(TINKLY MUSIC)
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(STRING MUSIC)
(BASSY MUSIC)
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
My name's David Farrier, and I'm
a journalist from New Zealand.
Five years ago,
I started writing
what I thought would be
a very simple quirky story.
But here I am,
half a decade later,
still trying to make
sense of it all.
(BASSY MUSIC)
I'm driving to an abandoned
psychiatric hospital
in the middle of nowhere...
which is funny, because I do
feel like I'm losing my mind.
What's he doing in there?
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
I'm just gonna park
up where we were.
Or further on.
- I'm not going by them.
I don't even know who
I'm here to meet -
I just know that somewhere
in these crumbling buildings
lie the answers I need -
at least that's what I hope.
- So, two people
got out and walked in.
- Can we see who is in that car?
No.
What the f*ck are you up to?
(SIGHS)
(INTENSE MUSIC)
(BASSY MUSIC)
(ENGINE REVS)
(ENGINE REVS)
I guess you could
call the city I live in
the Beverly Hills
of New Zealand.
And on one of its most
expensive streets
sits this high-end antique
store, Bashford Antiques.
During the day,
it's quiet, uneventful;
blue skies and canoodling
pigeons.
But as the sun sets,
and the store closes,...
things get crazy outside.
- You were given
every chance to pay.
- We're trying to pay you money.
You saw me go and get
the cash. You saw me.
- I haven't seen
you get anything.
- Yes, you did. You are a liar!
You saw me go and get the cash.
- No, I saw you walk past here.
- Excuse me.
- Yes, to go and get the cash,
where you told me
the cashpoint was.
- The owner of the antique
store is Jillian Bashford,
and she's making a bold stand
against anyone who dares
park outside when it's shut.
- When I bought this
building over 15 years ago,
there was no parking
issues round the area.
Ah, how times have changed!
People think they've got
a sense of entitlement
to park in somebody's
private car park.
- To fix the problem,
she's hired a man to watch
her car park like a hawk.
When people park there,
he waits till they walk away,
then swoops, . . .
Placing a clamp on their wheel
or blocking them
in with his van.
- There was car parks.
- You are not...
- When they come back,
the aggro begins.
- I told the police that you-
- It's all right. Leave it-
- ...were given every-
- You're an absolute crook.
- Because it's private property,
this is fully legal.
So if people want to leave,
they have to pay him.
And I realised this car park is
quite the money-maker
for Bashford Antiques.
- I'm literally trying to
give you 400 bucks cash,
which is what you asked for,
and you want to-
- No, it is $760.
- Oh my God.
- Charging $760 for
half an hour's parking
is ludicrous to me...
so I start writing about Jillian
and her bonkers clamping.
- You go to Westhaven,
you'll be clamped there too.
- No problem.
And I'm willing to pay.
- So go and park at Westhaven
and be clamped there.
- Ooh!
- Ooh. (LAUGHS)
- I know.
- Tale of a bully.
- Pretty soon, she's on
the prime-time news.
- This week, we heard that a
full-scale w*r was breaking out
on the streets of an
Auckland suburb, and...
- Diners told us they were being
preyed on by a wheel clamper,
who was then demanding they
pay to get their vehicles back.
- Hannah parked in front
of Bashford's Antiques
on Williamson Ave.
- Something in this
report gets my attention -
I've seen Jillian and her
clamper together a lot now,
and yet here she is saying she
doesn't know anything about him.
- I have nothing to
do with Premiere.
They're purely the people
that do the clamping for me.
- I don't understand why
she's lying about this,
so I give her a call.
(PHONE LINE RINGS)
- Oh, hey, Jillian.
It's David Farrier speaking.
- It's David Farrier.
I'm a journalist
from The Spinoff.
- Yeah. Hi.
(PHONE LINE BEEPS)
- Where?
- Part of the reason why
we're...
- As their victims increase
into the hundreds...
Jillian takes things up a notch.
Her legal representatives
sends threats in all-caps
to people who are
speaking out about it.
They're signed by an MDA Organ.
I try and find him
to interview him,
but there's no lawyer
with that name -
he doesn't exist.
The only Organ I can
find is this Organ,
who once made headlines claiming
to be a blue-blooded prince.
I stare at the prince...
and I see the clamper
staring back at me.
The prince,
the clamper and the lawyer;
I think they're all the same
person - Michael Organ.
This is exactly my
kind of weird mess.
I know there must be more
to this car-park t*rror1st.
Something else is going on here,
and I want to find out what.
(PHONE LINE RINGS)
- Yes?
- Oh, hi.
It's David Farrier speaking.
I'm a journalist based in
Auckland. How are you doing?
- I'm fine. I'm good.
- You're good.
Hey, it's a bit of a random
call out of the blue -
I'm looking into the background
of Michael Organ.
- Oh, do me a favour.
Now, you've asked me a
question about Michael Organ,
but I'm gonna ask you
to do me a quick favour,
and you're gonna answer this
very, very quickly for me,
straight off the bat.
When were you born?
- I was born on
Christmas Day, '82.
- Nice one. You are
David Farrier. OK.
The reason why I ask
you that is because
this is something that
Michael would do,
so you'll forgive me if had to
check you there a little bit.
- This paranoid voice
belongs to Jazz,
a man who lived with
Organ in the late '90s.
- Yeah. Um...
- I was just wondering if you'd
talk me through, like,
the day-to-day of, like,
living in that place.
- (SIGHS) Man. It was hell.
Every single day with
Michael Organ is like hell.
Um, it's like
high-velocity hell.
He's the kind of guy that
if you're talking to
him for 10 minutes,
that 10 minutes will
turn into 10 hours.
And it's not a good 10 hours.
- I'd already heard of Michael
before I moved into this flat.
- What had you heard?
- Nothing nice. (LAUGHS)
It all was a bit, sort of,
like... you know, like,
urban legend,
um, that this man
was a Satanist and,
uh, part of the Knights Templar
and he was dangerous and he
could put curses on you and...
um, and that he was
part of a fraud ring
and all sorts of
things like that.
You know, like, there was just
all these stories about him.
- But because of the stories and
the speed that he's doing it,
he kind of captures you into
it, and you kind of get...
you know, you kind of get
taken along for the ride.
It's like being in love.
You know,
a lot of people go through
it - you're in love,
and you don't realise just
how bad the relationship is,
until you step away
from it, cos you're in it.
Once you step away from it,
you realise how crazy... sh*t got.
- There's clearly more
to Michael Organ
than just being
a vindictive clamper.
When he was living
with Jazz in the '90s,
Organ ran a sex
shop called Taboo.
When he stopped paying rent,
the landlord changed the locks,
evicting him.
Organ wasn't happy and decided
he'd get back at the landlord.
This is the landlord, Rene Dunn.
He's sitting on his
yacht, the Matia.
- So, you know, revenge sets in.
So he's got Matia in his sights.
And it was... you know, it was
tied up to the pole mooring,
and one night,
Michael Organ went aboard
the boat and tried to steal it.
