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Andrew Perish was guilty of conspiracy because of his involvement in attempting to recruit Tod Daley. So too was Matthew Lawton, although Price noted that, ‘It is plain from the evidence that the offender was under the influence of and subordinate to Anthony Perish, with whom he had a long association. His culpability for the conspiracy to murder is less
than that of the other two offenders.' The judge accepted that Lawton had been at Turramurra when the toolbox arrived.

In general, his Honour said, ‘The Crown does not submit that this case falls within the worst category of murder and therefore attracts the imposition of a life sentence. There is no suggestion of future dangerousness.' As for Anthony Perish, his Honour accepted the account relayed by his psychologist that he'd lived in Queensland until the age of thirty-five, dealing in cars and later running his own excavator and bobcat business. But he was less sanguine than she about the convicted man's future prospects.

‘As [Anthony Perish] refuses to accept responsibility for the murder,' Justice Price said, ‘his prospects of rehabilitation remain guarded. I am unable to make a positive finding on the balance of probabilities that he is unlikely to reoffend or has good prospects of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, in the circumstances of the present case, I conclude that the offender's motive to avenge his grandparents' murders lessens the need for personal deterrence and protection of the community. The offender's lack of a prior criminal history of violence and good behaviour in custody re-enforces this conclusion.'

Andrew Perish also ‘has neither expressed nor shown contrition for the offence . . . He, also, has not accepted responsibility for his actions, and his prospects of rehabilitation remain guarded . . . Nevertheless, as in the case of Anthony Perish, I conclude that the offender's motive to avenge his grandparents' murders lessens the need for personal deterrence and protection of the community.'

His Honour acknowledged James Falconer's victim impact statement, noting this could not affect the sentences, and also
said the court acknowledged ‘the grief and distress of the deceased's family, and express on the community's behalf its sympathy and compassion for them'. He sentenced Anthony Perish to a total of twenty-four years with a non-parole period of eighteen. Matthew Lawton received twenty years with fifteen non-parole, and Andrew Perish got twelve years, of which he must serve nine.

The courtroom was packed, so most of the Tuno detectives who were there sat in a bunch in the business part of the room, off to the left side and only a few metres from the accused. As if to indicate the distance that existed between Jubelin and himself, Glen Browne stood down the back by the door. Anthony and Andrew Perish and Matthew Lawton listened to the judge's comments without showing any emotion, and when he was finished they calmly left the dock. There was only one exception, when Justice Price referred to the police's inability to find the people who had murdered Anthony and Frances Perish in 1993. At that point, Anthony Perish turned and stared at Gary Jubelin, long and hard. Maybe he still thought, despite all that had happened since, that the killing of Terry Falconer had been a job well done.

There were plenty of journalists outside the court, but the family members just wanted to get away. Tracey Perish walked off quickly, as did Sharon Miller and Matthew Lawton's aunt Leone Davidson. Liz Falconer headed in one direction, James in another, and Terry's brother Barry, who'd attended both trials, in a third. These days none of the Falconers speaks to the others.

Also in court that day was Janet Draper, mother of Ian, the barman who had made a statement in a matter involving
Andrew Perish and later disappeared. She was grateful for all the effort Strike Force Tuno had put into trying to discover her son's fate, and for their regular meetings with her. But at the moment she just felt numb.

These people cared deeply in their own ways about whether Terry Falconer's killers were brought to justice, but all they wanted to do now was to escape and grieve in their own private worlds. As a wise detective once said, it is necessary to solve homicide cases, so that people know they cannot kill with impunity. But even in successful murder investigations, there are no winners.

Meanwhile, in the labyrinth of low-ceilinged, concrete corridors beneath the old Supreme Court building, the convicted killers were led back to their cells to await the truck that would take them away to their own wretched futures.

•

The story of which Tuno was a large part was extraordinary. Putting all the pieces together, from the murders of Anthony and Frances Perish in 1993 to the sentencing of two of their grandchildren in 2012, this seems to have been the longest active inquiry in Australian history. Along the way there were three police investigations, a number of New South Wales Crime Commission references, two coronial inquests, one major murder trial, and much other legal and judicial activity.

Strike Force Tuno charged fourteen criminals with offences including murder, kidnapping, attempted murder, shooting, conspiracy to murder, firearms offences, armed hold-up, arson, break and enter, the large scale manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs, and fraud. Every charge resulted in a
conviction. Although one sometimes sees stories in the media about a large number of organised criminals being arrested and charged, it is rare to see such a successful outcome in the courts.

Someone who'd followed Tuno's progress with great interest for eleven years was Paul Jacob, who'd led the on-call team when Terry Falconer's body was found in the Hastings River back in November 2001. ‘Tuno was the most amazing job I ever came across,' he recalls. ‘It struggled from day one to get the support needed—no one realised back then how big it would become. Organised crime murders are rare, and they can be very difficult to uncover because of the nature of the criminals. In this case you had the management of the rollover informants, and then the way the arrests were managed at the end. I'm in awe of what was achieved.'

For Luke Rankin, now an inspector at Bourke: ‘Tuno was a big part of my career. It was a challenging investigation and the calibre of the leaders was high. I wish I'd been there at the end. It is really awesome to see how it unfolded.'

‘If you think of intensity, you think of Gary Jubelin,' says Andrew Waterman. ‘He could have been promoted higher if he wanted to, but I suspect he doesn't want that, because if he went any higher he'd lose all hands-on control. Tuno is very highly regarded, one of the premier murder investigations.'

