EXCLUSIVE: A judge has found Constable Daniel Keneally – the NSW Police officer son of high-profile Labor senator Kristina Keneally – acted corruptly by fabricating evidence and lying about receiving death threats which resulted in a completely innocent man imprisoned and forced to spend three weeks in solitary confinement after having his home raided by the controversial Fixated Persons Unit. Yet, in a futile attempt to cover up his wrongdoing, Constable Keneally and his powerful, wealthy family ran to one of Australia’s most expensive defamation lawyers to threaten the victim as well as this very media outlet. But to no avail. Serkan Ozturk reports.
It’s yet another sad example of privileged and powerful politicians and those close to them running to highly-priced defamation lawyers to hide nefarious and corrupt activities from public view.
This time, it’s not “alleged rapist” Liberal MP, Christian Porter, but Labor’s high-profile senator, Kristina Keneally, and her corrupt cop son, Constable Daniel Keneally of NSW Police.
After True Crime News Weekly exclusively broke the news earlier this week that her 23-year-old police officer son had engaged in deeply disturbing corrupt behaviour by fabricating evidence and lying about receiving death threats, Senator Keneally and her well-connected businessman husband, Ben Keneally, arranged for one of Australia’s most expensive defamation lawyers to send disgraceful legal threats to this very media outlet. And even more disgracefully, also to the victim of Constable Keneally’s corrupt actions, Luke Brett Moore. Senator Keneally has been aware of the police corruption claims surrounding her son for eight months.
Mr Moore, 34, is the founder of a legal advocacy organisation, isuepolice.com, which he has recently established after becoming the victim of an illegal strip search in Goulburn in April 2017, for which he had successfully sued police over.
After an eight month ordeal which began on February 24 after he called Newtown Police Station in Sydney’s inner-west to warn police that their continual widespread use of strip searches against children and adults constituted illegal harassment of the public, Mr Moore finally had all charges related to the phone conversation he had with Constable Keneally that night dropped against him on Wednesday, October 27 when he faced Nowra Local Court on a charge of damaging a police wall clock while in police custody.
LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION THAT PROVES DANIEL KENEALLY LIED
Officers attached to NSW Police’s controversial Fixated Person Unit had arrested Mr Moore in late February and raided his home in Nowra on NSW’s South Coast after Constable Keneally gave a sworn statement that Mr Moore had made death threats to kill Commissioner Mick Fuller and Goulburn police officer, Detective Ed Taylor, during the phone call.
In his official sworn witness statement, Keneally claimed Mr Moore had said he wanted Detective Taylor killed, and “good as gone. Dead.”
Soon after his arrest, police alleged Mr Moore broke a clock that was on the wall of Nowra Police Station after he was denied bail.
Police had initially charged Mr Moore with using a carriage service to threaten to kill, and two charges of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. At the time of his arrest, NSW Police and its Fixated Persons Unit weaponised the use of ‘mental health’ by claiming that Mr Moore was so mentally unwell he was not even aware of the supposed death threats he was making. It is just the latest troubling example of the Fixated Persons Unit harassing people truthfully or honestly speaking up about corruption.
True Crime News Weekly will soon also be publishing a major exclusive investigation into how the Fixated Persons Unit has been recently used to prevent a whistleblower calling out widespread and endemic corruption at a Southern Highlands Council, which also has several close links to the allegedly corrupt recently resigned NSW deputy premier, John Barilaro.
“Good as gone. Dead”: The fabricated witness statement of Constable Daniel Keneally (Image: Supplied)
However, Mr Moore should never have been in police custody to begin with as he never actually made any of the death threats Constable Keneally claimed in his sworn testimony. An audio recording of the entire phone call between the two men proved that no death threats or any kind of other dangerous threats were made by Mr Moore, and that Constable Keneally had simply made the whole thing up.
In late August, police prosecutors after hearing the audio recording dropped all charges against Mr Moore relating to the phone call to Constable Keneally and he was also paid costs of at least $12,000.
Thanks to Constable Keneally’s lies and dangerously corrupt behaviour in fabricating evidence, Mr Moore had his house raided by the same Fixated Persons Unit that targeted Friendlyjordies producer, Kristo Langker, and then had his phone and laptop confiscated for four months.
