How Having a "Rocket in my Pocket" Could Have Brought an Operation Undone

Strap in as I, Michael Bates—or at least that's the alias I go by—pull back the curtain on the life of an undercover cop, fresh off a heart-stopping operation. Imagine the high-octane world of crime-fighting, then the abrupt shift to the solemn halls of a Melbourne court for a trial that could hinge on every word I say. You'll get an insider look at the meticulous prep that goes into a court appearance, and the unspoken bonds formed within the force—bonds that occasionally lead to raucous pub gatherings that both cement our camaraderie and provide a much-needed release.

This episode isn't just about the gritty work; it's also about the human connections that sustain us. From the lively buzz of Melbourne's nightlife to the tactical challenges of a voir dire that threatened to derail the case, you'll walk the tightrope of law enforcement with me. Back in Brisbane, the chess game continues as we plot our next moves in the undercover game. And then there's Betty—an informant unlike any other, whose story will test the limits of my expertise and composure. Join us for a thrilling ride through the complex tapestry of crime, justice, and the pursuit of balance in the life of an officer who's never really off duty.

Chapters

• 2:21 Melbourne and the Committal of Edwin Lewis
• 6:26 Stitched Up
• 7:44 The Committal
• 10:09 The Men's Gallery
• 11:12 The Voir Dire
• 13:14 False Start
• 13:45 The Inner City Operation - Strip Clubs and Gay Bars
• 17:57 Back to Betty and Establishing my Cover Story
• 21:00 From Gay to Bi in the Whack of a Hand
• 23:00 The Stories I Could Tell

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello and welcome to my podcast Whisper in the Shadows the true story of a real-life undercover cop. I'm Michael Bates and I was a police officer for 15 years in one of the country's state police forces. I was also an undercover cop for over two years, and all the episodes of this podcast are my true stories of what it's really like to be an undercover cop. Rather, I was Michael Bates, so full disclosure Michael is not actually my real name. It was my COVID identity I used on most of my operations. Everyone has a notion of what undercover policing is all about, whether you think they are a narc, a COVID operative, a dog or an undercover cop. Most people seem to confuse playing close police with being undercover. There is a very big difference, though. Most playing close police don't wear a uniform, so they aren't as obtrusive in public. Being covert is completely different, though. You become immersed in the world of your targets. When you're a police officer, part of your role is to investigate crimes. This means you try and find evidence to prove the person you have arrested has committed that crime. Now, this evidence can consist of physical, verbal, video and witnesses. When you're an undercover police officer, though, you are the evidence and you are the reason someone gets convicted of the crimes. That is both exciting and dangerous. So why don't we get on with the next episode? Welcome back to Whisper in the Shadows, the podcast. Thanks for joining me again as I talk about my experiences working as an undercover cop. I hope you are enjoying listening to them as much as I am enjoying telling them, and please make sure you check out my interview series where I speak to current and former police officers. Now we are up to episode 14 and the start of my third operation.

Speaker 1: 1:58

After that last eventful operation, where I nearly got close to making it to the big leagues, I took some well-deserved rest. Okay, well, it was a few weeks of downtime doing paperwork. During this time, as before, I did things like type out statements, make sure the transcriptions on the tapes were done, go out with the boys socialising and generally be a pest to everyone. It was about 12 months after my very first operation in the cell job, which meant I had one of my many court appearances in Melbourne for the trial of Edwin Lewis for the double murders of Carmel and Paul Higgins. The first one was by far the most memorable as it was the committal. So I get the call up that I might be needed for the committal and would be there for maybe two or three days, which I actually was, unlike the last time where it went from one day to five. I actually was unlike the last time where it went from one day to five.

Speaker 1: 2:47

Now I was a junior uniform cop and not a detective, so I had had little exposure to police from other states, let alone the need to travel. The only interaction had been when I briefly spoke to the investigation homicide detectives on the Gold Coast all those months ago. I got called into the safe house one day by one of the sergeants and the conversation was basically you're needed in Melbourne to give evidence for the cell job you did. Do you still have a copy of your statement? I did. You'll be going by yourself. You're off on Thursday morning on a 6am flight. You'll need to get a taxi out to the airport. You can do your travel claims when you come back Should only be two or three days. The killer squad will meet you there. You are representing the state police. Make sure you don't let us down.