Success was achieved at a cost. ‘Tuno is an amazing achievement, the biggest murder investigation in New South Wales and perhaps Australia,' says Pamela Young. ‘If anyone other than Gary had done it, it wouldn't have been half as successful. But you can't achieve that success without damage—he always wants more from people, and is such a hard man.' Some colleagues, she says, have been hurt. ‘I hope he can repair some of that.'

It is difficult, more so than most of us can imagine. ‘Homicide is the pinnacle of police work,' Waterman reflects. ‘Your head has to be in the right place, you have to be able to pay attention to the family of the victim and yet not let it get to you. If you're too emotional, you won't be a good homicide investigator. To be given a homicide investigation means you've been given the ultimate trust. It's very significant work because of the life and death aspect, and also because often the investigation is not quick or easy. I was rotated out after a long time, and I wouldn't have gone of my own volition. Maybe it was for the best, maybe you need a tap on the shoulder, sometimes.'

Says Pamela Young: ‘There is a certain thrill, an addictive element in the work, the sense in each case of going where no one's ever gone before. I am fascinated by human beings and why they behave the way they do. I take on an element of the tragedy, the trauma and anguish and anger. But I can't be deterred by that from doing a good job, I use it to give me motivation and energy. That's why I can expose myself to horrible people and scenes: it has an effect on me, but it doesn't discourage me.'

There are different ways of being a good homicide detective, but there is one quality they all speak of as vital: sheer, bloody-minded, often personally destructive, often provocative, determination.

Gary Jubelin: ‘That's a problem I have. Once I get hold of something, I find it hard to let go.'

At the time of this book going to print in mid-2012, Anthony Perish and Matthew Lawton had announced their intentions to appeal their convictions. The Director of Public Prosecutions was appealing the sentence of Brad Curtis, seeking to have his discount reduced because of his unhelpfulness at the trial of Terry Falconer's killers.

Nineteen years after their deaths, no one has been charged with the murders of Anthony and Frances Perish.

Strike Force Tuno (2001–2008)
*

SC Camille Alavoine

DSC Stephen Brown

DSC Glen Browne

DSC Sarah Clark

DSC John Edwards

DSC Jason Evers

DS Gary Jubelin

DSC Luke Rankin

DSC Mario Rubelj

DSC Nathan Surplice

DSC Nigel Warren

 

Strike Force Tuno 2 (2008–2011)
*

SC Camille Alavoine

DSC Stephen Brown

DS Glen Browne

DS Joe Doueihi

DSC John Edwards

DSC Simon Ellis

DSC Matthew Fitzgerald

DI Gary Jubelin

DSC Tim Kelly

DSC Roxane McGee

DSC Kaan McGregor

DS Glen Morfoot

DSC Brendan Plummer

DSC Peter Robinson

DSC Mario Rubelj

SC Joanne Sinclair

DSC Nathan Surplice

DSC Andrew Taylor

DSC Andrew Tesoriero

DSC Kelly Veness

DSC Patricia Walsh

*
   
There were also several dozen other officers working on Tuno in its early months

*
   
Two members of Strike Force Tuno 2 have asked not to be named
.

Most of the information in this book comes from evidence given at the trial of Terry Falconer's killers, transcripts of the inquests into the deaths of Anthony and Frances Perish, the agreed statements of fact provided to courts in the cases of criminals who pleaded guilty, court files, and conversation with police officers.

Many members of the New South Wales Police Force and related agencies I talked to asked not to be thanked here. I am grateful to them for their help, and also to Tim Archer and Mick Garrahy of Police Corporate Communications, and the following current or former homicide detectives: Joe Doueihi, Darren Edwards, Jason Evers, Matt Fitzgerald, Paul Jacob, Gary Jubelin, Luke Rankin, Andrew Tesoriero, Nigel Warren, Andrew Waterman, Michael Willing and Pamela Young.

I thank others connected with the investigation in various ways, who also asked not to be named. I did not seek interviews
with any of the accused men in the book because the people who run New South Wales' prisons deny writers access to the people in their care.

I thank those who work in our courts, including the coroner's court. Various officials were helpful with some of the practical issues in covering a long trial, while public information officers, judges and judges' associates assisted with access to information relied on here, and I am grateful for their assistance.

Parts of this story have been covered by dozens of journalists. In particular I acknowledge Geesche Jacobsen at the
Sydney Morning Herald
, Simon Lomax at the
Courier Mail
, and Janet Fife Yeomans at the
Daily Telegraph
. The work of Andrew Rule and John Silvester helped me with aspects of the career of Paul Elliott. I thank my editors at the
Sydney Morning Herald
and the
Sun Herald
, who enabled me to cover the trial and report on Strike Force Tuno more generally over a lengthy period. Two of those editors left Fairfax as the book was being finished, as I did too. Due to changes in newspapers, it is unlikely many books like this will be published in the future. Information in Chapter 4 about bikies and Strike Force Sibret comes from other articles I wrote for these newspapers. Statistics on the illegal drug industry are from various reports of the Australian Crime Commission. Details of the Jeffrey Hillsley case come from Nigel Warren's article ‘Who Do You Trust' in the
Australian Police Journal
, December 2006.

After I started to write the book, I learned of a forthcoming television series on the same subject, and my publisher decided to bring the book out at the same time as
Underbelly: Badness
. I am particularly grateful to those who helped produce it
so quickly, especially Margaret Connolly, Jane Palfreyman, Elizabeth Cowell, Denis Tracey, Jo Jarrah, and my family. The contribution of Bookhouse typesetters, who dealt with numerous changes, was heroic. At Radio National I thank Paul Comrie Thomson and Ian Coombe for tolerating my occasional need to be in the city's courts at short notice, and for their support more generally.