Bernie

Just one question.

Were you paid for this article?

Scout,
I am not sure if Bernie will see this comment so I will reply on his, and all the authors who agree to be published in OLO, behalf.
We don't pay any of our authors for their work. We rely entirely on their goodwill and generosity.
Regards
Susan Prior
Editor

Bernie, fascinating article, well written. Look at your life in purely amoral, economic terms. You made some successful roberries and presumably got away with the proceeds. You did plenty of gaol time where at least you were not required to pay for your upkeep. You evidently used the time to develop writing, and possibly other skills. Although you were deprived of liberty and have a criminal record to overcome in whatever you try to make of the rest of your life, the economic scoresheet is not too bad.

I do feel for those holdup victims however. Many suffer shot nerves for years. Some (not your victims) have more than their nerves shot. It would have been better all around, wouldn't it, had you found a better outlet for your obvious talents at an early age?

I new a Robin Banks many years ago:

At least he is big enough to fess up, there are thousands of politicians and Corporate Executives doing exactly the same thing, but they get huge bundles of money for robbing the public, not prison time

The pace of this article is absolutely compelling, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

However, while I sense that the author has no intention of robbing a bank again, I'm not detecting much penitence. Indeed, there is a schoolboy-caught-smoking feel to the account of the author's capture. Having done time for armed robbery before, he already knew that getting caught was a shameful inevitability, not simple bad luck.

Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer my ex-criminals to be a little bit contrite.

A good story in the flavour of old uncle chop chop.

I know exactly the church where you guys got pinched and i dont know why you would plan it the way you did, you had a river right behind the bank etc etc.

Balls the size of watermelons big fella. They may have gone to good use elsewhere if you were not such a bank junkie.

Keep the stories up mate, and as uncle chop chop says, you never let the truth get in the way of a good story, so jazz em up.

Bernie didn't do anything the banks don't do to us all on a daily basis.

As far as I'm concerned, the corporate executives of banks deserve prison for the rest of their natural lives.

If any one of us robbed a bank, we'd only be taking back what had been stolen from us in the first place...and then some for the inconvenience.

The government needs to step in but they NEVER will. Howard only has balls when it comes to hurting ordinary people...pitty he can't use them on the banks.

Gidday Bernie, it's a small bloody world...I was talking about you the other day with Desy. Shelley here, Cliffie's wife. I enjoyed your article immensely and am inordinately happy to see you doing so well after so many years stuck in B Block with no sun. I wonder how many people realise that crims need a sense of humour to get through their lagging and to overcome their past? Contrition...well, that's your affair, you don't need to apologise to everyone you meet and every person who reads your articles. You've done your time.

Cheers mate.

It's a bloody small world, or alternatively, there are only so many armed robbery stories. I used to work with a bloke who'd just got out of Long Bay, and who'd taken up courier driving - very popular with people who can't expect their resume to get them a straight job. A likeable sort of a bloke, but you'd have to say he wasn't given to considering the consequences of his actions, and the time in the Bay hadn't changed that. He got caught when he turned up at a bank, with his sawn-off and his pre-written "Hand over all the money' note, which he slid over the counter. As you do. Unfortunately for him, he'd failed to notice the two coppers who were next in the queue.

When he got out, he was an excellent courier driver. But he didn't like to be kept waiting. If a job wasn't ready when he arrived, he'd, well, demand envelopes with menaces. Pretty dumb. But even dumber given he had neck to knee tattoos, and wore shorts and short-sleeved shirts summer and winter.

'Hello. I'd like to complain about one of your drivers. He's just threatened me. No, I don't know his name, but he's got tattoos ALL OVER'

Poor silly sod. Probably ended up robbing banks again. I know his actions were his own fault, and I can't defend them, but I can't help feeling sorry for him: he seemed genuinely unable to understand the link between actions and consequences.

You seem to have worked a similar area at a similar time, Bernie - does Ronnie Z- - - - - - - - i ring a bell?

bernie
I haven't done this before and i am not really sure how it works -- i found this article while googling "katingal" -- you may remember me from those days when i was at the bar and you were in the blockhouse--today is the day when they started to demolish it--interesting because i am thinking of applying to go back to the law just to annoy them-- we told them over and over that it had never been gazetted but who would believe me and steve and wendy? the thing is if it was never legal then where does that leave steve's bail? let me know what you think?
the legal eagle