Crime Does Pay. It's Like Making a Cake

Crime Does Pay 

Just like Making a Cake

The ingredients: -

Several Objects of Immense Value.

These Objects must have intrinsic Value.

2 or 3 seemingly intelligent crooks, (maybe dumb ones, will do.)

1 very Innocent or alleged Suspect Solicitor.

During 2007 Val and I had to travel to New Zealand for someone's important Birthday.

We had made a decision to go to the Waiouru Military Museum, which was situated about midway between Auckland and Wellington, Say 220 miles from Auckland. Val's Father had been killed in Egypt early in World War 11. We set off for Waiouru in a hired car and drove through Matamata off to left side of Hamilton. This little town was where ‘The Lord of The Rings' was filmed and the land of the Hobbits. For $50.00 each we could have wasted a lot of time. We went via Matamata as Val was born there many years ago. It did not actually look the place where a wonderful lady would have been created, even the coffee loungs looked weary like it was last visited when The Lord of The Rings was filmed.

Waiouru, which had always been a very large Army Base and during the latter years had become a Museum of New Zealand's Armed Services from their earliest settlement to the now time. As recent addition to the Museum, All personnel, whom were killed had their name entered on the ‘Wall of Honour. The Honour list gave their unit and the Date of Death. We had decided that we would travel there on our next trip to Auckland.

Waiouru is a small town in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on the North Island Volcanic Plateau at a height of 815 metres above sea level, 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu, and in the Ruapehu District.

The main attraction of Waiouru is the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum, opened in 1978, which features static displays of New Zealand's military heritage. The rest of the township consists of a small cluster of two garages, two petrol stations, a panel beater, two motels, two taverns, an internet cafe and seven cafe/restaurants spread along the highway. Nearby are the yards of a roading contractor and a maintenance contractor. A small supermarket is in the Army housing area two kilometres away.

North of Waiouru is the section of State Highway 1 called the Desert Road. This runs for 35 km through the Rangipo Desert to Turangi, at the southern end of Lake Taupo. Waiouru is a military town that has grown up in conjunction with the New Zealand Army Camp and the Training Group (ATG), which is responsible for the training of recruits and other soldiers. The Desert Road immediately north of Waiouru runs through the 870 km² army training area, which lies mainly to the east of the road. The Royal NZ Navy's Irirangi communications station with its huge antennae is 2 km north of Waiouru.

Waiouru Army Museum

Waiouru is on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, which came through in 1907. Waiouru Railway Station is the highest station (814 m) on the New Zealand rail system. The Overlander no longer (from April 2005) stops at Waiouru.

Seven kilometres to the west of Waiouru is the small settlement of Tangiwai, the site of New Zealand's worst railway disaster. On December 24, 1953 the overnight express from Wellington to Auckland passed over Tangiwai railway bridge just after it had been weakened by a lahar from Mount Ruapehu. The bridge collapsed, sending the train into the Whangaehu River, killing 151 people. Many army and naval personnel were involved in the rescue of survivors and the recovery of bodies. Sister Mortimer of the Waiouru Camp Hospital, "The Angel of Tangiwai," worked non-stop for three days tending the survivors and laying out the bodies

Scenario is as follows: -

Several Objects of Immense Value .and these Objects must have Intrinsic Value.

What objects in your mind can have these qualities?

In December 2007 some criminally minded scoundrels managed to break into this War Museum in Waiouru.

This despite of being a fairly significant Army Base, with active Army Personnel. Out of this very secure base these people managed to steal 100 Items that created a hue and cry the length and breadth of New Zealand. These stolen items caused an unprecedented rage throughout New Zealand, that by the End of the Year $300,000 reward being offered by British medal collector Lord Michael Ashcroft and Nelson businessman Tom Sturgess.

The reward was three times the highest previous reward offered by police.

"The reward was offered for information leading to the safe return of the medals. This reward of such an amount had never been offered so early and to such a high level of money. There is the Crime

Ask yourselves what was all the rage about and why the high reward?

No! Let me give you the follow through.

Enter the Innocent or Suspect Solicitor. He contacts the police with the information, that he can produce the said stolen items, for the $300,000.00 reward. That does sound like what every honest Solicitor would do. The next words were slightly ominous, as due to client confidentiality, he would not be able to give the names of the people concerned to the police. The Police apparently accepted these terms and agreed to pay the $300,000.00 for the said items being safely returned.

The making of the cake is like this.

The items are stolen (Mixed and stirred)

The have been indicated that they could be returned. (Baking)

The reward is mentioned and agreed on. (Cooling the Cake.)

Receiving the Reward. (Icing the Cake)

Contemplating the Simplicity of the Crime. (Eating your Cake.)

Enjoying the Cake. (It is all in the taste, Can we say stupid)

Their Stupidity. (Talking to a Newspaper Reporter.) (This is not scripted in the Cake Maker's cooking book.) Sorry the Reporter could not bring any names to the table through confidentiality.

Medals stolen from Waiouru Army Museum

Military medals stolen in a museum heist in December The priceless collection of 96 medals, awarded to 12 of New Zealand's most highly decorated war heroes, was stolen from the Waiouru Army Museum in the early hours of December 2. 2007

The medals included nine Victoria Crosses.

Medals stolen from Waiouru Army Museum recovered.

At a press conference in Palmerston North today inquiry head Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann said all the medals had been recovered yesterday in good condition and had been verified as being those stolen from Waiouru.

The medals were returned as a result of a $300,000 reward being offered last month by British medal collector Lord Michael Ashcroft and Nelson businessman Tom Sturgess.

