1.00pm
A singing detective has obtained a confession from a gang member over a beer at a Palmerston North karaoke bar.
Willie Mitford, a patched Black Power member, was enjoying a pint at Deano's Bar and Grill in Main Street on Friday night when Detective Dave Wishnowsky happened past.
Mr Wishnowsky was the officer in charge of a theft-as-a-servant trial brought against Mitford last month.
The jury in that trial was hung and Mitford had gone free. One theft charge remained, however, and the two men got to discussing the case over a handle.
Before long, a wager was laid.
"I had had a few drinks," Mitford said later.
"I said 'You get up there and sing me a song, and if you're good, I will go guilty'."
Unbeknown to Mitford, Mr Wishnowsky is a former musician, and before long was belting out a rousing rendition of Robbie Williams' hit Better Man.
The dulcet detective had barely started the song when Mitford came forward, shook his hand and promised to change his plea to guilty.
"He was something special, I s*** you not," Mitford said yesterday.
"I just couldn't believe it."
And to prove there is honour among thieves, Mitford kept his end of the bargain by entering a guilty plea in Palmerston North District Court yesterday.
Mr Wishnowsky, a police officer for the past eight years, said yesterday the bet was made after the pair were "just yakking" over a beer.
Mitford handed Mr Wishnowsky a songbook, and the Robbie Williams number was the first tune he recognised.
"I had only sung two to three lines and he came over to me and said 'I'm guilty'."
Mr Wishnowsky, who admits to having attended a couple of Robbie Williams concerts in the past, and was lead-vocalist-drummer of pub band Xpose in the 1980s, said Mitford was "really good natured about it".
Mitford, a concrete layer, said his boss went into hysterics when he heard the story.
Mitford is philosophical about the guilty plea, and said the charge had been hanging around for too long.
"Three-and-a-half years, and it came down to a bet in a bar."
He insisted, however, that his guilty plea was not an admission of guilt.
"I only went guilty because I lost the bet. Otherwise, I would have gone to trial, and I would have beaten him."
He will return to court for sentencing next month.
Mr Wishnowsky's boss, Detective Sergeant Tim Smith, said the story was a great example of two guys sorting out their differences over a beer.
"I just think it's great that off-duty, and socially, a criminal and a police officer are shown to have a respect for each other."
As for Mr Wishnowsky, he is coming to terms with his new nickname Robbie.
Caption: Outsung by a "better man", Willy Mitford considers his last-minute guilty plea at home in Palmerston North yesterday.
- NZPA
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