Pubdate: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Copyright: 2000 The Sydney Morning Herald Contact: GPO Box 3771, Sydney NSW 2001 Fax: +61-(0)2-9282 3492 Website: http://www.smh.com.au/ Forum: http://forums.fairfax.com.au/ Author: Les Kennedy, Chief Police Reporter LEVI INQUIRY NOT TOLD OF DRUG LINK Police investigating the shooting of Ronnie Levi on Bondi Beach were not told of an internal affairs investigation into alleged drug dealing by the officers who fired the fatal shots until more than three months after the killing, the Police Integrity Commission was told yesterday. A police inspector, who commanded a covert investigation into former constable Rodney Podesta, also told the commission that he was concerned about how Podesta came to enter the Police Service. He told counsel for the PIC, Mr Peter Johnson, that checks into Podesta's civilian employment background by the Police Service had been "inadequate". The inspector was giving evidence at the resumption of a PIC inquiry into the conduct of the police investigation into the shooting and allegations that police involved in the death of Mr Levi were intoxicated by drugs or alcohol the night before the shooting. The detective inspector, whose identity was suppressed by Commissioner Paul Urquhart for operational reasons, said he had commanded a covert Internal Affairs operation code named Borden which targeted Podesta and had begun a month before the shooting. Operation Borden, which only recently wound up, examined allegations that Podesta was using and dealing in drugs. In evidence before the commission in Sydney yesterday the officer said that when he took command of Operation Borden he was aware of another Internal Affairs inquiry code named Addlestone that had targeted the now former senior constable Tony Dilorenzo. Operation Addlestone examined allegations that Dilorenzo, who was also involved in the shooting of Mr Levi, was associating with persons known to be involved in the drug scene. The officer said he first learnt of Podesta's involvement in the fatal shooting at Bondi Beach about a week later while undertaking a course at the Goulburn Police Academy. He said at that time there were no procedures governing what information Internal Affairs should disclose about any officer involved in a shooting. It was not until a meeting on October 17, 1997 that some information concerning the investigation into Podesta was passed on to the shooting investigation team and the State Coroner. The officer also told the commission that the internal investigation had not been able to substantiate allegations that Podesta was affected by drugs or alcohol the night before or morning of the shooting. He said that allegations from five informants had come from second or third-hand sources while the allegations from a sixth informant was disputed. That informant, a woman, claimed to have seen the officer in his uniform at her Bondi unit the night before Mr Levi was shot dead in a confrontation with police on June 28. The woman claimed he appeared drunk or on drugs. The inspector said that the Police Service should adopt more stringent procedures in screening recruits. He said when he examined Podesta's personnel file he discovered he had been the manager of the Piccolo Bar in Roslyn Street, Kings Cross. "From some inquiries I made of that location there are numerous events and intelligence reports which relate to drug activity at that location," the inspector said. "It appeared to me that it would be a check that should be done as part of the vetting of recruits into the service of their previous employment and backgrounds to that type of employment." Podesta was sentenced to four months periodic detention in December for attempting to buy cocaine. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck