Newcastle Narco's!

[Ryan]

Fall from glory
STEPHEN RYAN
8 October 2011
The Newcastle Herald
? 2011 Copyright John Fairfax Holdings Limited.
www.fd.com.au

Former Knights star Danny Wicks was jailed for a minimum of 18 months last week for dealing drugs. STEPHEN RYAN writes about the case which shocked the community, league world and NRL club.

DANNY Wicks must have thought he'd hit the jackpot when he and his manager, Steve Gillis, negotiated a three-year deal with the Newcastle Knights worth $240,000 a season.

Brian Smith was at the helm of the Knights and Wicks was struggling in reserve grade for St George Illawarra when the deal was done late in 2007.

Smith had let home-grown props Kade Snowden, Adam Woolnough and Josh Perry go as part of his now famous clean-out and many were surprised by the Wicks deal.

Club outsiders caught wind that Wicks was on big money estimated at $200,000 a year, which is why it came as a shock last week when Gillis revealed Wicks's salary was actually $240,000.

Not only that, but Gillis pointed out that the average salary for NRL players was $135,000 and a player earning the sort of wage Wicks was drawing would ordinarily be on the cusp of representative football.

"Representative football was certainly not beyond him," Gillis added.

Wicks initially shared a home with Chris Houston at New Lambton Heights, leading Newcastle Herald rugby league writer Brett Keeble to label them the "odd couple", with university graduate Houston playing the role of clean freak Felix Unger and Wicks the sloppy, laid-back Oscar Madison.

While Wicks's fluctuating form for the Knights was often debated, no one ever questioned Houston's commitment as he established himself in the starting line-up during season 2008 and began attracting the attention of representative selectors in 2009. He was making the most of his opportunities off the field, too. Houston bought and renovated a house at Kotara in late 2008 and received a two-year contract extension with the Knights in November 2009.

A month later, Wicks was arrested and charged. Hours after the Newcastle Herald's chief police reporter Dan Proudman broke the story on theherald.com.au, Knights chief executive Steve Burraston went on the offensive.

"Professional footballer, average Joe Blow, it's just something I won't condone and the club won't condone and my chairman [Rob Tew] sits beside me and he won't condone anything like that either," Burraston said.

Three months later when news broke that Houston was to face similar charges, Burraston was more measured.

"We understand that he's got a huge battle to fight now and his mind just couldn't be around football at that period of time," Burraston mused after Houston resigned.

Houston faced less serious charges compared to Wicks, but Wicks professed his innocence.

Houston, via his barrister Peter Harper, released a statement that offered no comment on the allegations.

WICKS'S profession of innocence appeared to fall on deaf ears at the Knights. But the Knights knew something the rest of us didn't.

The Newcastle Herald can reveal that Wicks failed a drug test during the 2009 season. He gave a positive urine sample to an illicit drug, not a performance-enhancing one, and he took part in a three-month drug education program as a result.

On the day of Wicks's arrest, Burraston said the Knights would let the "police run the investigation" and the club would liaise with investigators.

"They've done a lot of surveillance over a period of time and they're more qualified and skilled than us, so we'll be taking our lead from the police here," Burraston said.

"We'll be having as many meetings and briefings as we can with the police to get an understanding of what sort of evidence they have and we may be able to make a decision based on that evidence."

It is not known if the Knights sought "meetings and briefings" with police in relation to Houston. If they did, it's highly unlikely the police would have given Houston any sort of endorsement.

Investigators were disappointed when magistrate Elaine Truscott dismissed the charges against Houston and they immediately began working with prosecutors to recommence the proceedings in the district court regardless of the magistrate's findings.

For months they worked behind the scenes in an attempt to strengthen the case and gather fresh evidence. They even considered calling Wicks as a witness to testify against his former teammate, a revelation that came to light when Wicks was to face a sentencing hearing on March 8 this year.

Minutes after Newcastle District Court was told that the Director of Public Prosecutions was considering calling Wicks as a witness, Houston's barrister, Harper, arrived at the courthouse in shirt sleeves and had hushed discussions with Wicks's lawyers.

Wicks was in an incredibly difficult position. He had pleaded guilty to helping Houston source 150 ecstasy tablets.

With his guilty plea and an agreed statement of facts to support it, prosecutors felt they could compel Wicks to testify.

If Wicks had agreed to testify, he would have been entitled to a discount on his sentence. If he was called before a court and diverged from the evidence he had confessed to, he could have been in contempt of court or even perjury if it were proven that he had lied.

The prosecution ended their pursuit of Houston.

The fact that Wicks admitted to helping supply Houston with 150 tablets via a third party is an anomaly many lay people struggle to comprehend.

When dismissing the charges against Houston, magistrate Truscott ruled there was insufficient evidence for the case against Houston to proceed to trial.

She was particularly critical of the evidence of a detective who provided an expert statement that deciphered and interpreted the calls and text messages that police relied on.

The officer, who cannot be identified because he was an undercover police officer, was considered partial because he not only worked in the same office as one of the detectives who investigated Wicks and Houston, but he also took part in a surveillance operation when Wicks was stopped and his vehicle was searched.

Months later, Truscott told a prosecutor in an unrelated case that they might like to speak with the solicitor who prosecuted Houston about the use of an expert statement from the same officer.

"Same witness, same problem," Ms Truscott said.

THE investigation into Wicks and Houston began at Wicks's home town of Grafton on the North Coast where his brother Brett and Brett's wife Tristen were selling drugs (both were convicted).

Police began monitoring their phones in mid-2009 which eventually led them to Danny Wicks and Steven Stefanovski in Newcastle.

