Life As A ‘Filthy Rat’…
By: Christain Cullen
Police corruption whistleblower Simon Illingworth has described the lowest point he reached in his personal life when working as a “rat” or informer with the Victoria Police’s internal affairs department, or the “filth”.
Out publicising his new biography, appropriately named Filthy Rat, Illingworth says the low point came when he knew was a hunted man, sleeping with a revolver beside his bed and surrounded by elaborate security.
“You live a life so isolated, so downtrodden that you feel worthless,” Illingworth has told ABC radio.
“And you drink a lot. You almost take on the role of rat because you feel so worthless.”
Illingworth, 38, made headlines two years ago when he went public on the ABC’s Australian Story to talk about corruption inside Victoria Police and how his life had been turned into a living hell by becoming a whistleblower, including being bashed while on duty, threatened and victimised.
In the biography, published by ABC books, he reveals that at one point a criminal who was out to get him was known to be possession of guns, a silencer and night vision goggles “and knew where I lived”.
He says he decided to go public at the time because “I had nothing left to lose”. “My life became a living nightmare.”
Having worked in Victoria Police’s internal investigations department, he is a strong advocate of an independent anti-corruption commission being established in Victoria – the only state without one.
“You’ll never stop corruption. You’ll never stop organised crime. (But) you can minimise it and that’s precisely what the other states appear to be doing,” says Illingworth, who since leaving Victoria Police has worked as a motivational speaker through his company ethicalstrength.com
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Christain Cullen writes for The Gotcha Network.
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