You know, I mean, you can't
just steal a boat. Right?
But this is the
gall of the guy -
he tried to do it.
And the only reason
why it failed
is because Jamie Lockett
threw him off.
- I was not expecting Jamie
Lockett to be a part of this.
Jamie hit the headlines in 2007,
when police accused
him of being a t*rror1st.
- This is the man police
alleged talked of training
for guerrilla warfare and taking
out white men with no manners.
- He's known to be
an intimidating man,
which is why I'm a little
nervous to meet him.
He lives three hours
north, off the grid,
moving from house to house.
The fact he was somehow involved
in this story had me curious.
- Jamie.
- How are you?
Sorry?
Oh, we'll go down.
That's all right.
- Yep.
- Nice to meet you, sir.
How are you going?
- Rene came to see me and said,
'Jamie, you know, we've found
'the boat. It's in Westhaven.
We want you to get it back.'
Yeah, Rene had organized,
another yacht, a friend's yacht,
where we all were on that,
and we cut the motor
about a kilometer away
and just cruised in
in the early morning,
so you couldn't even hear
us coming. And, of course,
I did my old Bruce Lee
jump on to the boat...
and just went downstairs,
and there was Michael Organe.
He just couldn't believe me
coming down the companionway.
So, he had a phone in one
hand...
and, um...
he started trying to
call somebody,
so I just knocked the
phone out of his hand.
And pretty well just...
you know, cos I've
been doing this all my life.
OK? That's what karate's
all about. And so...
what you do,
in situations like that,
when I have to manhandle
another human being,
now, if they've got
hair on their head,
I'll come in and grab
their head, their hair.
- Right.
- And cos this is so strong,
that I actually can
pull the skin up tight,
and the brain goes into a...
like, into a zombie mode.
So I come in and just
go... (WHOOSHES)
On his head, and I've got it.
So I had him in my... you know,
I had him in my grip.
And he's just gone
into an instant fright.
So I then have to
manhandle him...
cos he can't manhandle - he's in
a... the whole body's stopped,
cos I've got his - this here;
this here's so tight,
and for good measure,
I just did a nice, uh...
heel, uh, kick on his phone,
and that broke,
which is probably I shouldn't
have done that, but, you know...
So I got Organe...
into the dinghy.
We even provided a dinghy...
just in case he didn't have one,
which I don't think he did.
So we had our own dinghy, and
I put Organe into the dinghy,
and I looked him in
the eyes, and I said,
'Don't speak.'
And then we saw all the police
cars going over the bumpity
bumps down Westhaven. (LAUGHS)
There was about eight
of them. (LAUGHS)
So, you know,
I'd committed no of fence.
I got him out of the boat, um...
I actually accidentally stood
on his cell phone, I suppose.
But, you know, besides
that, I used, um...
not excessive force to
get him off that boat,
and I got him off
that boat quickly.
No mucking around.
That's why, you know,
Rene wanted me to do it.
I don't think anybody else could
have done it like I did it.
You should have seen him. He was
running up the A Pier screaming,
'Argh!' in his underpants.
(LAUGHS)
- Michael was sentenced
to three years in prison
for stealing the Matia.
This is the article that got
me hooked on Michael -
the one that also mentioned
he was a prince.
Well, the thing is,
Michael Organ
is constantly doing wildly
strange things with his name.
He often misspells
his first name.
But then he gets more elaborate,
claiming to be a prince,
sometimes a count.
(CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC)
I know about this because
he's doing it all in court,...
a lot.
- He, uh,
arrived with a big box, and it
was very, very important.
It was held out as if to say,
'I'm very, very important.
'Be careful with this.'
You know?
Uh, and at the appropriate
time in the case,
when he was trying to drive
home how important he was,
he opened up the box
and presented a crown
and said that it was
given to him by royalty
and he's dined with royalty
and...
- Did he pop the crown on
his head in the courtroom?
Or just hold it?
- I don't think he actually got
to the point where
he was allowed to,
because I think the judge almost
instantly said, 'Put it away.'
You know, she just...
The ending of the case
was the interesting bit,
because she said to Michael...
uh, 'I'm going to ask
you to leave first.
'And I'm going to
walk you to the elevator,
'and I'm going to
watch you go down.'
So I thought, 'Ooh, that's...
'odd, interesting.'
So she walked out,
and John and I were sitting
there alone for a few minutes.
And I thought, 'OK.
I wonder why that was.'
And then she came back
into the room and said,
'I'm sorry about that.
'Michael Organ might
not have recognised me,
'but I most certainly
recognised him.'
And she advised that we, not
just walk out of there, but run.
And she said,
'Don't ever look back.
'Don't ever have anything
to do with that man again.'
- I wonder if I should listen
to the judge's advice.
The fact Michael's known
to the legal system here
speaks volumes - he's obviously
a litigious nightmare.
But not because he's
a lawyer - he's not.
I've checked his
legal qualifications,
and he doesn't have any.
But that doesn't stop him
acting like he's a lawyer.
And as I look through
other cases Michael's
been involved in,
I can't help but think of his
behaviour clamping cars.
- The problem with Michael
is once he gets on to you,
he won't let go.
If he perceives someone's
giving you information,
if he gets any inkling of who
it might be or whatever,
I'll tell you what -
he'll go after them.
- Are you there?
- Yes. Hello.
- There you are. What do
you wanna talk about tonight?
- Well, my name is Michael
Organ, and I'm, um,
the chap who's been, um,
cited in the media,
um, in regards to the
clamping in Ponsonby
the journalist, David Farrier.
- He's calling talk back radio
about his bonkers clamping,
and he's read my articles.
- With clamping,
there are no real rules.
And in your situation,
you were basically allowed
to do whatever you liked.
And what I'm saying-
- No, no, no, no. Jeremy, no.
We- We- We- No, no.
- ...on your property, you can-
Farrier - and this is
one of the things-
NO-
- ...that we have considered-
And it's a matter of record.
- So the very first time- Hold
on, mate. Hold on. Hold on.
Hold on.
- We have proof of that.
- The very first time
you clamped someone -
not the 50th time or
the hundredth time,
or the fourth time David Farrier
did an article on you
the very first time.
- Every single time.
- The $760 for half an
hour of illicit car parking.
- Uncontrolled, um, exorbitant,
uh, and sometimes
intimidating behaviour.
- Bashford Antiques,
they were called.
- Thanks, in part, to Jillian's
extreme stance on clamping,
Parliament is now debating
whether the law
should be changed.
- I just simply can't get
my head around
that sort of practice
and that sort of behaviour.
And it is time to
bring an end to it.
- The question is that
the motion be agreed to.
Those of that opinion
will say 'aye'.
- MPs: Aye.
- To the contrary, no.
The ayes have it.
- No more clamping...
and no more Bashfords -
the clamping mania has
scared a lot of people away,
and Jillian shuts the shop down.
All that's left behind
is the old sign.
I take it home as a memento
to the madness.
I guess this is my final
piece, the eulogy...
but my mistake -
Bashfords isn't dead.