In Nowra Local Court this week, Magistrate Gabriel Fleming was scathing in her remarks to NSW Police prosecutors after they made a decision on the day of the trial to drop all charges Mr Moore was facing.
“You accept that there was serious errors in a statement of a police officer. You accept there are things said in his [Constable Keneally’s] statement that were not said on the phone call and you accept that his statement caused a man to be detained for three weeks,” Magistrate Fleming said on Wednesday, October 27.
“You accept that because of the stress the man was under at the police station that he did an act of self-harm that resulted in these charges. You have withdrawn the charges on the day of the hearing but you don’t accept that this is exceptional circumstances to award costs?”
To which the police prosecutor meekly replied, “Not in this matter, no your Honour.”
However, Magistrate Fleming wasn’t in the mood to cater to more police shenanigans and ruled NSW Police must pay the full costs of Mr Moore’s legal defence. All of which came to a total of almost $20,000 this time around. At least NSW Police can rely on the fact that it’s state taxpayers who have to stump up the costs for Constable Keneally’s corruption, and not themselves.
Yet despite the overwhelming evidence of Constable Keneally’s lies and even admissions from senior NSW Police officers made on Sunday, October 24 that he “did not act with due care and diligence” when he made his false statement, the Keneally family thought it prudent to hire and pay for one of this nation’s most expensive defamation lawyers, Patrick George, to send legal threats to True Crime News Weekly as well as Mr Moore in a bid to cover up the wayward police officer’s corrupt activities.
“You published the matters … imputing that my client is guilty, or is reasonably suspected, of perverting the course of justice, hindering an investigation and fabricating evidence, for which he has been subpoenaed to Nowra Court,” George wrote in an email message just one hour after our initial investigation was published on Monday, October 25.
“This is absolutely false and egregious conduct. It is seriously defamatory of Constable Keneally and is clearly intended and has the likely effect of interfering with him as a potential witness under subpoena and with the administration of justice in these proceedings.”
George then further threatened: “I am instructed to demand that the matter to be removed immediately and seek an undertaking from you that no further publication of this matter or the imputations be made. I reserve Constable Keneally’s rights generally.”
WATCH & LISTEN TO SENIOR NSW POLICE ADMIT CONSTABLE DANIEL KENEALLY
“DID NOT ACT WITH DUE CARE & DILIGENCE”
George is a “senior partner” at global law firm Kennedys and is the head of the firm’s Australian branch.
He has, in the recent past, represented a host of celebrities and powerful individuals, including former Labor prime minister, Kevin Rudd, during the Pink Batts Fiasco, as well as the altogether more creepy and toxic former tv gardening celebrity, Don Burke.
George had been hired by Burke in November 2017 just ahead of a joint investigation by the ABC and Fairfax Media (now Nine) which aired and outed the tv celebrity as a serial sexual harasser of women while labelling him “a high-grade, twisted abuser”, a “psychotic bully” and a “sexual predator”.
In March of this year, George also wrote an op-ed for the Australian Financial Review where he discussed the embattled Porter’s defamation case against the ABC over its reporting that he had allegedly “brutally” raped a 16-year-old schoolgirl on multiple occasions over one night in 1988. That article was headlined: ‘Sacking Porter for standing accused would be arbitrary, unreasonable’. Within the article, George argued “it has been suggested that as [Porter] must be a ‘fit and proper’ person to be the first law officer in the country, while ever he stands accused of serious criminal conduct, he is not fit and proper to remain as attorney general. That is a circular argument without merit”.
George is also considered to be “the mentor” of “the charming” Rebekah Giles, the lawyer Porter turned to in his ultimately doomed defamation battle against the ABC.
Following Magistrate Fleming’s trenchant remarks in court this week, we asked the high-priced legal eagle if he was going to continue on with his defamation threats on behalf of his client.
We also enquired as to whether the Keneally family “got bang for their buck” by hiring him, or if he offered his services pro bono to defend a corrupt police officer. We then asked how he slept at night, considering the kind of threats he’s been paid to send to True Crime News Weekly on behalf of a corrupt police officer.
The tough-talking George did not respond.
