gave him, his girlfriend and his family protection. Police agreed and his interview took several days. Carl's story was that Craig and Rodney Minogue actually lived with him at Harris Avenue and Peter Reed was close friends with them and visited all the time. Carl says he was talked into helping Reed and Craig Minogue do the robbery on the milk

bar in Brayside, six weeks before the bombing, where the bread crates, cigarettes and confectionary were stolen. Carl identified the bomb car as being at his place before the bombing, as well as the special edition Brock Commodore. He saw explosives in his garage one day and he asked Craig Minogue what they were for. Craig told him he had better forget what he had seen. Craig also had a bull terrier puppy who swept on a red and cream coloured blanket. Remember a red and cream coloured blanket with bull terrier dog hair was found inside

the bomb car. Peter Reed wasn't the only visitor of the Minogue brothers either. A person who Carl only knew as Stan the Man was hanging around all the time as well. The day before the bombing, Craig Minogue organised and paid for a trip away to Sydney for Carl and his girlfriend. When they got back from their trip after the bombing, Craig and Rodney were both moving out. Craig told Carl before he left that he had better get rid of his rubbish bin lid.

Carl agreed and took it to the dump. It was missing its handle. It was all starting to come together. Based on Carl's statement, police charged Peter Reed and his brother Stephen. This was Peter Reed's response when he was being escorted to court just after finding out he had been charged with the Russell Street bombing and the murder of Constable Angela Taylor. Police knew who Stan the Man was too.

He was Stanley Brian Taylor, born on the 28th of September, 1937. He was no relation to Constable Angela Taylor. Stan had a lengthy criminal record. He was sent to a boy's home when he was just 8. It has since come out that boys at this home were severely abused and it's here that Stan says he first learned about crime. His first arrest came when he was just 12 for stealing fish. He moved on to vehicle theft and break-ins before eventually committing a string of violent

armed robberies. He was sent to jail but managed to escape. During his escape he held up seven banks in five days before being recaptured. He was eventually released from jail legitimately in 1978 at 40 years of age. He had spent most of his life locked up. Upon his release he vowed to change. He was quoted saying, I've done my time. There are a lot of young people who are down, who are unemployed, who could be thinking that

crime is the answer. My message is that crime is never the answer. I have not met one person, not one, who has had a successful life because of crime. Stan got a job as a project officer for the Commonwealth Youth Support Scheme, helping guide troubled youths back on the right track. Stan the reformed prisoner who could warn of the perils of choosing a life of crime. One of those troubled youths he helped was Craig Minogue. Police were about to find out the truth about Stan Taylor.

He wasn't helping anybody. He manipulated and moulded troubled youths to work for him. Craig Minogue was his best student. Craig introduced his brother Rodney to Stan and Rodney in turn introduced Peter Reed to Craig and Stan. Stan referred to their little gang as the animals and the boys. Armed robbery and vehicle theft was their specialty. Stan left his job as mentor for troubled youth.

He continued to live a double life though. He moved to the small country town of Berchip which is 310km or 190 miles northwest of Melbourne. Population less than 1000 people. He told the locals he was a retired horse trainer looking forward to a quieter country lifestyle. He got involved with the local football club and he was even friendly with the local police who didn't know his real history. Stan was known as a top bloke amongst the locals, very friendly and down to earth.

The task force detectives tracked Stan to Berchip and organised a pay him a visit. It just so happened police had finally tracked down the Minogue brothers as well, to the same small country town of Berchip. They lived in a different house to Stan Taylor but they were living in the same town. Police raided both houses at the same time, 2am on the 30th of May. Stan Taylor was arrested without incident but the Minogue brothers weren't home. Stan Taylor knew where they were though and he was only too happy to assist police. Both Minogue brothers were arrested without incident at a motel in Swan Hill at 5am later

that morning. Swan Hill is about an hour's drive away from Berchip. Stan Taylor denied having any involvement in the bombing. He admitted making regular visits to Carl's Lincoln's house in Harris Avenue. He even admitted he was there the morning of the bombing but he says he left well before anything happened. According to Stan, Peter Reed, Craig and Rodney Minogue were the ones who were responsible. He was only too happy to throw him under the bus.