- You're talking to me about
allegation of the theft of
business signs from
Bashford Antiques,
and that these are your rights
here that I need to read you.
So you have the
right to remain silent.
You do not have to
make any statement.
Anything you say
will be recorded
and may be given in evidence.
- It looks like Jillian wants
me charged with theft.
This is f*cking crazy,
because the sign was just trash
for a store that
no longer exists.
Then I get a court
summons from Jillian.
She's taking legal action.
It's so ridiculous,
because the broken old things
are just under my house -
I could've just given them back.
Reading her court filing,
Jillian says we've met
to talk about all this,
but we've never met.
I tried calling her
when all this started,
but she just hung up.
(PHONE LINE BEEPS)
- I don't understand
why Jillian is doing this,
going to all these extremes.
And I wonder if it's really
her...
or if something
else is going on.
When Michael stole that yacht,
he had an accomplice -
someone he'd moved in with;
someone he had
made forge documents
to make it look like
Michael Organ owned the boat.
- He was persistently
gaslighting me...
and everything I did was wrong.
There was a, sort of a...
you know, I was forever being...
Um, it was like, uh...
Uh, I felt as though I was
groomed to begin with.
- So you're saying it was a
really calculated decision by
him to really get into your
life and groom you in that way?
- You couldn't think -
I couldn't, and when
you're under that stress,
in that situation, you can't
make sensible decisions.
That's what was getting to me -
I couldn't be the master
of my own destiny.
I mean, that's the
worst space to be in.
It was really getting
me down. I had...
one or two people I could talk
to over this. And, of course,
Michael was trying to separate
me from my friends; like,
some of them were
prohibited from visiting.
He nagged at me one day to...
to help him forge a
signature on a contract.
I was in such a space then,
I would just do anything
to keep him quiet.
I just said, 'Oh well.
If this'll shut him up for...
'you know, for half
a day, it's worth it.'
- When Organ got arrested,
Simon went down with him.
- It was just my darkest time.
All the other parts of my life
that were dark, you know,
sort of, watching the
parents die or whatever;
but, no, this was a dark year.
It was a tough year.
I'm glad that the...
yacht theft happened,
because that gave me an out.
It was the price I had to pay.
Um, yes. Being arrested,
sitting in a jail cell,
doing my community service -
that's what I had to go through
to... to, uh, get away from it-
get away from him.
I was surprised he
was let out so soon.
He... I remember
coming to a traffic...
you know, a pedestrian crossing,
and there he was,
across the street,
sort of making this gesture.
And I went like this - I went,
'Oh my... I don't believe it.'
- It's clear to me that Michael
Organ really affects people -
he can tunnel into their lives,
draw them into his schemes.
And he refuses
to let anything go.
OK. So, I'm walking down
the side of my house,
which is where...
you get to the, uh,
underside of our house.
And up until two days ago...
uh, the Bashford Antiques
signs were...
right there.
And they're gone.
Just in time for my
court appearance,
the signs have gone missing
from under my house.
It's a six-hour drive
to Whanganui,
a small town in the
middle of nowhere.
(INTENSE ELECTRONIC MUSIC)
This is where Jillian
filed her legal papers,
so it's where I have to go.
As I wait outside court,
a figure appears.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
It's the man I've been
learning so much about;
the clamper, the prince,
the yacht thief -
Michael Organ.
He's not the disheveled
man I saw clamping cars -
he's now in a velvet
suit and deadly serious,
arguing the signs
I took weren't rubbish,
but precious and valuable.
He talks for hours.
He's incredibly comfortable
in the courtroom,
and despite not being a lawyer,
he absolutely wipes
the floor with me.
Because those signs
vanished into thin air,
I can't give them back,
and so I lose the case.
And I'm ordered to
pay nearly $3000...
for these.
- RADIO: Thank you, Anna.
- (LAUGHS) Thanks. Bye.
- Cheers. Bye. Oh, it's gonna be
hard to b*at that.
- Hi, Mike, good morning.
- So Michael's a director at
Jillian's now non-existent
antique store,
and he's back on talk back radio,
gloating that he b*at me.
- RADIO: Now, this is clamp -
the clamping of people's wheels?
- Yeah. Now, because this is
before the courts and it's-
- Well,
can we just get away from-?
Hey, Mike, Mike,
can we just get away
from David Farrier -
you wanna talk about
clamping in general?
- I stay in town for a few days,
to try and figure out what this
unlikely pair is doing together.
When Jillian moved
to this small town,
she bought this beautiful
old bank building.
But who's got the keys?
Michael Organ.
Where he goes,
she follows.
(INTENSE MUSIC)
At this point, it's clear
to me that the clamper
she once denied knowing
is deeply involved in her life.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
- Yeah?
- What?
- They're there.
- They're right across the road.
- OK.
I need answers,
so I invite him to
my hotel to talk.
For the last year,
he's refused to speak to me.
That courtroom was the
first time I'd met him,
and all I got was animosity.
I figure there's no
way he'll turn up.
But then...
meet Prince Organe-ski.
- I was furious, cos I had my
hair coloured this morning,
and the guy said,
'I'll do your beard.'
And I've never
had it done before,
and he left all this residue,
which is visible.
So if you want to save me
from being embarrassed,
don't come in on my
face from this side.
- Can I plug it in in the spare
room, inside? Or do you...?
- You're doing a bloody feed.
- JILLIAN: Do you want to record
- anything?
- MICHAEL: No, no. It's fine.
- Yeah, so what's gonna
happen - this is Danny.
- He works on sound.
- JILLIAN: Hi, Danny.
- MICHAEL: Anyway, when this
was done, I said, 'That's it.'
I said, 'I don't want
you to cut my hair.'
- I like it. It looks good.
- It actually put me off. No.
- DAVID: It looks great.
- Because he did something I
didn't want him to do. He talked
me into it the first time.
- DAVID: Now, this is your
chair, Jillian. Over here.
- MICHAEL: And plus
I already had a headache,
and the smell of the
chemicals he put my face,
I just about bloody...
- Yeah. Am I sitting there?
Where's Michael sitting?
- ...it was toxic.
- DAVID: He's over here.
- This is a radio microphone.
- Unless you wanna take part.
Cos the camera is
gonna have Michael there.
How did you two meet?
How did you come
into each other's lives?
Are you both married?
What's your relationship?
- That's private, David.
- (JILLIAN LAUGHS)
- You're not much of an
investigative journalist,
if you don't. Or is this
a rhetorical question?
- Oh, I thought I'd
put it straight to you.
- (BOTH LAUGH)
- I mean, you'd know,
so I thought
I'd ask you directly.
- Is this not a...? Well...
we're going to
say that's private.
- JILLIAN: Mm.
- I thought it would be a
straightforward yes or no.
So what's it's... I... What
I'd like to cover here is...
- I don't wanna waste
your time if you can't-
- But there's one thing.
There's nothing more irksome,
if someone is controlling -
trying to control the narrative,
when you're the person
who should be doing it.
