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Nicholas George Paltos (c. 1940 – 26 December 2003) was an Australian doctor who became a convicted criminal.
Early life
editPaltos was born Nicholas George Paltos[1] (or possibly Nicholas John Paltos[2]) in 1940[3] or 1941[1] on the small Greek island of Kastelorizon[1] The youngest of ten children, his family migrated from Greece to Melbourne, Australia in 1947.[3] After the death of his mother in 1949, his family moved to Sydney in 1955,[3] where he first became acquainted with gambling, which was to be his downfall.[1]
Paltos attended school until he was 13, when he left and worked at a chrome metal factory. In 1955, he moved with his father to Sydney, where he worked as an apprentice in a Sydenham metal factory, completing a diploma course in electroplating.
Paltos enrolled at Sydney Technical College in 1959 and took two years to complete his matriculation. He then won a scholarship to study medicine at the University of New South Wales in 1962.[1] After completing studies, he commenced work at the Sydney Hospital in 1969, and in 1978 took up private practice with rooms in Woolloomooloo.[1]
Career
editHe studied and worked part-time as a taxi driver and salesman. He also met his future wife, Marie Kratzis, whom he married in January 1967. He completed his studies in 1968 and joined the staff of Sydney Hospital. A year later he was appointed to the emergency and casualty department.
Paltos frequented illegal gaming venues, in particular the Goulburn Club, and racecourses. He knew people who moved in that world, including Graham "Croc" Palmer. He met George Freeman as a doctor and became friends with him.
In 1978, Paltos took up private practice in Riley Street, Woolloomooloo. His patients included high-flyers such as former NSW Supreme Court chief justice Laurence Street, media tycoon Kerry Packer and broadcaster John Laws. He warned ex-Goon Harry Secombe that if he did not lose some of his 129 kilograms, he would die. Secombe took that advice and credited Paltos with saving his life.
Paltos fathered two children and lived in a two-storey home, Gwandalan, in one of Sydney's most expensive suburbs, Bellevue Hill.
His gambling issues continued. In 1982 he borrowed $300,000 from the family company of a solicitor, Ross Karp. In an effort to pay mounting debts he became involved in criminal activity.
First conviction
editIn 1986, Paltos pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to import 5.5 tonnes of hashish into Australia.[3][4]
Second conviction
editIn 1990, Paltos was convicted on charges of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, along with police detective Roger Rogerson, for using bank accounts under false names to hide improperly gotten money.[3][5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Doc descended into underworld". Sydney Morning Herald. 1 January 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
- ^ R v Rogerson [1992] HCA 25, (1992) 174 CLR 268 (17 June 1992), autp.
- ^ a b c d e Cornford, Philip (1 January 2004). "God 'will forgive' the doctor turned crim". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
- ^ "RESEARCH REPORT ON TRENDS IN POLICE CORRUPTION" (PDF). Parliament of New South Wales. 1 December 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
- ^ "ROYAL COMMISSION INTO THE NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE SERVICE" (PDF). Wood Royal Commission. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.