Speaker 1: 3:28

And with that I was given my ticket and told to go home and pack. That's how it was. So luckily I got my wife to drive me out to the airport and drop me off. She was also going to pick me up when I got home. I got on the big white bird and headed off on what I felt like was an adventure. Now, traveling for work was something that I did regularly, but it was different. It was never on a plane and it was never interstate. I even had to pull my old suit out from the packaging to wear. So I get to Melbourne and I'm met at the airport by two homicide detectives.

Speaker 1: 4:03

It was mid-morning and we drive back into the city to the St Kilda Road Police Complex. I'm taken in and meet the senior sergeant in charge, a few of the other detectives from the homosquad squad, whose motto actually is our day starts when someone days end, which is pretty apt, I thought, and met the arresting officers. By now it's about midday. I'm taking to my motel just down the road from the office and deposit my things there. We then go and see the DPP and have a quick chat about the committal starting the next day. I might get on then, but it would be more likely the day after. Then apparently it was lunchtime, so the guys take me to a little pub and we go and have lunch. It was decided we would have a few drinks with lunch. Nothing too much Boys had said their only work for the day was chaperoning me, so we were free to enjoy a good afternoon. Some of the other detectives joined us and there were about six of us there.

Speaker 1: 4:54

Now this was back in bad old days, as some outside the police community believe it to be. Do I condone what I'm about to describe? Probably yes, because there is a camaraderie about police. You do something different to every other person, except maybe ambos and fireys, but they spend most of their time sleeping and doing push-ups. I understand how it can be seen as an ego complex or a power complex, but we were just a bunch of guys having a good time. It was during work time, but that was our work for the day.

Speaker 1: 5:22

Anyway. I started with a beer, but that was like chewing glass. So I moved to Southern Comfort and Coke. I thought I'll have one or two not disgraced to stay police and we'll be good to go Now. It was a rowdy afternoon. We drank quite a bit and, geez, did we have a good lunch, but the afternoon went on for three or four hours. So here I am drinking Southern Comforts Now.

Speaker 1: 5:45

Back then that was my drink of choice, that, or just about any bourbon. To be honest, a lot of compas drank rum and coke, but I couldn't. You see, and this will sound really daft, but I promised my mum that I would never drink rum. And I hadn't Off on a tangent. My mum's best friend's son, who was a medical student, had had a very big night on the rumbos, climbed up a disusing building to the roof, fell through the roof through two floors, broke every bone in his body. In hospital he was charged with breaking enter of the building. That was one reason why my mom asked me not to drink rum.

Speaker 1: 6:18

Okay, so, having lunch, drinking southern comfort, having a very rowdy afternoon, oh yes. So about three quarters of the way through this little soiree I started to feel a little bit unhealthy. I hadn't had that many drinks maybe five, but but I was definitely feeling like something didn't agree with me. I remember getting up to go to the toilet, starting to walk in and thinking to myself I must be drunker than I thought I was because I was swaying a bit and feeling very light-headed. So I get to the toilet, do my business and as I'm washing my hands and I'm bent over, I've gone nope, and rushed back to the nearest cubicle. I threw up like a champion All that wonderful lunch I had had, which was steak and salad and chips. I finished, went back to the basin, washed my face, cleaned myself up, then headed back outside.

Speaker 1: 7:04

When I got back to the tables the boys were all looking at me with grins on their faces. I knew something was afoot. You all right, mate. One of them asked You're in the bathroom. For a long time I looked at him with a dopey, drunk face and said what am I drinking? Triples came to reply. No wonder I had a spew. I said Okay, who has my next drink? That got me a cheer, a clap on the back and another drink. My police force was definitely not disgraced. The incident was also reported back to my sergeant in very favourable terms. So there was that the afternoon melted into the evening and it was decided that I should probably go home and sleep it off. Besides, they had plans for the next night anyway.

Speaker 1: 7:45

The next day the committal started, and the courthouse in Melbourne is a very old and distinguished building, one I would become very familiar with over the next few years. The two arresting detectives turned up at the motel and picked me up. We drove into the city proper and I got some breakfast and had a much-needed coffee. Melbourne coffee back then was the best in the country probably still is actually, after having lived there for five years. Anyway, I'm in the DPP offices in court and we are waiting for our turns to be called.