Craig Minogue gave police his name and his address during his interview but that was it. He refused to answer any other questions, didn't say a word, just sat there with a smile on his face. Rodney Minogue was happy to talk though. He told police Stan Taylor was the one who was responsible for the bomb. A search of Stan Taylor's house didn't turn up any evidence relating to the bombing, however they did find a stolen car.

At the Minogue Brothers house they found a loaded shotgun, police skinners and Craig's bull terrier dog. The hairs on the dog were a match to the dog hairs found on the blanket inside the bomb car. They also found a high speed engraving device, the end of which was a perfect match to the holes that were drilled through the shazzy numbers in the bomb car and the Brock Commodore and the serial numbers on the firearms. They also found a storage unit that Craig Minogue had rented in Aubrey.

Aubrey is a regional city area in New South Wales but it is directly on the border of Victoria, about a four hour drive away from Melbourne. In that storage unit they found detonators that matched the ones used in the bombing, an explosives handbook and a pair of tin snips. The tin snips were matched as being the tool used to cut the wires on the bomb. They also found sockets that were missing from a tool set and they were matched to sockets used as shrapnel in the bomb. Things weren't looking great for Stan Taylor either.

When he was arrested two other people were also arrested in his house, Paul Hetzel and his wife Julie Hetzel. Paul met Stan Taylor in jail. Paul was serving a 22 year sentence for armed robbery and the attempted murder of a police officer so he got on well with Stan, to the point where Paul says they were best friends in jail. When Paul got out of jail he hooked back up with Stan. This was at the time when Stan was working with Craig and Rodney Minogue and Peter Reed.

Paul helped commit a number of armed robberies with them and Paul was also with them when they broke into the mine and stole the Jellignite and detonators. He saw Craig Minogue and Stan Taylor doing some bomb testing with the Jellignite out on a remote property in country Victoria. If that wasn't enough Paul says he also heard Craig Minogue, Stan Taylor and Peter Reed talking about blowing up police headquarters. In fact Paul says Stan Taylor had been talking about blowing up Russell Street since he was in jail.

Paul Hetzel was part of the crew and he was facing some serious jail time for the armed robberies. Police suspected he had far more involvement in the Russell Street bombing than what he was letting on but they could never put him at the scene. So they allowed him to turn crown witness and the information he provided was vital to the prosecution case. In exchange for his testimony his charges were dropped and he was put into witness protection. Peter Reed, his brother Stephen, Craig and Rodney Minogue and Stan Taylor were all charged

with the murder of Constable Angela Taylor. The attempted murders of Constable Carl Denadio and Magistrate E.M. West as well as a number of other charges relating to the bombing, possessing explosives intentionally causing serious injury, intentionally causing damage and a whole heap of other charges. Charges for the break-in and theft of Jellignite from the mine and for the Brayside robbery, the vehicle thefts and a number of other armed robberies including the one at Donvale on the day of the bombing were also added. Peter Reed was 29, his brother Stephen was 25, Craig Minogue was 24, Rodney Minogue was

21 and Stan Taylor, who a few years earlier was supposed to be guiding these troubled youth out of a life of crime, was 49. After a committal hearing the charges against Peter Reed's brother Stephen were dropped. He only ended up facing charges in relation to possessing stolen property. The charges against Rodney Minogue were downgraded to being an accessory. However the charges against Peter Reed, Craig Minogue and Stan Taylor proceeded. The trial began in March 1988 in Melbourne Supreme Court. They all pleaded not guilty. The prosecution alleged that the bomb car was driven to Russell Street by Peter Reed

and Craig Minogue. Stan Taylor followed them there driving the stolen Brock Commodore. Once the car was parked on Russell Street Peter and Craig jumped in the Brock Commodore with Stan. They waited nearby for the explosion and when it went off they clapped and cheered and high-fived each other, unable to contain their excitement. Their only regret being that they didn't kill more police officers. Their original plan was for the bomb car to be driven down to the underground car park underneath headquarters. However they had concerns about getting past security. They then took advantage of the chaos and went out to Donvale to commit the bank robbery.

