Graham Richardson claimed on Sky News this morning that Gillard had no prior knowledge of plans to assassinate Kevin Rudd. His claim is clumsily defensive and plain wrong, considering proof of Gillards staff having written her acceptance speech two weeks before Kevin was knifed.

The plot to kill Kev was blueprinted prior to his election in 2007, its just that Richo was well out of the loop.

His reputation relies on his ability to infiltrate Labor thinking.
But Richo is justifiably known as a traitor within Labor ranks and he is privy to nothing. He would be the last to know of Gillards treachery. Almost all of Caucus was unaware. Only a small group of conspirators knew and how the hell would the ex-communicated pariah Richardson have known?

Richos claim of inside knowledge amounts to nought but concocted bluster.

He survives on an antique reputation of being a one-time ALP headkicker but has more skeletons involving fraud and hookers in his own closet than Craig Thomson, Peter Slipper and Julia Gillard combined.

In 1994, as an ALP senator, he was forced to hand his resignation to Paul Keating over his involvement in the infamous Offset Alpine printing company insurance fraud. This was about the same time Gillard was being exposed over the AWU fraud.

Offset Alpine was originally purchased from Kerry Packer by Rene Rivkin. But Rivkin had no interest in printing. He, Richardson and others had far bigger plans for the struggling printing company

Its sole asset, a printing press, was valued at $3.5 million but the company was strangely insured with Richardsons friend, Rodney Adler, for $53.2 million.

Soon after in 1993, it was burned down on Xmas eve. Xmas eve was an ideal time to avoid suspicious authorities. Adlers FAI insurance company hurriedly paid out the $53.2 million and without question.

Once the stock Exchange became aware of the insurance policy the share price naturally rocketed. But the group including Richardson had already purchased shares at the old price.

Other investors, all friends of Richardson, included: Rene Rivkin, Packer executive Trevor Kennedy, FAI Insurance boss Rodney Adler, Sean Howard of OzEmail, former Labor leader and Governor-General Bill Hayden and television personality Ray Martin.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) commenced an investigation into the ownership of a 38% stake in the company which was secreted in Swiss bank accounts.

Richardsons mate Rene Rivkin denied any knowledge of the ownership of the stake, but in 2003 ASIC discovered that Rivkin himself, in partnership with Graham Richardson and Trevor Kennedy, had been using Swiss bank accounts to trade in the Offset Alpine shares.

Rivkin committed suicide in 2005, before the investigation was completed.

In January 2006 after a two year legal battle, ASIC gained access to the relevant Swiss banking records. In September the same year it was revealed that Richardson had almost $A1.5 million remaining in Swiss bank accounts and had failed to declare any of it to the Australian Tax Office.

In 2010 the historically incompetent ASIC, many say due to unseemly political pressure, discontinued its investigation.

The Offset Alpine fraud was strongly linked to the 1995 murder of model, Caroline Byrne. She was the girlfriend of Rivkin’s chauffeur, Gordon Wood. Wood was found guilty of her murder in 2008 as a result of pushing her over The Gap in Sydney. He was acquitted by the Court of Appeals in 2012.

Richardsons constant denials of Gillards treachery and her involvement in AWU fraud is somewhat understandable.

After all, fraud and illicit lasciviousness seem the norm for Labor… and Richo has survived worse than Gillard has, so it seems.

from Larry Pickering