Speaker 1: 8:14

Comes to lunchtime and the committal is adjourned, so we head back to the homicide squad offices Now. We had bought some takeaway from nearby and were eating in what I would call meal room. They had a soft drink vending machine there, so I went up to it because I felt like a soft drink. There are a few murmurs of laughter as I tried to figure out how to use it. One of the detectives comes over and says this isn't plugged in, look. And with that he flicks the door clip and opens it up. Inside it was full of beer. It was kept off so no one would be tempted to have a beer during the day. It was switched on of a late afternoon on a Friday. However, he was excited that I wasn't going to be called that afternoon, so the DPP said that I wasn't needed in court.

Speaker 1: 8:55

Arrangements were made for me to go and meet with the COVID squad from Melbourne and catch up, one of the UCs came out to the homicide squad and picked me up. As we drove back to their nondescript safe house office very much like the one in our state I got lost. Mind you, I'd never been to Melbourne before, so there was a good chance I'd be lost no matter where I was going. I spent the afternoon with the squad and they were really welcoming. The inspector was a mad, keen Essendon supporter, which apparently meant if you were in the squad you had to support them as well. Now, for those who have never been to Victoria AFL or VFL, back then, aussie Reels football is a religion. Supporters are almost tribal Nay, they are very tribal, so you can imagine how much it would be having to pretend to support a team like Essendon.

Speaker 1: 9:41

Whilst I was there, two of the team were heading out to do a buy bus to bring down a very notorious drug dealer in Melbourne. I had a quick chat about that and then I got to listen to the surveillance. It was surreal sitting there listening to what was happening and hearing the police choppers overhead. The deal went a little awry and from memory became big news because he escaped and discharged a firearm. I stayed all afternoon and only left when the inspector left to go home. He'd received a call earlier and arrangements had been made to drop me at a bar in St Kilda where I would meet the homicide squad detectives.

Speaker 1: 10:16

This time the inspector was there and after one or two drinks we all jumped into two cars and drove to a Chinese restaurant where we had dinner. Now the food in Melbourne is amazing. It was amazing then too. It was a big city back then, not some big town trying to be a city. They even opened their shops on a Sunday. The night was quite big, to say the least. The restaurant closed at about 11pm and most of the guys went home or elsewhere. It was just me, one of the arresting officers and another detective. So where do you go at 11pm in Melbourne if you want to keep partying? There is this street in Melbourne called King Street, which is in the city. The street is considered the hub of Melbourne's entertainment area, so it was off to Men's Gallery we went. I won't go into too much detail, but it was a very good night and I didn't have to put my hand in my pocket at any stage.

Speaker 1: 11:13

The next day I was back at the courthouse and there was a suggestion that I would be getting into the witness box. It was now Friday. Just as I was called, the defense threw up a motion to have my evidence excluded. So instead of giving evidence in front of a jury, I was giving evidence at a voir dire, which is a procedure during a trial that helps a judge to decide on certain issues, things like the admissibility of a witness's evidence, ie mine. The issue the defence barrister was raising is that I didn't give proper warning under Victorian law to the accused. Now I have covered this in the second episode, but briefly, I was asked a few questions and released from the witness box. Now it's Friday afternoon, so the judge has decided he will finish for the weekend and continue with the voir dire on the following Monday and make a decision then.

Speaker 1: 12:06

That meant I had to spend the weekend in Melbourne. It wasn't bad. One of the arresting officers organized the whole weekend. On the Saturday I went with him for a sightseeing tour of Melbourne. I even went to the crime scene of the double murder, albeit 12 months on. I then had dinner at his house with his family and the next day he took me to the Arrow Valley for a wine tasting tour. It was actually a great weekend. Monday comes and we are back at court Now. In short, over the weekend the prosecution decided that they didn't need my evidence for the committal, so, rather than having it ruled out, they just withdrew me as a witness giving evidence for it. That meant my evidence was still admissible and I would be able to give it if another trial was conducted. I think they secretly hoped, after he was committed, lewis would plead out. Now, as we know, he didn't, and there were many more trips to court.

Speaker 1: 12:58

Episode 2 covers what happened next in much more detail. So I flew back to Brisbane on that Monday afternoon. I went back into the office on the Tuesday and the exploits of my trip had already filtered back and, needless to say, apparently I didn't let anyone down. I was eagerly awaiting my next job and the meeting where operations were discussed and approved was still a week away. So I basically attended the office and did paperwork. Now again, there was another operation that had been discussed, this time a short-term one, where I was to be working with one of the female UCs and be her boyfriend. That was going to be hard to explain to my then-wife. Luckily, the op got canned and it didn't actually eventuate past the planning stage. A week or two later, I was then tasked with an inner city operation with Betty.