The reward was three times the highest previous reward offered by police.

"The reward was offered for information leading to the safe return of the medals and that has encouraged a person to come forward and facilitate the return of the medals to police," Mr Bensemann said.

He would not say how much of the reward was being paid, but that "an amount" would be transferred to a third party on Monday, following several weeks of negotiations.

No immunity from prosecution or support for reduction in any sentence for any offender was given in return, he said.

"New Zealand Police celebrate the return of these national treasures. The recovery of the medals was the top priority. Nevertheless, our job won't be complete until we find the perpetrators of this burglary and bring them to court," Mr Bensemann said.

"What I can say is that the recovery of the medals has certainly narrowed the focus of the investigation, the net is closing and we are continuing to work very hard at pulling it tight."

The medals had now been sent for forensic examination, which could take some weeks.

Mr Bensemann urged the public to continue to come forward with information that may assist the inquiry.

Waiouru medal thief says 'sorry' to NZ

One of those claiming to be responsible for the theft of 96 priceless war medals from the Waiouru Army Museum apologised for the burglary.

An actor with a disguised voice appeared in place of the man on TV3's Campbell Live programme, amidst assurances that nothing that he had told the programme had been changed. 'We realised the historical value of what we'd done,' he said. 'We knew their value, just not how the public would react. 'We want to say sorry...

"We knew their value, just did not realize not how the public reacted. 'We want to say sorry to everyone in New Zealand, and we're just happy they've got them back in pristine condition. 'We made a big mistake and we regret it.' 'We decided to return them on our terms without being detected or caught.' He said that now 'everyone's happy'. The thief also told the programme that he had met with lawyer Chris Comeskey.

Announced on the Australian 702 Radio on last Saturday 1^st March 2007.

The Solicitor was alleged to be paid for his involvement. I do not know whether this happen ed or not.

The go-between who helped secure the return of 96 medals stolen from the Waiouru Army Museum has unmasked himself. He is Auckland barrister Chris Comeskey, who specialises in criminal law.

Mr Comeskey says the brazen way the raid was carried out meant only a small number of New Zealanders would have had the ability to pull it off.

He says he found out where the medals were in early January, after putting out a few feelers. The information came back to him by a combination of approaches on his part, and people calling his office.

Chris Comeskey says police have put no pressure on him to reveal his sources. He says client confidentiality rules would prevent him doing anything that might reveal who helped him get the medals back.

He says it has been a long road reaching the point at which the medals could be handed over, and he sometimes felt the deal was going to fall over.

Lawyer Chris Comeskey is hitting out at the media for hounding people it thinks might have been involved in the theft of war medals from Waiouru Army Museum.

His criticism follows a man's court appearance yesterday on burglary charges, unrelated to the theft of the medals. Some media apparently believe the man may be a police suspect in the medal theft, and were on the footpath outside court to challenge him.

After his appearance, reporters and photographers chased the man down the street. Mr Comeskey, who brokered the return of the stolen medals, was not in Auckland yesterday so says he cannot be sure the man being chased was his client.

But he says the actions taken by the media were a disgusting display of gutter journalism. Chris Comeskey says the media should stop speculating about who might have been involved in the medal theft.

Dob in medals crim says MP

22/02/2008 11:17:02

TV3 is being told to dob in its source on the Waiouru medal theft story.

United Future leader Peter Dunne is wading into the debate over last night's Campbell Live show in which John Campbell interviewed one of those responsible for taking the rare collection of artifacts from the Army Museum. He is accusing the programme of conspiring with lowlifes to get a fawning interview, solely to boost ratings and revenues.

Mr Dunne doubts TV3 has an obligation to protect its source in this case and demands the channel hands over its information on the person to police. He says if TV3 does not co-operate, police should raid its offices.

Lord Michael

Ashcroft who donated part of the Country's largest ever reward after the return of the 96 war medals stolen from the Waiouru Army Museum is thrilled that the Medals have been returned and does not mind that the thieves are being rewarded. His words, "that is what life is about. The Good and the Bad."

Saturday, 16 February 2008

"Groovy" was how Nelson businessman Tom Sturgess felt when police told him the reward he offered had led to the recovery of precious military medals stolen in December's museum heist.

Police announced today they had recovered the 96 medals - awarded to 12 of New Zealand's most highly decorated war heroes - stolen from the Waiouru Army Museum in the early hours of December 2.

The medals were returned as a result of a $300,000 reward being offered last month by British medal collector Lord Michael Ashcroft and Nelson businessman Tom Sturgess.

Mr Sturgess, a former US marine who fought in the Vietnam war, said his portion of the reward had been $100,000.

He was delighted at the police breakthrough, he said.

"I was pretty sad when it happened, I was lucky enough to be able to do a little bit to help. When everybody does a little bit, good stuff happens," he said.

"All New Zealanders have a sense of connection to the armed services, that's part of the history of this country, part of the soul of this country.

"I'm very pleased, very very happy, it's just wonderful."

Mr Sturgess said the $100,000 had been held in a trust by his lawyer since the reward was offered.

Lord Michael Ashcroft, a British peer and Victoria Cross collector, contributed the other $200,000.

He said last month he suspected the theft had been an opportunistic crime and he believed the medals were still in New Zealand.

He said he hoped the reward would flush out either an accomplice, relative or friend.

Lord Ashcroft is owner of the world's largest collection of Victoria Crosses.

Police would not confirm today how much of the reward was being paid , but that "an amount" would be transferred to a third party on Monday.

Note this Story of a Heinous Crime

On New Zealand's Famous War Medals

was not written by Robert Ludlum