The trial went on for months, the sheer amount of forensic evidence taking an age to get through. The jury reached their verdict on the 12th of July, four months after the trial commenced. Stan Taylor and Craig Minogue. Guilty. Rodney Minogue on being an accessory. Guilty. The jury needed more time in relation to the verdict of Peter Reed. They reached their decision on him the next day. The shootout with police when he was arrested. Guilty. The murder of Constable Angela Taylor and all of the other associated Russell Street bombing charges. Not Guilty.

It's thought they reached that verdict due to the fact he was under police surveillance on the morning of the bombing. He was seen driving to Carl's and Linker's house in Harris Avenue, Ngunna-Wadding but he was never seen to leave the house. It was the prosecution case that he left in the bomb car, which the surveillance police had no idea about. So that's how he was able to get by them. And when the bomb went off, the surveillance team were called into Russell Street to help, so they weren't around to see anyone return to Harris Avenue. However, the jury went satisfied there was enough evidence to convict Reed and he was acquitted. Stan Taylor was sentenced to life in prison, never to be released.

Craig Winogue was also sentenced to life in prison, but he was given a non-parole period of 28 years. Two years into that sentence, he was found guilty of bashing a fellow inmate to death, using weights in a pillowcase. He was given another life sentence, but he was allowed to serve it at the same time as the life sentence he already had. Meaning, despite being convicted of a second murder, he wouldn't serve any extra jail time for it. He is eligible for parole in August this year. Peter Reed was sentenced to 13 years' jail for a tented murder, relating to the shootout where he shot Officer Mark Wiley. He was given a non-parole period of 9 years. He was released in 1995. The officer he shot, Mark Wiley,

made a full recovery from his gunshot wounds, but tragically took his own life in 2004. Roddy Minogue immediately appealed his accessory conviction in relation to the Russell Street bombing, and he was actually acquitted of all those charges. But he did serve some jail time in relation to the armed robberies. It's thought that Stan Taylor was the main man behind the bombing, and would have been the one who built the bomb, or at least played a major part in its construction. Stan Taylor always said that if he was ever suffering from a terminal illness, he would strap a bomb to himself and walk into Russell Street, blow himself up, and take as many police as he could with him. Well, he is now suffering

from a terminal illness, and prison officials say he is gravely ill. But he is never getting out. The motive for the bombing? They had all been arrested before. They had also jail time, and they resented their sentences. A life of crime and jail had brought a deep hatred of authority, especially police. When the bomb went off, they clapped and cheered, but also had a feeling of disappointment that they didn't kill more police officers. They wanted to kill as many as they could. The bomb wasn't aimed at anybody in particular, just any police officer who happened to be nearby. And if they got an innocent bystander, so be it. The bomb was set for lunchtime, maximizing the chances of there being more

people outside. There's a very common thing for school children to be taken through the Russell Street Police Headquarters building on school excursions. And where they lined up waiting to go in was along the wall, directly next to where the bomb car was parked. It's extremely lucky there were no excursions booked in for that day. Craig Minogue says he's completely reformed and has apologized for his part in the bombing. He has completed a number of Bachelor of Arts degrees in prison and other qualifications, and is one of the few prison inmates to have achieved a PhD. He got that in Applied Ethics, Human and Social Sciences. He says he plans to repay the community by accepting his sentence, admitting his guilt

and saying he is sorry, making an effort to rehabilitate himself and by not reoffending upon his release. There are those that think his apology and displays of remorse are very well timed. Craig Minogue is eligible for parole in August this year, just a few months away. His apology and displays of remorse only came in recent times. For many, many years he refused to acknowledge his part in the bombing or say he was sorry. Now it's up to the parole board to determine if he is still a danger to society.