Robert Trimbole - Escape and Capture

Escape and Capture

On 5 May 1981, police recorded a conversation between Trimbole and an associate, Dr Nick Paltos, about his pending arrest for conspiracy to murder Mackay.

Trimbole fled to the United States, then to France and finally to Ireland, avoiding Customs checks by changing his date of birth on a Departure Card.

A month later Trimbole was arrested in Ireland and held in custody awaiting extradition but, aided by a battery of high priced lawyers, managed to avoid extradition after the Irish Government refused to extradite him to Australia and he was released.

The Australian government appealed against the decision of the Irish court, but Trimbole regained his freedom.

Australian Federal Police intercepted phone conversations of Paltos discussing the failed extradition attempt of Trimbole and made mention of the large amounts of money that Trimbole had spent on his defence, explaining that efforts to extradite Trimbole failed largely due to the efforts of Irish constitutional lawyer Patrick MacEntee, who had become famous for defending IRA members.

Trimbole escaped Ireland to Spain, where he died in a Spanish hospital on 12 May 1987, at the age of 56. His body was returned to Australia and his funeral was held in Sydney, where mourners and journalists brawled and made news headlines around the country on the evening news. He was buried at the Pine Grove Lawn Cemetery at Minchinbury, New South Wales, Sydney on 25 May 1987.