Speaker 1: 13:52

Now, betty was one of the more unusual informants I had. You see, betty was a man who was gay and who preferred to be dressed as a female, or are dressed as a female, what we would now call preferred, the she her pronouns. Before that became a thing. In reality, she just preferred to dress and act like a woman. Now she had been caught with speed, I believe and and as part of her deal she was going to give up her dealers, as well as some of the dealers in the underworld of strip clubs and gay bars. This was always going to be a difficult job and was going to put my acting skills to the test.

Speaker 1: 14:26

You see, the cover story. The only cover story we could really come up with was I was going to be Betty's plaything and I was gay and I had to be convincing. Now bear in mind that I was happily married to a woman. The main reason for this cover story was twofold. One, a straight guy in this circle would scream undercover cop. And two, his two main targets were both sleeping with Betty, although they weren't gay per se, they just had sex with her. The only way to meet them without raising suspicions was to be at her house when they came around to take her out, and to be at her house, I had to be gay and her new plaything or boy toy. To be at her house, I had to be gay and her new plaything or boy toy, I know right Now, as part of any operation, I had to have a safe house, somewhere that I could meet targets if need be, but also somewhere that, if I was followed, would not put my real life or my wife at risk. Now, because this actually happened in my first operation, I was followed home to my real house by two Vietnamese guys.

Speaker 1: 15:32

I took this part of my experience really seriously, so I had to find somewhere to live. There was a suggestion between my controller and Betty that maybe I should live there with her, whilst I think my controller was joking. I'm pretty sure Betty wasn't. It was never going to happen, though. She lived in a one-bedroom apartment. I was not sleeping on a couch and I was definitely not sharing a bed with her. That was investing in the cover story one step too far.

Speaker 1: 16:04

Anyway, I eventually got an apartment that was close to Betty, but the surveillance guys were still able to wire up with recording devices and cameras, which meant that I was able to wire up with recording devices and cameras, which meant that I was able to record things that happened in the unit. It was also far enough away that I wouldn't risk being seen coming and going. Now, unlike today's nanny cams, it was hardwired with tape, which made timing everything, but in general, it worked the same way. Turning it on was tricky and had to be done before anyone was in the apartment. Given that the recorder was hidden and I had to take furniture apart to access it, there were limitations. Luckily, though, the complex had one of those video phones that allowed me to see who was at my entrance, and they had to be buzzed into the internal part of the building. Still, out of the few times I did use it, there was one where I left part of the furniture awry in my haste to get it turned on, and I thought it was going to give me away. It didn't, but I was stressed through the entire interaction.

Speaker 1: 17:09

Now again, this apartment was very close to two things from my past, one being the sports ground where I did a lot of the initial buys with Roy. I believed he was no longer dealing and his legitimate business had gone, so I wasn't going to see him. I didn't think. But the second one it was very close to where I went to high school and there were a few people that I knew socially, or rather had known socially, who lived in the immediate area. So there was that in the back of my mind. I was always very careful when I was outside to make sure just who I might be seen by. As for a vehicle, I was driving a Holden Ute for some reason. Not sure how that fit into the cover story of being a gay toy boy, but given I spent a lot of time walking or taking taxis when I was with Betty, it didn't seem to be a problem. Okay, so back to Betty.

Speaker 1: 17:59

Obviously I had to build rapport with Betty which would make people not question that I was her gay boy toy. I spent a lot of time at her place learning about her. It even got to the point where she bought me clothes to wear and made sure I had a proper skincare routine to help me look the part. I look back now, and while I was given shit from the rest of the squad about it, it was quite an enjoyable experience. Betty often tried to convince me that I should see if I was at least bi, but to no avail.

Speaker 1: 18:30

I am very much hetero and very much interested in women. That interest in women also nearly caused my cover being blown and a slight change to my backstory, where I was now bi. You see, betty was very, very good friends with a plethora of strippers. They literally lived in the units around her and as she used to run clubs, she was gifted free entry to just about every strip club in the city. In this op, I needed to be seen with her, socializing and be accepted as part of the scene. A few weeks becomes a lifetime and once you are always there, you become part of the furniture and people stop questioning why you're there or how long you have been there. So, needless to say, I spent many nights initially going out just to be seen and become known, and for some reason, as I said, strip clubs seem to be the club of choice for Betty.

