|
Bikie
jailed 10 years for deadly gang 'discipline' - 17th
May 2002
(Credit:
The Sydney Morning Herald)
Armed with a spiked knuckleduster, meat cleaver and
knife, bikie gang members rounded on fellow Comanchero
Peter Ledger to teach him about club discipline after
a dispute over a Harley Davidson.
The
lesson was lost on the 44-year-old.
His
battered body was dumped outside the western Sydney
home of his estranged wife on August 4, 1999, after
what Justice Greg James described as a "vicious
and appalling torture".
Comancheros
"sergeant-at-arms" Ian Raymond Clissold
of Mount Druitt was today jailed for at least eight
years for the manslaughter of Mr Ledger after pleading
guilty in the NSW Supreme Court.
He
was sentenced to another two years for an assault
on Gregory Simons at the Erskine Park home from where
he abducted Mr Ledger for "a flogging" under
the orders of "supreme commander" Jock Ross.
The
dispute was sparked after Mr Ledger arranged for Comancheros
nominee Terry Scott to trade in his Triumph motorbike
for another member's Harley for $1,500.
However,
it turned out the deal was not sanctioned by club
leaders and both men were ordered to reverse it which
they did immediately.
But
they had breached the code of discipline and for that
Mr Ledger had to be punished.
Clissold
was arrested five months later after admitting to
the father of his de facto that he had been ordered
"to sort somebody out who had been causing a
bit of trouble" and had to "teach him a
lesson but it went a bit too far".
So
vicious was the beating inflicted on Mr Ledger that
his right cheek bone was completely detached from
the rest of his face while injuries to his legs and
knees indicated a spiked knuckleduster has been used.
Facing
a murder charge, Clissold pleaded guilty to manslaughter
in a plea bargain, claiming he had walked away complaining
of abdominal pains before Mr Ledger was eventually
killed by two other bikies.
Justice
James said without the plea there was a "substantial
risk" he could have been acquitted of all charges
and discounted his sentence by 20 per cent.
His
legal team had argued the sentence should be discounted
further because Clissold had acted under orders.
While
there was some evidence he had distanced himself from
the bikie gang while behind bars, he still "retains
a loyalty to the objectives of the club and the supreme
commander", Justice James said.
He
will be eligible for parole in January 2010.
Links:
The
Film Factory
"Cosy
Cool"
"Wheels
On Fire"
Brothers
At War official website
International
Movie Makers Market
Articles
A
Bandido shot me, says victim, by Anonymous
Bikie
massacre movie planned - 23rd June 2002
Bandidoes
MC Australia - The History of The Bandidoes
Profiles
Gary
Young
Greg
Tingle
|
