Lucas Inquiry

[2] The Lucas Inquiry emanated from the "Southport Betting Case," a trial where a number of corrupt high-ranking police officers were alleged to have collaborated with two bookmakers to clear them of prosecution.

[4] In November 1974 two suspected "starting price" bookmakers, Brian Leonard George Sieber and Stanley Derwent Saunders, were charged and arrested "with possession of instruments of betting" and it was alleged these two men and many other bookmakers operating in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast were chief sources of "corrupt payments to police" in the Licensing Branch, a subsection of the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU).

The CIU was a police department "formed to collect, record and disseminate intelligence on organized crime and corruption, and to apprehend and prosecute those involved.

"The Criminal Intelligence Unit had failed to secure a prosecution in a seemingly iron-clad case-one where money was actually paid over, the vital conversations had been taped and most of the activities had been observed by members of the CIU.

Whitrod punshied Arthur Pitts by transferring him yet again from Southport to running the property office at police headquarters, the ultimate insult for such a renowned crusader.

Terry O'Gorman said at the National Convention on Civil Liberties, held in 1976, “the conclusions on the Southport Case cast serious doubt on the reliability and integrity of inspectors in the Queensland Police Force.

"[9] Jack Herbert would later testify to the Fitzgerald Inquiry that Detective Sergeant Reginald Neal Freier was corrupt and Constable Frank Davey had conspired with him to set up Arthur Pitts.

Mick Cacciola had to bring before Inspector Graham Williams and Superintendent John Huey, a number of ex-Licensing Branch cops believed to be corrupt but hadn’t been brought to account during the Fitzgerald Inquiry (eg.

due to insufficient evidence, or just not specifically mentioned by Herbert), to ensure that they were at least transferred to roles they could be closely managed, which included Ollie Boyce.