Where they hopefully will.
- Yeah. You've got no
particular reason to trust me.
- But there are things that
you may not realise fully
the ramifications,
because I'm not telling you
everything that I know
and have evidence of.
I'm not telling you that, cos
you don't need to know it yet.
David, do you know this?
If this was in front of a
tribunal or court of law...
- Mm.
- ...or just a,
um, debate, in so much that
people had to make an
assessment on point of fact...
- Yeah. Mm.
- There's not one thing
that you've asserted -
not one thing -
that would stand up.
And I'm not just talking
about you couldn't prove it -
I could actually prove,
beyond all reasonable doubt,
that that assertion was false.
Because there's
a difference between
you not being able
to prove something is true
and me being able to
prove that it's false.
- Why do think I've
got everything wrong -
from your side?
- Uh, wrong?
It's quite weird sitting
in a room together.
- No, you didn't get
anything wrong, David.
You knew right from the
start what you were doing.
You didn't know all the
facts, but, you know,
you knew what you were doing.
- But what... Like, what does
that make you think of me?
- Uh, I just look
at it objectively,
and, uh... Jillian's laughing.
- (BOTH LAUGH)
- JILLIAN: Jesus. (LAUGHS)
- I mean, I think I've...
I've described you
as a reptile to people.
- (LAUGHS) Yeah.
- Mm. As a reptile?
Is that fair?
- (LAUGHS)
- But, you know,
it's such a shame,
because you probably
would have been quite an
interesting person to know,
if you weren't such a c**t.
- (BOTH LAUGH)
Your life's quite
chaotic, Jillian.
It's quite extraordinary.
- Well...
- It must be quite
extraordinary,
having Michael around.
- Well, he is a genius.
- Yeah.
- I'm not joking.
- Does he grow on you over time?
- Sorry?
- Does he grow on you over time?
- Oh. He's an absolute
genius and...
to be highly respected
in every way.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- He has an
extraordinary talent.
-Hmm?
- I'm just telling David that
you're a genius - that's all.
Oh, well, no, that's just...
Don't get into that
stuff, Jillian, please.
- What's your life
been like since
Michael's come into your life?
- Uh, Michael has
enriched my life immensely.
Mm.
Every day.
- Oh, well, that sounds lovely.
- Mm.
- (BOTH LAUGH)
- Well, he's a very
caring person.
He is very, very
kind to animals,
and he's very kind to people.
- And it is late. I'm just gonna
grab that out of your pocket.
- You've gotta unhook me.
I'm gonna be taking off
with your microphone.
(LAUGHS)
Well, it's quite interesting
because, like...
- Mm.
- I mean, David's 37; I'm... 67.
So there's a 30-year age gap.
- You know, it's quite...
- Mm. Yeah. There is.
- I mean, that's quite a big
age gap, really, isn't it?
- Do you have any life advice
for me? I've got a bit to go,
as do you.
- Oh, I've got heaps.
- What would be your main thing,
what would be your takeaway for
me, as a sprightly 37-year-old?
- Oh. Well, I think
you already know -
winners never give up. (LAUGHS)
And happiness is a
place to come from,
not to get to. (LAUGHS)
- No, Jillian.
- Well, thanks for
meeting with me, Michael.
- I know you find it
a little... you know,
it's all very well
being jocular, but
this is actually the man
whose helped, um,
fuel the fires of, um...
- Well...
...of in some cases,
hatred.
- You know, and you must
take responsibility for that.
I'm not being necessarily
duped to fall for anything.
But anyway, it's an eye-opener
for you with a few things.
- It is.
- OK.
- Oh, look, and it's raining.
- Goodnight.
- OK.
- Be safe out there.
- Goodnight.
- (SIGHS)
WHISPERS: What? Ha.
f*cking hell. (CHUCKLES)
- Holy sh*t. What happened?
- (LAUGHS) I dunno.
He's such an odd... He's
likeable when he wants to be liked.
He's funny -
he's, like, a real funny fucker.
And Jillian's quite
funny as well.
It's just a very different
situation to, sort of,
what you expect.
But I don't know what
I expected with them, really.
I don't know.
I don't know what just happened.
This whole situation just
doesn't make sense to me.
The ex-con clamper has embedded
himself in Jillian's life,
and while neither of them
wants to clarify anything,
they seem perfectly happy.
Maybe I'm the problem, blowing
all things out of proportion;
annoyed I just paid this
man nearly $3000.
- Over the next few months,
I talked to over 30
of Jillian's friends,
and they're all terrified
of Michael.
- Just the lawyers
had your name to call.
Um-
- New Zealand is a small place,
and they think if they talk to
me, he'll come after them.
Only one person agrees
to go on the record -
Jillian's son.
- He's just in your ear.
He's like the little
devil on your shoulder;
he just churns away at you.
He managed to just drive a wedge
between all the close friends;
slowly chipping away-
More or less just scared
them, to the point where
they didn't wanna
come in the door.
- When Michael Organ
got out of prison,
he filed for bankruptcy.
It was October of 2007.
Like, do you remember when
Michael did turn
up on the scene?
- It was October 2007.
And I remember it quite vividly.
I walked in to the shop,...
and here was this character
sitting there...
eating lunch with Mum.
And I felt this, um...
As you do, I just sort of almost
walked into it - an aura.
And, um, she just fobbed it
off, 'Oh, he's harmless.
'He's just a... just, you know,
'he's just coming in for lunch
every day of the week,
'and he's quite clever, and he's
really good at antiques,
'and he knows his stuff,
'and I'm really enjoying
conversation with him.'
That was, sort of, really,
the initial meeting.
And I just felt, straightaway,
this aura that was totally
really creepy and evil.
- I wonder why no one
tried to get rid of Michael.
But here's the thing - they did.
- I've clone it twice. Twice,
I've actually formally
trespassed him,
packed all his belongings into
boxes and delivered it to him,
wherever he was residing
at the time.
- And so where did he
go and live in that time?
- And I believe that's probably,
thinking about it now,
that's probably around the
time that he went to
those guys and said,
'I've been beaten and abused.'
And, 'Poor me! Woe is me! Help!'
- We'd obviously got
into a conversation
about h*m* or...
whatever it was, and
I had relayed the story
of my growing up in
a h*m* family.
Uh, and then
a little while later...
his story matched mine.
Uh, but it was aimed
at Jillian Bashford
Uh, you know, 'Oh, yes, I get
treated like that every day;
'I get h*m* comments,
and she beats me,
"and she hits me and...'
The story resonated with
me so much that I thought,
'Oh. If there's any...
'any truth to that whatsoever,
then I've gotta help out.'
And, uh, a couple of days
after he'd moved in,
I thought, 'Oh, my God...
'this is trouble.'
It was a very weird
out-of-body experience.
I couldn't make
head or tails of it.
It was frightening.
It was, uh...
He had this sort of control
and hold over you,
and you found yourself
doing all these things and
putting up with various things
and... But, yeah, I...