Speaker 1: 19:24

Okay, now most people think of them as seedy places where women who are drug addicted sell their bodies and sometimes their souls, to dirty old men. In my experience, not all the girls use drugs, but some do. Not all the girls are prostitutes, but some are. Some of the girls are really just making a lucrative living by using what God gave them in a relatively safe way. You would generally have your mix of girls who have no other choice and could be taken advantage of through to girls who enjoyed the fact that men gave their money for being attractive and being naked. There was also this sort of subculture, if you like.

Speaker 1: 20:04

When I was going out and partying myself with my friends, both male and female, we did it in nightclubs. Strip clubs also have the same allure for people as well. Yes, you get your bucks night groups, you get your dirty old men, but you also get a certain group of people, both male and female, who genuinely go to strip clubs for the same experience I would have in a normal club. Obviously, there would be more nakedness and left clothing at the strip club than at a club. I don't know if you could say that now, though. Anyway, there were a lot of people that just gravitated towards strip clubs. A lot of them also used speed, amongst other drugs, but it also, but basically speed and ease seemed to be the drug of choice. I was made aware of the presence of cocaine, but it never became a drug to access in the circles I was playing in.

Speaker 1: 21:02

On a night out with Betty, we would come to a club and the girls would, in various stages of undress, come up and hug and kiss her, saying hello. Once I was introduced, they would hug and kiss me too. We would go backstage to the dressing rooms where again we would get hugs and kisses, this time from mostly naked girls. Now, as I've said previously, I was a young man who enjoyed the female form. The natural response of a red-blooded male when having friendly physical contact, such as hugging or kissing or showing affection, let alone just being with and seeing naked, stunning girls, was a physiological response of a rocket in my pocket. Whilst being somewhat enjoyable, it was also very problematic, given I was supposed to be Betty's boy toy and ostensibly gay. On one particular occasion it the rocket response was very, very obvious and Betty came up to me, whacked me in the groin with her hand and said you need to put that away. You're supposed to be gay. Gay men don't get hard over an naked girl, honey. Well, that smack did the trick. It wasn't going to be a fix, so he decided to change my backstory to being bi and not totally gay. That way, if one of the girls did notice my response, I had a plausible excuse and it wouldn't draw too much attention, which saved my bacon.

Speaker 1: 22:23

On a meet with a new target in one of the strip clubs we would frequent. That meet was very interesting and also, in retrospect, a little bit dangerous. That meet was very interesting and also, in retrospect, a little bit dangerous. It involved a poor girl on her first night stripping who got a little bit too into the job of a lap dance, and the fallout from the floor manager who thought I might be a vice cop, but I'll come to that further in the episode. All in all, betty was a great informant and was able to transition me into taking over buying from the targets and making that separate from her.

Speaker 1: 22:53

As we move through this episode, I will outline some of those meetings and buys that she facilitated. Betty did, however, have a wealth of information on a number of important people, from politicians to a mayor, to businessmen and even church clergy. She told me a number of stories that left me in no doubt that my city had a very seedy underbelly and that people are not always what they seem. Nor are they as squeaky clean as they portray. Now I'm not here to tell those stories, as they are hers to tell, okay. Well, maybe I will tell one or two. We'll see.

Speaker 1: 23:30

Anyway, in the next episode we will start to explore the targets, from the married brothers who were not gay but just having sex with Betty, through to that club meet and the two speed buys in my apartment that were recorded. Unfortunately, that's all we have time for in this episode. Unfortunately, that's all we have time for in this episode. Next episode I'll start talking about the buys and how I met some of the targets in this current operation. Until then, have a great day. Thank you for listening to Whisper in the Shadows my true stories of a real-life undercover cop. I hope you've enjoyed that episode. In the next one we'll explore more exciting stories from my operations. Please make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. Lastly, if you're an ex-COVID operative or undercover police officer, I would love to chat to you about your experiences. Or, if you're feeling dangerous, tell your stories on my podcast. Please get in contact by my email, which is whisperintheshadowspodcast at gmailcom. I look forward to you joining me next time.