Culleton’s “bad behaviour” questioned

Ian “Bruce” Bell and former Bremer Bay grain and sheep farmer Frank Bertola wrote to Senator Parry and Senate Clerk Dr Rosemary Laing last month, describing the wild and unusual allegations of “bad behaviour” against Senator Culleton.

Their letter - also sent to media - suggests the One Nation Senator falsely claimed to police officers that he was pursued by a gun-toting Mr Bertola, and up to five armed offenders, during a random meeting on September 30, in South Perth.

But Senator Culleton’s chief of staff Margaret Menzel has rejected the allegations and says the two men have been running a campaign of continued harassment against Senator Culleton and his family.

The incident referred to in the 18-page letter occurred while Mr Bell was trying to serve documents on each of WA’s 12 Senators relating to the High Court claim he initiated in September to have Mr Culleton declared constitutionally ineligible to sit in the Senate, through the Court of Disputed Returns.

Before their falling-out, Mr Bell and Mr Bertola worked on a major class action litigation project over two years against banks involving farmers facing common complaints over forced foreclosure proceedings and claim to know Senator Culleton “well”, through his early involvement in that campaign.

The letter highlights concerns that a violence restraining order, taken out against Mr Bertola, by Senator Culleton’s wife Ioanna, was also being inappropriately used to prevent access to Senator Culleton’s West Perth electoral office, to serve the papers.

The pair attempted to serve papers at Senator Culleton’s office on September 19 but Ms Menzel refused to accept the documents and asked them to leave and then called police.

Mr Bell said on Friday September 30 he and Mr Bertola then attended Senator Culleton’s electorate office for a second time, for the purpose of serving the court documents, but were again thwarted by Ms Menzel.

“We immediately left,” the letter said.

“As we went I twice responded to more heated words from Menzel, saying clearly, ‘You have been served’.

“Menzel then hurled the documents onto the floor of the office reception area behind us and once outside we observed that they were on the floor more than a metre inside the now closed front door.

“Mr Bertola then said to me that he had noticed Menzel reaching to press some alarm system that he believed summoned police.”

Mr Bell said later that day at 4.30pm, he and Mr Bertola stopped at the Dome Cafe in South Perth to have a cup of coffee en route home, where they saw Senator Culleton approaching the front door, from directly across the street.

“When he was about two metres short of the door he saw me, looked startled and bolted at a run, off to his left,” Mr Bell wrote.

“Frank stood outside for a short time and called out to Rodney who was out of my sight by then.

“I went out to see what was happening.

“Frank had walked several metres and Rodney was perhaps 100 metres away, at the bottom of the street.

“He was running and moments later rounded the corner out of sight to my right.”

Mr Bell said he and Mr Bertola decided it was better to leave the premises and avoid any further confrontation so they got their coffee in takeaway cups and sat across the street on a park bench.

But he said before they finished drinking their coffees, two police vehicles drove “slowly past us” before a second police vehicle “stopped right in front of us, nearly two metres out from the kerb”.

Mr Bell said he was placed under arrest due to police “suspicion” and shortly after, with six officers gathered at the scene, Ms Culleton approached them.

“As she passed at a fast walk she said loudly ‘that's them’ as she gestured towards Frank Bertola and myself, obviously for the benefit of the police officers present,” the letter said.

“She continued to walk up the street and disappeared from my view.”

Mr Bell said Ms Culleton returned again a little while later but was intercepted by police and asked to leave the scene.

“We had some more amicable conversation with the assorted police present and they dispersed except for the federal officer and one State officer,” he wrote.

“Before he left, the young officer who arrested us, announced that we were no longer under arrest.

“In that subsequent amicable conversation we were told that Culleton had alleged that Frank had run down the street after him, brandishing a gun (of unspecified type) and threatening to shoot him.

“It was also stated that there were armed tactical response officers in two vehicles waiting just around the corner at the bottom of the street to our left.”

Mr Bell’s letter included an additional statement referring to a later phone call from a police officer making inquiries about the incident who also said Senator Culleton had claimed he was being pursued by five men with guns, on the day in question.

“The CCTV footage and police attending will evidence no pursuit, only the two of us sitting on a bus seat armed with paper coffee cups,” Mr Bell wrote.

“In a subsequent personal interview with two police officers from that special unit, that version of Culleton's story was reiterated.

“Additionally, on the above date, a senior federal police 'agent' in the protection liaison unit of the AFP attended and told us the same thing about five men with guns allegedly pursuing Culleton.

“We were told that is why so many police were soon apprehending us, arresting us in the street for no actual reason, and that two vehicles of specially armed police from the tactical response part of the WA police force were waiting just out of sight around the next corner.

“In later discussion with a private commercial property owner, one of several who has given police CCTV footage of Rodney Culleton fleeing the coffee shop we were in at around 4.30pm on the above date, he stated that he too, had been told by police that Culleton had not only alleged that Frank Bertola had pursued him with a gun, but that five armed men had done that.

“He added that his CCTV footage absolutely showed no one in pursuit at all; that he had viewed the footage with two detectives and provided them with a copy of that footage.

“You may quote me.”

In denying the claims to The West Australian newspaper today, Ms Menzel said it was no coincidence that Mr Bell and Mr Bertola were at the coffee shop, where they ran into Senator Culleton.

She said the pair had had also “terrorised” the Senator and his family and were “causing mischief and grief”.

A statement from WA Police said they attended a reported threatening behaviour incident in South Perth on the day in question and an investigation was completed which resulted in insufficient evidence to substantiate a criminal offence against any person.

The AFP told The West that it does not comment on protection or security arrangements for Australian office holders.

Senator Culleton has previously claimed that Mr Bell and Mr Bertola are pursuing a personal vendetta, in seeking to have him disqualified from federal parliament.

The high court claim alleges the One Nation Senator was ineligible for election, at the time of signing his nomination form for the July 2 poll, as per section 44 of the Constitution, due to being convicted and awaiting sentencing for a crime with a penalty exceeding 12 months jail time.

Senator Culleton was convicted in his absence in the Armidale Court in March this year for a charge relating to the theft of a $7.50 key during an altercation with a tow truck driver during a vehicle repossession attempt at Guyra, in April 2014.

He later had that charge annulled but recently pleaded guilty when the case was set to be re-heard, with no conviction recorded.

The court petition also challenged Senator Culleton’s eligibility for election based on section 45 concerning bankruptcy.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has supported the government’s move to refer Senator Culleton’s case to the High Court, to ultimately rule on his eligibility.

“I believe that it should go to the High Court to make the ruling on this matter and I hope the findings are, and I would dearly love to see Senator Culleton here again as a One Nation Senator,” she said in a speech in parliament today.

Senator Culleton has also faced a series of ongoing claims by creditors, relating to his farming related business interests that have cast doubt on his political future – but he has declared he’s capable of defending.

The one-time Williams farmer campaigned at this year’s federal election on a platform of seeking to defend other farmers impacted by rural bank-lending issues, like him, and in particular the readjustment of loan equity values following the sale of the Landmark loans book to ANZ Bank.