I didn't know how to handle it;
I didn't know how to get
rid of him. It was like this,
you know, puss-y thing
on you that won't go away.
- A fairly desperate kind of
situation that you're stuck in?
- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,
I was pretty suicidal
at the time anyway.
And that just, sort of, was
pulling me over the edge,
because I just thought,
you know,
'This is a... What crazy world
have I landed in here?'
Yeah. I mean, I... I...
There was a few attempts;
one that I shouldn't
have survived.
And I wondered why,
when I did survive it.
I was very angry about that.
I thought, 'No. I can't...
'I can't keep waking
up in this world.
'I don't want to
be a part of this.'
- Right. So you'd be in a
pretty terrible way around him,
and he'd just have no...
- Oh, no.
- Nothing? Not,
'How are you going? And...'?
- No. Never got a 'Hello'
or a 'How are you,'
or 'Can I make you a cup
of tea? Are you OK?'
No, no, no. I was
just the manservant.
- But, I mean, obviously, when
you were traumatized by that,
I mean, you would
have almost been dead,
where was he? What was he doing?
What?
- Telling his stories.
I don't know. (LAUGHS)
- Yeah. But he's in
the house with you?
- Yeah. Yeah.
Just ordering me
around. (LAUGHS)
Getting me out of bed.
- Happened to be driving
down Ponsonby Rd,
and there was the van coming
towards me. And I thought, 'Oh.
'Here - this must be Mum,
and...'
Sure enough, it was two weeks
later, and there he was...
in the van; wangled
his way back in.
- I think once Organ latches on,
he doesn't let go.
It's why he thrived
clamping cars.
It was never about the money;
it was about physically
trapping people,
so he could torment
them for hours.
I don't believe Jillian ever
wanted her signs back -
I believe it was Michael
who wanted me in court.
And thanks to that case...
he's got my number.
- Sorry?
- Which I still...
What? I'm curious who...
- Oh, so you're saying you've
got a key to my house?
- That does seem
quite weird. I mean,
I'd prefer you didn't have
a key to my house, you know?
- So, yeah. Well, it's...
(LAUGHS)
I don't know what the
point of any of it is.
Like, if he has a key
for my house, it's like...
- if it is a key to your house,
that's very bizarre. Like, who...?
- It's weird. But, like, the
story is so, like... it's so...
But what he's done has
now made me think,
'Holy sh*t. Who do I know...
'has turned on me?'
And if it is my key,
then he's either f*cking
stolen it somehow,...
which is, um...
makes me sound crazy.
Like, if I told anyone this -
if that key opens my house,
if I explain the situation
to anyone,
it makes me sound
like I've lost the plot,
cos it makes no sense. Or I
spend the rest of my life now,
looking at every friend and,
like, every crew member,
going, 'Who gave Michael
Organ my key?'
- Well. Don't
actually look happy,
because we should be quite
stern in front of Mr Farrier,
considering how-
- Well, I'll film it.
- ...terrible he's
been towards us.
Oh, are you going to film it?
Well, I hope it's all right.
- OK.
- (SCOFFS)
- So, like, explain to me
what is going on now,
cos this is an odd scene.
- Well, as we discussed earlier,
and no doubt you recorded,...
Mm.
...um, this was a key that
was given to Jillian and I...
about three months after
we vacated Ponsonby.
It's super-weird.
I'll admit that. Like, you know.
- Well, you trigger
this, you see.
And you've triggered it in our
life, because this man came into
our life because of you,...
Mm.
- ...personally, and because
of what you've published.
- Why did you tell
me about this?
- Because it tied in
with some of the things
that you were saying
in our conversation
an hour or so ago,
that sometimes people,
when you know them,
or they get close to you,
or in your circle through
other people you know,
may actually be- I don't use the
term wolves in sheep's clothing,
but that's what
they can actually be.
- Right.
- You know, they can even sit
there, they can eat your food,
they can sit at the table with
you, share your wine,
they can smile when they
greet you - all those things.
- These people are amongst us.
- And at the end of the day,
there is that side
to some people.
Just don't know why anyone
would want you in the house,
or to give you the opportunity
to come into my house.
It's just a super-weird thing.
- Well, I think I know.
But that's supposition.
- Why? What? You're saying what?
- That might be for a
documentary that I do.
I mean, and the thing is
you haven't played ball,
and you've been printing
bloody twaddle for years.
- OK.
Well, thanks for giving
my key back to me.
And I appreciate that.
- Yeah. Yeah. Well-
- So thank you.
- You know.
- And are you OK, Jillian?
- I'm very well.
- Well, that's...
- Very well.
- Yeah.
Knowing what I know
about Organ...
I worry about Jillian.
And now I'm worried
that Michael Organ
somehow has a key to my house.
LAUGHING: I don't know.
I don't. It's like my...
- And It looks like your key?
- Yeah, it does.
Yeah, it does look
a lot like my key.
I think he does have
the key to my house.
Um, I just don't know how it
fits in with the story at all.
And I mean,
what the f*ck is going on?
Back at my house,
away from Michael Organ...
I try the key.
f*ck!
Michael knows I'm making
a film about him,
and I think he wants
to be a part of it.
I wasn't expecting
to be in this position,
but I figure that if I spend
enough time with him,
he'll show some cracks.
So me and Michael, well...
we start to hang out.
- (LAUGHS)
- We're just getting
you - we're not...
- Well, what-
- No, he doesn't wanna...
So he, urn...
- OK, we'll put the camera down.
Despite inviting me
and my crew in...
he's hot and cold
about us filming.
He seems to enjoy the
power he has over me.
- You see -
he's filming in here.
- Yeah, but we're
bringing it down now.
Once we enter, it comes down.
- Out of interest -
I don't want to control
your editing of it,
but I'd love to see what -
cos you can play it back on it,
so just show me a few excerpts;
- Yep.
- I'm curious.
- He hates being filmed,
but he also loves it.
To the key...
- I'm not going to tell you,
at this stage, about the key.
- ...will you tell me at some
point? Cos I think that's, like-
- Perhaps,
but that's not a promise.
- ...a bit of a game.
- No, it's not a game,
because the person
who provided that key...
um, would expect
confidentiality.
It wasn't promised them,
but they'd expect it.
And they're not the kinds
of people you want to cross.
- He refuses to expand
on why he's got my key,
or say anything, really.
He avoids naming
anyone or being specific.
- Are you a monarchist, David?
- I'm not particularly,
no, to be honest.
- Mm. Are you
right- or left-handed?
- I'm left-handed.
- Damn.
- OK. I can have this one here?
- Yeah, we'll give you that one.
So you can't escape,
you see. (LAUGHS)
Thank you. Thank you, Michael.
No poison in this?
Just.
- Hey. Don't imply such things.
I'm not into that.
- (LAUGHS)
Cheers.
- Cheers.
Without being... snobby,
I'm proud of my ancestry.
There's Crown charters in which
my ancestors are
referred to as nobles.
We're talking about
from the earliest days of
the Norman Conquest.
And then things like the
sheriff, you know, um...
sheriffs of London,
Keeper of... of... of the seas.
