Jack Roche: Convicted Australian terrorist recruited by FBI for $US400,000

One of Australia’s first convicted terrorists, Jack Roche, was secretly recruited by the FBI and paid more than $US400,000 ($561,000) to give evidence about his alleged co-conspirators, according to extraordinary testimony unearthed in US Military Commission files in Guantanamo Bay.

The Muslim convert, jailed in Perth in 2004 for plotting to blow up the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, was interviewed by the FBI up to 10 times about his dealings with al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, the alleged architect of 9/11 attacks, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), and Encep Nurjaman (Hambali), the alleged mastermind of the Bali bombings, among others.

The secret interviews started while Roche was still serving his jail term in Perth and continued for 10 years, including after he was released in May 2007 having served half of his nine-year sentence. Experts say Roche was paid the huge amount of money because he was such a high-value asset with a unique window into the top leadership circle of al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah its Indonesian- based affiliate.

But it has taken so long to bring KSM and Hambali to trial, Roche has since died. The defence team for Hambali has asked for the “hearsay” statements made by Roche to be suppressed. The US Military Commission has yet to rule on that motion.

Prosecutors for the Military Commission have “politely declined” to comment about Roche’s death. Hambali’s defence team have been contacted for comment.

Documents filed in the Commission’s Hambali case files contain testimony from FBI Special Agent Francis J. Pellegrino revealing Roche was removed from jail and taken to an unnamed police station in Perth for the first interview in December 2005 with himself and an Assistant US Attorney.

Agent Pellegrino confirmed Roche had last been paid $US250,000 in cash in June 2015 because of his status as a “cooperating witness”.

“He had some financial concerns. And in order to keep him as a working cooperating witness it was decided some payment needed to be made…” Agent Pellegrino testified.

“I know we were paying — before the lump sum was provided — we did pay for the rental… he lived in an apartment in Perth that was – that we paid the rent for a number of months. Because once he got out of jail, he couldn’t get a job right away. “

Agent Pellegrino told the Military Commission the payments had to be authorised at the highest level of the FBI in Washington DC.

A report by Agent Pellegrino also revealed Roche’s desire to move to the US.

“Roche remains somewhat frustrated by the numerous roadblocks preventing his relocation to the United States. Roche reiterated his desire to relocate to the United States and requested that our efforts to achieve that continue.” The Pellegrino statement said.

Agent Pellegrino has revealed that the FBI became involved with Roche after being asked to run a parallel investigation into al-Qaida targets by French prosecutors. They recommended the FBI talk to Roche.

At the time France’s lead terrorist investigator Jean-Louis Bruguiere was building a case against KSM and Christian Ganczarski, a German man later convicted of a synagogue bombing in Tunisia that killed 21 people, including two French nationals. Roche gave evidence by video link at Ganczarski’s trial saying he had seen the German with Osama bin Laden at a training camp in Afghanistan.

Professor Rohan Gunaratna, the author of Inside Al Qaeda, Global Terror Network, said the payment to Roche was very high but justified because Roche was considered a highly valuable asset as the only westerner to meet the most senior leaders of al-Qaida.

“That kind of money being paid to him meant they wanted him to testify in trials,” Professor Gunaratna said.

“They looked after him. They paid him that money for him to tell the truth.

“The FBI is a very professional organisation and they have a lot of experience working with people like this. The FBI did not do anything wrong by paying him. They did not influence him by making the payments they just wanted him to tell the truth.”

Professor Gunaratna said he had also interviewed Roche while he was in Hakea prison in Perth and had extensive communications with him and found that “he did not lie. He always told the truth.”

Roche represented one of Australia’s biggest intelligence failures prior to 9/11.

The British-born Roche had extensive information about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and its affiliated Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) prior to the 9/11 attacks and 2002’s Bali bombings and tried to warn Australian authorities to no avail.

Roche had lived in Sydney and later in Indonesia where he joined the terror group JI. From there he was sent in 2000 to Malaysia to meet Hambali, who is currently awaiting trial in Guantanamo Bay over the Bali bombings.

Hambali, he said, sent him to Pakistan where he met KSM and from there he went on to Afghanistan, and received explosives training with al-Qaida and met Osama bin Laden.

Roche returned to Australia and had been tasked by the terror groups to gather information and undertake surveillance on the Israeli Embassy and on Jewish businessman and then mining magnate Joseph “Diamond Joe” Gutnick.

He was also asked to recruit others for a terrorist cell in Australia.

But Roche was concerned about what he had seen and heard. Although he did carry out surveillance on the Israeli Embassy that was as far as it went.

He contacted ASIO in Perth, where he was living, three times initially telling agent “Don” he had just returned from Afghanistan where he met with bin Laden. He also voiced his concerns about the rise of extremism in elements of the Islamic community in Australia and offered to work for ASIO.

After his first contact he contacted ASIO again before travelling to Indonesia to meet with JI leader Abu Bakar Bashir. After his return to Perth, he again called ASIO in August 2000 and left another message but the counter-espionage agency never called him back.

Professor Gunaratna said Roche’s greatest value at the end of the day was that he had realised he was against that kind of terrorism and extremism, and tried to warn Australian authorities about the potential dangers.

Professor Gunaratna said Roche would have been an ideal agent to run.

“He would have enjoyed it. He was a cowboy. He wanted adventure,” he said.

“AQ (al-Qaida) wanted someone — a white jihadist — so they could run fear into western countries.

“And there was no one else who had met all the senior leadership of AQ.”

After the Bali bombings Roche called Perth radio station 6PR to talk on air about his knowledge of JI. His story was picked up by the Australian media and the authorities finally took notice.

ASIO and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) raided his home shortly after. Roche spent hours telling them what he knew. But then they charged him with conspiring to blow up the Israeli embassy. He went to trial and changed his not guilty plea to guilty halfway through the trial. He was sentenced to nine years jail and was released after serving four.

In an interview after his release Roche said “I was a scapegoat for ASIO and the Australian Federal Police because they didn’t do their jobs.”

ASIO and the AFP may not have seen the value in enlisting Roche as an informant, the FBI certainly did and their contact continued for years.

Roche was expected to give evidence in the Military Commission trials of KSM and Hambali which are likely to take place in the next two years. He had given extensive written statements over the years.

Professor Gunaratna said Jack Roche’s death is a great loss to the US government because he was one of the few westerners who met with senior leaders of al-Qaida, including its current leader, Saif al-Adel.