Irvin Rockman
Irvin Peter Rockman | |
|---|---|
| 85th Lord Mayor of Melbourne | |
| In office 1977–1979 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Osborne |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Angelo Bernardi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 April 1938 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 30 August 2010 deputy |
| Resting place | deputy |
| Parent |
|
Irvin Peter Rockman CBE (6 April 1938 – 30 August 2010) was a Lord Mayor of Melbourne and Australian businessman.
Born in Melbourne to Susie and Norman, Rockman matriculated from Wesley College and took a commerce degree from the University of Melbourne before starting his working life in motel management. His father's family had fled Poland due to anti-Jewish persecution, as had his mother's family, from the Ukraine. They settled in Melbourne, where Norman Rockman established a chain of clothing stores, which operated under the family name. Rockman was also a well-known underwater diver.[1][2]
Marriages
Irvin Rockman was married three times and had six children.
According to Derryn Hinch, former Melbourne Lord Mayor Ron Walker stated that due to his persistent opportuning, Rockman was nicknamed "Pervin’ Irvin".[3]
Alleged Corruption
In 1980, reports by a private investigator alleging corruption amongst Melbourne city councillors and staff were leaked. Irvin Rockman's name was mentioned in the reports. Rockman stated that he would have been "an idiot to get a council department to fix my laws...I don't even know what the allegations are."[4] The information led to the Council's sacking by the State Government, but the contents of the reports were not made public.
Allegations of Criminality (including Drug Trafficking and Witness Intimidation)
In 1981, Irvin Rockman was called as a witness during an inquest into the death of Cassandra Ogdon, a 25-year-old Melbourne university graduate, after she had named him in her suicide note as being involved in the importation and trafficking of cocaine. [5]
Ogdon had been found dead in bed in a National Crime Authority (NCA) safe house with a plastic bag over her head, a rope around her neck and a note beside the bed. It was a few hours before she was due to give testimony at a hearing by the NCA into a drug importation racket operated by her close friend and former high school maths teacher, Peter Cross, the son of a former NSW Supreme Court judge, and, according to a written statement also made by Cross, Irvin Rockman, as financier. The suicide note, which was read to the court, stated: "I do not prefer to wait for the day the NCA squeeze me to the point of necessitating my murder at the hands of hoons of Melbournes leading business tycoons." The note further alleged Rockman had been the financier of the trafficking. [6]
Ogdon had been an exchange student in Bolivia where Cross visited her, and asked to be introduced to those who could facilitate the importation of cocaine into Australia. [7] In his own statement, Cross said Rockman and others attended "a ceremonial opening" of the cocaine delivery at Rockman's farm at Gembrook. [8]
The inquest ruled Ogdon’s death a suicide. Despite a statement she made to the police alleging Rockman had engaged in intimidation of her, the inquest cleared him of involvement in her death. Rockman also denied all knowledge of Cross's trip to Bolivia and of financing him. [9] Contradicting this, in a police statement, Cross said Rockman and others attended "a ceremonial opening" of the cocaine delivery at Rockman's farm at Gembrook.[10] However, Cross subsequently refused to give evidence against Rockman.[11]
The National Crime Authority raided Rockman's homes in South Melbourne and Toorak and his farm at Gembrook during the investigation.[12] He denied having ever met Cassandra Ogdon.[13] However, the Coroner found Rockman had lied.
As detailed by The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, Third Report:
"Despite denials by Irvin Rockman, the Coroner found that Ms Ogdon had been present at premises in Malvern in August 1981 with Cross, Rockman and others in circumstances where cocaine was present and used." [14]
The Coroner also found that Ogdon believed:
"Rockman was involved in the importation; that she had information which required her silence; that her silence had been specifically demanded of her at the gathering."[3.4][15]
The Report also detailed the intimidation Ogdon was subjected to after she made a written statement to NCA investigators :
"a number of incidents had fuelled Ms Ogdon's fears for her safety and that of her family. A live bullet had been found at her parents home in May 1987, Rockman had pulled up in his car while she waited at a bus stop and had glared at her in what she perceived to be a threatening manner, she was visited at work by two men of whom she was suspicious, and who asked her about the contents of her statement to the Authority, and three nights before she was due to give evidence before the Authority, Ms Ogdon had received a phone call warning her not to testify." [3.5][16]
The Report stated that notorious 'hit man' Christopher Dale Flannery was a friend of Cross, and Ogdon seriously feared for her life. [3.6] [17]
Despite the evidence of the importation as detailed at the Ogdon inquest, including two statments by those involved alleging he was the financier of the criminal operation, he was never charged.[18]
References
- ^ CARMAN, GERRY (3 September 2010). "Go-getting civic and business leader". The Age ( Fairfax Media). Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ "Fathom Guest Photographer - Irvin Rockman". Fathom Vol.1 No. 8. John Harding and Roy Bisson. c. 1972. pp. 8–11. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20190916012913/http://humanheadline.soulstaging.com/Hinch-Says/Irvin-Rockman
- ^ "Paul Robinson, 'Reports Were Leaked Says Gardens Chief', The Age, 31 December 1980, p3
- ^ Mark Russell, "Win for third wife, but Yoda the dog gets $50k in lord mayor's will", 15 April 2015, [1]
- ^ Witness Poorly Protected, The Canberra Times, 25 May 1988, p8
- ^ The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, Third Report, 1989, pp21-22
- ^ Witness Poorly Protected, The Canberra Times, 25 May 1988, p8
- ^ Suicide Finding In Ogdon Case, 28 May 1988, p7.
- ^ Witness Poorly Protected, The Canberra Times, 25 May 1988, p8
- ^ The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, Third Report, 1989, pp21-22
- ^ Mark Russell, "Win for third wife, but Yoda the dog gets $50k in lord mayor's will", 15 April 2015, [2]
- ^ Mark Russell, "Win for third wife, but Yoda the dog gets $50k in lord mayor's will", 15 April 2015, [3]
- ^ The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, Third Report, 1989, pp21-22
- ^ The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, Third Report, 1989, pp21-22
- ^ The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, Third Report, 1989, pp21-22
- ^ The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, Third Report, 1989, pp21-22
- ^ Mark Russell, "Win for third wife, but Yoda the dog gets $50k in lord mayor's will", 15 April 2015, [4]