The case against Stefanovski was also dismissed by Truscott.

Investigators learned that Danny Wicks was sourcing methylamphetamine one ounce at a time that was then passed on to his brother and sister-in-law in Grafton.

Christopher Ryan Jones, of Grafton, an associate of Brett Wicks, acted as the courier on at least one occasion.

Jones was sentenced to two years and three months in jail by Judge Ralph Coolahan in Newcastle District Court in March. He pleaded guilty to one count of

It would have been shocking enough knowing that a professional footballer was trafficking drugs, but the phone traffic police recorded on the night the Knights were knocked out of the 2009 NRL premiership must have staggered investigators.

supplying drugs and one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime.

He was given a non-parole period of nine months.

Jones was sitting next to Danny Wicks when police pulled him and Wicks over in car for a random breath test in November 2009 at Glebe Road, The Junction.

It would have been shocking enough knowing that a professional footballer was trafficking drugs, but the phone traffic police recorded on September 12, 2009, the night the Knights were knocked out of the 2009 NRL premiership, must have staggered investigators.

Wicks began sourcing ecstasy for Mad Monday festivities before they played the Canterbury Bulldogs in Sydney, telephone transcripts tendered at Wicks's sentencing reveal.

At 4.25pm, just hours before kick-off, Wicks sent the following text message to a source: "Hey mate don't get on the Zs tonight cause if we loose (sic) I'll need to come see yaz".

But his source did get on the Zs (Xanex - a medication for anxiety and panic attacks) and was unable to provide Wicks with drugs later that night when the Knights returned to Newcastle.

Wicks was furious.

"Tell him he's let me down cause I've got 20 blokes waiting," Wicks said.

The source offered Wicks, over the phone, some Xanex, but Wicks replied: "They're not going to be any good," before adding "Tell him I've got zannies too".

The records show that Wicks then rang Richie "Fuss" Fa'aoso.

Fa'aoso asked, "Did you get the hook ups?"

Wicks replied: "Yeah."

Fa'aoso then told Wicks to "come over" to Fa'aoso's home.

Two minutes after that conversation Wicks sent Fa'aoso a text message saying, "You sure you got lollies mate my lad is heaps pissed and can't string a sentence together."

Fa'aoso replied, "got none".

The records show that Wicks then texted Houston: "Have to get them elsewhere ss is not coming to the table explain when i pick you up".

Houston then sent Wicks a message at 3.35am stating, "I'll go with Aku n see ya at fus I get 10 bra."

Wicks then sent a message to someone else stating "I've been left high and dry start searching elsewhere."

Wicks and Houston then had the following telephone conversation at 3.38am, which was tendered during Houston's committal hearing.

Wicks: "The c---'s on Xanex he f---ing doesn't know where he is, what's going on. Won't give me a straight answer and I can't go to his house 'cause he still lives with his f---ing parents."

Houston: "Surely you've got more than one contact though."

Wicks: "Contact? He's my f---ing partner mate. Contact, yeah Sydney."

Houston: "What about something local then. Low key, under you. What about the old roomy, anything?"

Wicks: "I don't know, I'll give 'em a call."

Houston: "Let us know. Ring 'em now and let us know."

Wicks: "Ring Gids up and tell him to start searching. I'll get 'em first thing in the morning. The c---'s just off his f---en head at the moment."

Houston: "Yeah well we want them ASAP."

Wicks: "Oh well I'm well aware of that mate, I'm f---en infuriated."

Houston: "As you do. As do all of us."

Wicks: "Yeah. I'll talk to you when I see ya."

Houston: "Well throw us a text and let us know ... Are you gunna ring the old [roomy]?"

Wicks: "Yeah well if she answers, but he hasn't been goin' out or nothin' lately."

Houston: "Who else can I chase?"

Wicks: "Well what about that Deano..."

Houston: "I don't know his number."

Wicks: "Yeah that's what I'm saying. Ring Gids."

Houston: "Alright ... Speak to you soon."

After that conversation, records show that Wicks told another man, "We're going back to Fuss's for Mad Monday."

Wicks then arranged a purchase of 30 tablets from a woman he'd previously dated, and then called his mother after four in the morning and woke her to electronically deposit $600 into his bank account.

He then withdrew the money and bought the tablets. Little did he know that his every move had been tracked by police.

Wicks was arrested three months later.

Almost 22 months after he was charged with supplying ecstasy and methylamphetamines, he was sentenced to a minimum of 18 months in prison last week.

For a young athlete who demonstrated so much potential, whose apparent love of the game and larrikin behaviour made him a crowd favourite, it was a long way to fall.

Opportunities to play rugby league for money like Wicks was on don't come along every day. In his case, it looks like the door has slammed shut hard.

[Coaster]

Wow that was a interesting read, rundown deep by the looks

[Ryan]

Gave me a new banner idea for Titans vs Knights in 2012:


"RING GIDS!"

[Boofhead]

Gave me a new banner idea for Titans vs Knights in 2012:


"RING GIDS!"

[DIEHARD]

I must have misread and thought this was a thread about nachos. I even read it then did a search for word "nachos", was left dissapointed. No joke.

[Steelers]

That article seems to back up the claims that drug use is huge throughout Rugby League. Question is, how come noone is getting caught?

[Smakked]

That article seems to back up the claims that drug use is huge throughout Rugby League. Question is, how come noone is getting caught?

Because clubs probably pay alot for lawyers and the such to keep it quiet. Bu ti have no doubt it is pretty common amongst them, i reckon bring in drug tests every week with out fail.