PERTH, Australia (AP) — Two brothers convicted 20 years ago of a notorious gold swindle said Tuesday that they will petition for the case to be reopened after a retired police officer admitted that he framed them.
In a sworn affidavit filed last week with public prosecutors in western Australia, former Det. Anthony Lewandowski admitted that he and another police official framed Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg of swindling the Perth Mint of 650,000 Australian dollars ($370,000) in gold in a high-profile case in 1983.
The brothers — one of whom has since died — were convicted of using three forged checks to buy 68 kilograms (150 pounds) of gold from the mint and served prison terms ranging from nine months to eight years.
A public prosecutor called the former detective’s affidavit a “spectacular revelation,” and the two surviving brothers, Ray and Peter Mickelberg, told reporters that they would petition the state attorney-general Wednesday to have their case reopened.
Lewandowski said that he and Perth’s former chief investigator had fabricated confessions and lied at the Mickelbergs’ trial and that other police officers had beaten Peter Mickelberg. He did not provide details of the deception.
The affidavit also left unanswered why the Mickelbergs were allegedly framed and who Lewandowski believes stole the gold instead.
The brothers claimed that a key piece of evidence — a fingerprint from Ray Mickelberg found on one of the checks — was probably taken from molds he used in his hobby of casting hands in brass, plastic and rubber. A number of molds were taken by police when they raided his house.
The two surviving Mickelbergs praised Lewandowski, whose current whereabouts are unknown, saying that they always had hoped someone involved in the “conspiracy” would have a conscience.
The former detective said in the affidavit that he had waited until now to make his confession because he did not want to implicate his alleged coconspirator, Don Hancock, former head of Perth’s Criminal Investigation Bureau. Hancock was killed last year in a car bombing blamed on members of a motorcycle gang, though nobody was convicted in that case.
Local media reported that Lewandowski is believed to have left Australia after filing the affidavit.
Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Cock told the Associated Press that the document provided grounds for reopening the case.
“It’s a pretty spectacular revelation which I would think leaves reasonable grounds to have another look at the case again,” he said.