Defamation lawyer to the stars: Patrick George of Kennedys (Image: Kennedys / Supplied)
The defamation threat sent by Kennedys “senior partner” Patrick George to True Crime News Weekly (Image: Supplied)
Following her refusal to comment earlier this week about the matters, True Crime News Weekly once again approached Senator Keneally with a series of detailed questions.
We first asked whether she would like to apologise for her family engaging defamation lawyers to send threats to investigative journalists as well as victims of police corruption who were honestly and truthfully speaking out on important issues.
Noting that Senator Kenealy claims to be a devout Catholic, we asked if she could point to anywhere in the Bible where it states lies should be covered up and that truth-tellers should be either punished or threatened for their honesty and integrity. We also asked if her God would support her family’s recent actions this week.
Having been aware of the corruption cloud hanging over her police officer son for eight months, we also asked whether she believed she had acted openly and with integrity over the matter.
We also asked if it was a tad hypocritical to lecture Prime Minister Scott Morison for all of his alleged corruption and lying, but refuse to comment on her own son’s lies and associated police corruption.
Were the defamation threats taken out on behalf of her son a sign Senator Keneally was worried that our truthful reporting may harm her election chances at the coming federal election despite being parachuted into a safe Labor lower house electorate at the expense of a woman of colour, we asked as well.
We then asked what her general views were on a free media and investigative journalism and whether she was happy that defamation laws were strengthened in NSW for professional investigative journalists in early July.
Further, we then queried Senator Keneally if her family’s actions this week were all too much different to Porter’s in trying to prevent the media truthfully reporting on alleged major wrongdoing by people who hold power over others.
Having been the premier of NSW during the hey day of the notoriously corrupt and recently imprisoned Labor ‘powerbroker’ Eddie Obeid, we also asked the senator that if Obeid’s corruption and lies were wrong, what was the difference with her son.
We also questioned her on whether she was fearful her son’s police career may come to a premature end or whether she was worried her son or the NSW Police may be forced to make a huge compensation payout.
Finally, we queried Senator Keneally on how her son could ever learn from his mistakes if he was instead mollycoddled by privilege, power and his family’s money.
We did not receive a response.
Luke Brett Moore, of isuepolice.com, who has taken on the lies and corruption of Constable Daniel Keneally from NSW Police and been vindicated (Image: Supplied)
True Crime News Weekly also sent a series of detailed questions to Federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese.
We asked for his general views on corruption, police corruption and lying and asked whether he supported powerful politicians using defamation laws to prevent the public knowing about corruption.
Once again, we did not receive a response.
However, NSW Police did provide a statement, after being contacted and sent a series of detailed questions. However, their response left a lot to be desired.
We asked the hierarchy of NSW Police whether Constable Keneally would be criminally charged for fabricating evidence, and if not why. Earlier this week, Constable’s Keneally’s direct boss, Inner West Commander, Superintendent Sam Crisafulli, claimed that the corrupt police officer would only receive some kind of “internal management action” but not be dealt with criminally.
That’s despite the police officer son of radio loudmouth, Ray Hadley, losing his employment with NSW Police in 2018 simply for buying a baggie of cocaine. One would think this current case of police corruption involving Constable Keneally would be a much more serious issue than personal drugs use.
We asked police if they were aware of what motivated Constable Keneally – a junior officer just two years out of Goulburn Police Academy – to act corruptly and tell serious lies, and whether any other police officer had any input into his false witness statement.
We asked how the general public could have faith in Constable Keneally to be an upstanding officer and whether the reason NSW Police had not already terminated his employment or criminally charged him for his atrocious lies was because his parents are high-powered, privileged politicians and business people.
We also queried NSW Police about whether they were concerned in any way that Constable Keneally’s willingness to lie and engage in corrupt behaviour could put into jeopardy any future criminal trials or police investigations he may be involved in as defence lawyers could simply point to his lack of credibility and honesty.
Lastly, we asked if the public could trust NSW Police officers to tell the truth at all times about serious matters.
“New South Wales Police will not be commenting further on this matter as it is currently before the court,” was the only comment from a police spokesperson to True Crime News Weekly in response to all of our questions.
However, NSW Police are once again not being truthful as there is no case, civil or criminal, related to this matter in front of the courts at this moment in time.