Keeper of the seas in
the medieval period.
And, like, that was the king.
- I get what you're saying.
Yeah. No, totally. And I get-
- You know, and I'm
actually proud of that.
And there's more stuff
behind- besides.
- 'It's really hard, just
listening and nodding to
'Michael; taking in his
insufferable topics,
'like his disproven
noble lineage.
'For my own sanity,
I try and steer the conversation
'towards things I actually
want to know about.'
I've never taken
anyone to court myself.
- Mm.
You've taken, I think,
more people to court
than I have, and you're -
I think you're quite good -
from what I can tell,
of looking through cases - like,
you're quite formidable in
there and quite good at it.
Is that a fair call?
- Uh, I'll only take...
I only wanna get involved
in legal action as the last-
as a last -
or close to last - resort,
because you can be...
represent yourself or your
case as best as possible.
But you then...
It's the vagaries of,
um, whoever's hearing the case.
Um, it's amazing how much...
things come into play
that really shouldn't.
- No one knows this
more than the people
who end up in court with him.
They all talk about the
wild stories Organ spins,
his defense to even the
simplest of allegations
taking on fantastical
twists and turns.
- He knows his sh*t,
including how to filibuster
a pretty direct,
'You stole that stuff from
me; can I have it back?'
And turning that into an
international espionage...
like, deep plot.
He went into this big, long
tirade about how the Russians
and Norwegians were fighting
over the rights to drilling
in the North Sea.
And that due to my family
contacts and studies,
I was obviously spying on
behalf of - I don't know -
one of these two great
world giants. (LAUGHS)
(LAUGHS) It was, like,
that took up most of the
hearing, to be honest.
- Mm.
- And he was, like,
pontificating like he was
in f*cking Supreme Court.
He just... And he just wasted
the court's time, basically.
We can laugh at it now,
but in the moment,
he's there to intimidate you.
My friend who went
to court with me,
he actually left
halfway through.
He asked, 'Can I go?
I'm scared of this guy.'
And I was, like, 'Yeah.
Well, totally. I understand.
'He's scaring the
sh*t out of me too.'
- MICHAEL: If you're in that
position, you can't be cowardly.
You can't falter.
- Mm.
- And you've got to be on...
on your toes as
best as possible.
I mean, especially if people
are lying through their...
their... their teeth.
- You'd be a good
lawyer in another life.
Cos you're good at this stuff.
You were good in that tribunal.
Like, I didn't-
you know, you were, uh...
- If I'd represented
myself in the yacht case,
I would never have
been convicted;
it wouldn't have
got past base one.
- Yeah. So if you
have your time again,
yeah, you'd represent yourself?
- Absolutely.
- Yeah. Yeah.
I'm reminded of those emails
coming from Jillian's account
years ago, the ones signed
off from a supposed lawyer,
MDA Organ, the man
sitting in front of me now.
But according to him, he never
wrote those legal threats.
- You ran with that.
I know who did it.
Jillian knows who did it.
It wasn't me. It wasn't her.
It wasn't done with our consent.
Urn, you may have an
inkling who it is. But that...
- No, I-
- I'll disclose later.
- I'm just frustrated with him,
frustrated with his process,
frustrated with him
not giving anything.
It's just a pointless
exercise in talking to him.
Like, you can't cr*ck
him. He, sort of,
dodges around everything.
Used a lot of time in assuming
I could out him in some way,
or, like, show what
he's like. But it's...
he's better than me.
One thing he keeps
coming back to is me -
me and the articles
I wrote about clamping
when this whole thing started.
- MICHAEL: The
more you reported it,
the more people
were parking there.
And they all -
every one of them made
reference to your articles -
every single one.
- Whenever he
calls me about this,
it's at least an
hour on the phone.
- There was something
about those articles,
and the way it went
through social media
that it became
sporting for people.
It got very, very strange.
- He's on mute.
- But that's the way it happens.
- This is so boring.
Most people would think, 'Oh
God. I'm not gonna park there.'
But it was literally -
literally -
and, um-
- OK.
- I really wish we had more, um-
- Yeah. He's on mute. Yeah.
- ...applications of polygraph,
you know, the old
lying detectors here.
- I'm trying to think where to
go. Work him up more?
- ...because I actually
have a great faith.
- Shall we see how
long he talks for?
- In the last- As time
went through with that,
- having to resort to clamping-
- I'll go meet him soon.
...we used to let
a lot of people off.
- This is such a weird
conversation.
- It was the recidivist..
- And then the next
time I see him, I get this.
- OK, well. Let's walk out.
- OK. Oh!
sh*t. (LAUGHS)
God.
(LAUGHS) How dare
you, sir! (LAUGHS)
- You're an absolute
maniac, Michael.
You're an absolute maniac.
- (LAUGHS)
- It's destabilizing,
as I don't know what version
of Michael I'm going to get.
- The three of us
were in our pyjamas...
and we were arguing
over this receipt, and, um,
he followed me
down to my bedroom.
And he punched me
in the head six times.
So, yeah. I ended up leaving -
as most flatmates -
with a police phone call.
So, in my case, he, apparently,
went straight down
to the bathroom,
and there was not a mark on
him. One of the flatmates
even told the police that
he came out of the bathroom,
and suddenly had scratches on
his face. He'd actually gone to
the bathroom and
scratched his own face,
to say to the police
that I had assaulted him.
But at that time,
I had blatantly chewed nails
from the anxiety living
with him. And I said,
'It's not fricking possible.'
And you're moving house
at 3 o'clock in the morning,
get everything out on your
trailer and everything.
The next-door neighbour,
who's a registered teacher,
comes out in her dressing
gown, says, 'Jesus Christ.
'When are they
gonna put him away?'
And you're like, 'I know.'
- Michael's clearly capable
of physical v*olence,
and yet he simply denies it all.
- MICHAEL: There is not one
piece of footage substantiating
any allegation of threats or-
or a threatening
behaviour from me.
There is nil.
- I've seen you driving
a van and trapping...
(TENSE MUSIC)
...young females
in that car park.
It's extremely threatening.
- The- No, it's not. The vehicle
had a wheel clamp on it.
- Yeah, you've been extremely
threatening to people.
And I've seen the video,
and I've heard the stories.
And I'm gonna believe 20 people
that talk to me about
their interactions they had,
over what you're telling me.
I don't know why I would
believe you over them.
- You have not seen any footage
of me threatening anyone,
because it never happened. So
that's how I know you are lying,
because it never happened.
Ipso facto,
there cannot be footage
of it. Never happened.
- I'm talking about
your mannerisms
and you trapping people
in with your van.
- Don't talk over me
please, David. David!
If you wanna get some copy,
which you're getting now,
be grateful for it and listen
to what I'm telling you,
because it's fact.
Whatever the current
version of reality is
spilling out of his mouth...
that is the current
reality that he lives in,
and he expects us to all accept.
And pushing back
against that reality
doesn't really do that much,
because it's like
you're not even there.
It's f*cked. Like, it's...
Yeah, I feel wound up by him,
every dose I have of him.
Which is about, say,
three hours at a time.
Living with him, like Simon
has, and like Paul did
and like Jillian has for a very
long time, I don't even...
I couldn't even imagine that.
- LAUGHING: No. Do you
know where everything is?
- Yeah. We do.
- Oh, really?
- One of those people...
I had really objected to,
because he had said in forum
that Jesus - this is verbatim -
Jesus Christ was a sex
pest with 12 boyfriends.
Do you know who
I'm talking about?
- No. I don't, no.
- If he'd said Mohammed...
and his disciples...
- Yeah. I would actually prefer
if you didn't actually make
that- uh, yeah, no.
- Mm. Yes. I know.
- Just, Jillian.
I mean, honestly.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
But he might have been. Well,
the Islamic people
wouldn't put up with it.
- Just, you know,
zip it. Because -
I'll just give you
that as advice -
You just don't wanna go there.
- Mm. I know, but, I mean-
- So no, no. I'm just
saying to you, don't.
For your own personal safety.
- Mm.
- As you're recording this,
then make sure
that that's exempt,
cos I don't want that
kind of thing being said.
Cos it'll take the wrong person-
- Mm.
- ...and you'll end up...
You just don't wanna
go there, OK?
Because there are people
out there who could manipulate
that comment that you just made.
- Mm.
- Just trust me.
Don't even make
any reference to it.
- Mm.
- You're not even meant to say
the name without a certain
preamble.
- Well...
- OK? Which you didn't do. And
you'll get someone potentially-
- It's what happens
in Paris or France.
- ...who'll object to that.
No, no, no, no. Don't.
In the context of what
we're talking about. Please.
- Mm.
- You know, that -
you just don't wanna go there.
- Cos, yeah, he's impossible.
Like, he's absolutely
impossible.
Um...
and he'll keep being fine. Like,
he'll keep drifting
through life doing this,
and it kind of works for him.
He's got more money than I have.
(LAUGHS) He's done pretty well.
So yeah. That'll do for the day.
So, it's 12.20 am.
And I'm lying awake
thinking about Michael Organ.
f*cking Michael Organ.
There's a gap in my blinds,
and I keep thinking
he's gonna be, um...
like, when I open my eyes,
I'll see him staring back
at me through the gap.
I know Michael had my key.
And I know somebody crept around
to take those signs from
the back of my house.
I know he's capable
of stuff like this...
as I find more and more cases
of people Michael's gone after.
There's so much.
Gives me a headache just
thinking about the number of
things to chase.
It's like everyone you talk to
mentions about five other
people's names
(LAUGHS) and says...
you have to talk to them.
(LAUGHS) And it's, like...
(GASPS) It's, like, get anxiety
just thinking about it.
- Hey, Michael. I'm good.
I'm good. How are you doing?
- Spending time with Michael
is a paradox; on one hand,
it's intriguing and fascinating.
But at the same time his stories
are so complex and impenetrable,
I feel like I'm getting
a lobotomy.
Everyone I've met talks about
this side to him - he wears you
down by talking for hours on
end about absolutely nothing.
- MICHAEL: ...and the people
would be quite capable...
-Absolutely nothing.
- MICHAEL: ...of taking probably
a successful action against me for
asserting them. But in this
case, if I was to assert them,
I've got proof.
And some of these things...
- You pay a soul tax every
minute you spend with
Michael Organ. And when those
minutes turn into days and
weeks, months and years...
well, that soul tax adds up.
- And a bottle. Thank you.
- As a film-maker, I'm used
to finding amazing subjects,
but this is the opposite.
Michael Organ is a black hole,
and I've fallen in.
Cos I- I- like, why...?
He's- He's...
(SIGHS)
- He's what?
- Well, I just-
I don't know what to do
with him. He's like a void.
(LAUGHS) Like...
(SNIFFS) Like, he, uh...
And I don't know
how to express this.
Like, I- I don't know
how to... Like, I don't know-
I don't quite understand why
he winds me up so much.
Like, I can spend time with,
like, a lot of dimwits, and,
like, a lot of people that
are boring, but it's, like,
I can't be in the room
with him. (SNIFFS)
I'm trapped. I-
It's a weird situation for me,
cos I'm trapped with him.
Like, if- if I was in-
in a friendship with him or
something, or he was a flatmate,
like these other people
who have encountered him,
I'd just leave...
- Yeah.
- ...and go on with my life. But
I'm literally trapped with him.
Cos I have to-
- You just- No, you can't.
- Cos I have to
make a film, right?
- Yep.
- So there's no out.
Except to spend
more time with him,
until something
magically happens.
- YEP-
- Well, it's- I feel stupid
being so wound up about it.
But it's just, like...
It's what, um...
It's like... A few people have
talked to me about this.
They're, like, you think
it's gonna be interesting,
but it's just, like, so boring,
it drives you insane.
And it's like, I've kind
of f*cked up in...
like, I feel like
I f*cked up in, like,
pitching the film in the first
place, because it's so...
like, it's so obvious there's
nothing there. It's, like,
he's a fuckwit who bores people
to death until they, like,
jump off a building.
But now I'm in his world,
he just keeps calling me.
And he's back to
the yacht case -
the one big court case
he's lost, his downfall.
- MICHAEL: I want, at some
stage, to get that, um,
the convictions pertaining
to the yacht overturned.
Now, I'll tell you
this for a fact -
if I had represented
myself in that,
- OK...
- Who was your lawyer in that,
um, case again?
- Um...
- YEP-
- So, has he got
some sort of disorder,
or is he just a bit
out there, or...?
What do you think his deal is?
Cos I've been spending
a lot of time with him,
and I cannot make heads or tails
of what's going on in his brain.
But, uh...
- So Michael's brother
is a real lawyer,
Dean Organ.
I'd actually contacted him
when I was trying to find
the fake lawyer -
the mysterious MDA Organ.
Back then, Dean hadn't
been forthcoming.
And all he said was
something like,
'Don't know anything
about this.' (SCOFFS)
It would have been
nice if he'd said...
'That's my brother.'
Now I know he's family,
maybe he can provide
some insight.
I drive to his office,
which appears to
be just his house.
(KNOCKS AT DOOR)
- Oh, hey, Dean. I'm David.
- Yeah.
- OK, I can... I've...
been looking into your brother,
Michael, for some time...
- Yeah, no. I understood.
Yeah, understood.
- Yeah. I definitely don't
wanna create any angst.
- Yeah.
- No, and I certainly
don't mean-
- No, no. Cos what I'm trying
to do is try and figure out...
- I'm trying to learn about who
Michael is, because the effect-
- ...Michael's had on people
over the years is
what I'm interested in.
- OK.
- Yeah, I'm with you.
- Well, when I emailed
you as a journalist -
I guess my issue was I emailed
you saying, you know,
there's an Organ that's saying
he's a lawyer; is this you?