They are simply too embarrassed to comment as they are aware that this incident raises huge questions about the culture and ethics within NSW Police under Commissioner Mick Fuller as well as the operations of the Fixated Persons Unit.
Mr Moore is now planning to launch a civil suit for wrongful imprisonment, malicious prosecution and fabrication of evidence and will be seeking damages worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. He also plans to sue Constable Keneally personally.
“Constable Keneally should have made an apology and offered to make amends. He has no one to blame but himself for the events that unfold, following the exposure of his own corruption,” Mr Moore told True Crime News Weekly.
“The reprehensible and undignified way him and his mum have responded – or not responded – to this is truly shameful.”
Unfortunately the behaviour demonstrated here by that concha Kennealy would be the go to response for many parents here in Australia.
Australia is morally bankrupt and to expect a reversal of this any time soon is utter naivete, again unfortunately.
Keep doing what you are doing but accept that you are preaching to the choir here; this information will never be accepted by a populace stuck in the throes of willful naivete.
I’ve now mentioned this Daniel Keneally story to a few friends, including journalists now out of the business, and to a man and woman, they are surprised this story hasn’t been picked up by the mainstream media. Have the MSM really sunk that low? Become that incurious? Lazy? That frightened of law suits? Apparently because what else could explain it? As for Albanese, I’ll be emailing him as well given his lack of response to you. Plain rude. Hope every TCNW reader, if agitated by these Keneally stories, should do the same. (What’s the point of voting for Labor if the Labor leader condones this kind of behaviour? And is arrogant about it as well.)
I would say that many people would have to have no other reason to vote for Labor than they are not Liberals, and no amount of exposed corruption would change that, ever, under any circumstances.
Australia is a sub 90 IQ culture and there is no denying that.
The only thing lower than the intellectual standards of Australia would be it’s moral standards.
It sounds to me that you are very naive, and willfully so.
Christopher
‘Australia is a sub 90 ID culture’? Really?
The gate’s open.
Can Const Kenneally’s SWORN statement be published in full? We’ve seen an excerpt from something, but AFAIK police statements are usually witnessed rather than sworn.
The statement is available on the “Kangaroo court of Australia “ website published by Shane Dowling, the website is a good read
Trevor Ryan the above article uses the term “official sworn statement”. The statement published by KC of A is not a sworn statement.
So – is there a second or subsequent statement?
Maybe the ACTU should be asked why they support Kennealy and her sons curruption over Morrison lies and curruption as for the Deputy Premier resigned you don’t really have to ask why he did that, do you? ALP should have been open about this police curruption so close to home !!!
Kennealy and his ilk should be booted out of the police force, charged and jailed. Rotten cops who have lied against and convicted innocent people should be exposed.
Kennealy is guilty of lying oath. That carries a heavy weight. To excuse him is to mock the entire justice system and proves tge law us a sham.
They should be, but manufactured drama on these horseshit FTA reality TV shows will hold the attention spans of the average Australian “citizen” more than actual corruption.
Naivete seems to be commonality amongst the Left Wing crowd; they naturally trend toward prioritizing so called thought crime over real crime, anyway.
Christopher,
I agree with you 100%+.
We have to keep resisting. Keep pushing beyond the bullshit at every point.
It can be disheartening (to say the least) to see so many people sucked in.
I could not agree more. ‘Reality’ shows are an insult designed to detract from reason. All eyes on the prize while Rome burns.
“Didn’t you hear the car being stolen?”
“No.”
“Where were the keys?”
“On the kitchen table.”
“And you didn’t hear a thing? Didn’t hear anyone – somone – enter your house?”
“No.”
“What were you doing?”
“Watching our favourite reality show.”
“Mate, THIS is reality.”
Private prosecution…. (it’s a criminal prosecution)… I’ll tell you now, he will go guilty at the first mention… NSWPF will be forced to terminate him!
Thanx for this Serken. So many people from high profile families or highly regarded senior professional positions have never been challenged or have walked. I would be surprised if this turns out to be different
There was a time when, if a person had a relative who had a criminal record (or was corrupt) the person was not allowed to even run for a seat. They were not allowed to enter politics. They were ineligible.
Is this not still the case? If not, why not?
Laws donot simply fade away.