And I guess, what would
be so helpful at that point,
when I'm looking into something,
is for you to go,
'It's not me,
but it's my brother,
'and maybe just be wary,'
or something, I don't know.
It was just...
(PHONE LINE RINGS)
- Hello.
- Oh, hey. Is that Albert?
- Speaking.
- Oh, hey. It's-
My name's David Farrier.
I'm a documentary film-maker
based in New Zealand.
How are you?
- Fine, thank you.
- Good. Hey, look, it's a...
a bit of an obscure phone call
to get out of the blue, but
I've... I'm... I'm making a
documentary about Michael Organ.
- Ah, that'll do, thank you.
- You don't -
I'm just trying to...
I'm just trying to figure-
- No, thank you, um, I know.
I know your name,
and I know your reputation.
And I'll leave it at that. Don't
phone here again. Thank you.
- I just wanna try and figure
out why your son is doing what
he's doing.
- (PHONE LINE BEEPS)
All right. I guess that's
a 'no' from the parents.
It's about his brother Michael.
It's a weird one.
I'm the guy that was,
um... I'm David.
- I was writing about him a
little bit. But I-
- Yeah. I don't- Look,
- No, no. And that's
totally valid and fair.
And I just wanted to reach out-
- Yeah, she just felt...
It didn't feel... She was...
I think she was
different to Dean.
She was more, like,
just pained by it.
Like, she was just, like,
'Oh, make this go away,'
was kind of her vibe.
And not necessarily to protect
the family, but just, like,
kind of got the vibe that
Michael had been a real
f*cking arsehole or something.
She just felt a bit
more damaged.
She didn't feel like
she was being devious.
Um...
like, Dean was just straight-up
making me the bad guy -
there was none of that from her.
She was just, like, 'I think,
'like, oh, this is just awful.
You should leave it.'
Yeah.
(PHONE LINE RINGS)
MICHAEL: David, I can't talk
now. Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
- I can. I can hear you.
- It's a council-related
meeting, so we can't talk.
- Oh. Oh.
- So call back after 2.
- OK. I'll call
you back after 2.
Um, so if Michael is in
a council meeting till 2,
that means Jillian might
be home on her own.
So I think it's worth
just going over and...
seeing if I can talk to her
without Michael there,
which would be... like, a gift.
I think that's it.
Is that the front door?
I guess it is.
Hello!
(MYSTERIOUS MUSIC)
I wonder if there's any...
(SIGHS)
No one home.
Hey, Michael.
- Hey, um, you might
wanna film me doing this.
I'm just serving you with that.
- OK.
- OK.
- Because I didn't trust you
before, I was going to serve you
at the last meeting. You've...
- OK. Oh, so this is a
trespass notice for your house.
- I'll explain why to you.
OK?
- Wanted to go and
catch up with Jillian.
-You...
But no one was
home, so we left.
- You're actually
crossing the line.
Your excuses are that you're
giving us the right to reply.
My reply to you is you
can get f*cked. OK?
Actually, you are quite-
- You know you know we've been
filming this
documentary with you.
- You are quite prepared-
- And you've been very hot and
cold on it.
- You are quite prepared-
- And this is the cold bit.
- You are quite prepared to
override...
law...
by committing conversion.
As the court said...
- I find it really had to trust
anything you tell me, because
even the simplest thing-
- I'm not interested, David,
because you're not
interested in the truth.
It's shown because of the sh*t
that you misled Parliament with.
-I am.
I didn't mislead Parliament.
You misled Parliament.
- I've got you on camera saying
that you were charging $760,
uh, to remove a clamp. I've got
footage of you saying that.
You've been continuously telling
me that you never said it -
I've got it.
- It wasn't for a clamp;
it was for two clamps.
- OK, it was for two clamps;
not one clamp - for two.
- Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
- Oh, OK.
It's like, I know you stole that
yacht, like I know those-
- Well, I didn't.
- ...signatures were forged,
and I know you removed the
yacht - like, that's a fact.
- Pardon?
- Like, you stole that yacht -
like, that's just that a fact,
and so when you're
continuously calling me-
- No, I didn't, David.
- It was you, Michael.
- It wasn't.
- It was you. Come on.
- You can say it as much as...
as you like - it's supposition,
and it's false.
- That's all you're doing.
I think you go through life
creating your own version
of reality continuously.
- No. Unless you are
calling a Jillian a liar.
Jillian has stated that-
- I'm talking about you.
Before we part ways, do you
wanna have a coffee, with just-
a casual coffee and
a relax before we take off?
- Ah, yeah. That's fine.
That's fine.
- Let's just have a nice coffee.
What sort of coffee
would you like?
- Probably an Irish
one after this, but-
- (LAUGHS)
- Excuse me, just for a moment.
- No, get in there.
- Hello. Michael speaking.
- How did you meet Michael?
- Pardon?
- How did you meet Michael?
- Yes.
- Oh, Michael was a, um,
customer, a client, who came in
to buy antiques in
the... in the store.
- Right.
- Ah, sorry.
- Sorry-I.
Well, we're just- Could we come
down and see you? Is that OK?
- What was your
first impression?
- Oh, that he was
very knowledgeable.
- OK. Well, that's good.
Thank you.
- Very informed buyer.
- Mm.
- Mm.
Did you ever lie, Michael,
about anything?
- That, um...
is not relevant.
Nor is it your business.
- It's pretty relevant.
- I would say that that
would be a no.
- No, it was pretty relevant.
You're calling
other people liars a lot.
You've called me a liar, called
a lot of other people liars.
- No, I said you've been
dishonest, and that you've-
- Oh Christ.
- ...hidden the truth from
people.
- Yeah.
Yeah, I don't know. It's just...
I just- You accuse a lot of
other people of a lot of things;
that's all.
- Oh, if someone testifies
falsely in court,
then they're a bloody liar.
- Right. But you've never lied?
- And it's evil.
- In what context?
- Just in life, you know.
- As I said to you,
I'm not answering that;
it's none of...
of your business.
- If I'm totally honest
with you, Michael...
- You're sounding like
you're a little bit piqued.
- I find it, like...
It- It's frustrating...
spending all this time with you,
because you do,
continuously...
lie... about everything.
- No.
- And I mean everything.
I haven't been around
someone like you before,
that does continuously lie.
- What are you wanting me to do?
Are you wanting me
to say I stole a yacht,
when I didn't steal a yacht?
- Is there anything else,
Jillian, you wanted to add,
to any of this discussion?
Well, I can't think, really.
- Well, could
I ever talk to you,
just on your own, just to get
your take on everything?
- Well, not at the
moment. I can't...
- Cos I feel I've
talked to Michael a lot,
but I'd love to talk to
you at some point, um...
if you're open to that.
- Well, not at the moment. Not
today. It's all too much today.
- Yeah.
- The, um...
If you want to sometime,
that would be really neat.
- Mm.
- I've heard from a lot of
people that you've come into
contact with over the
years, that you have...
moved in on, in a fairly
systematic way to,
sort of, ingratiate yourself
into their- their lives.
And... I think you've-
- What a load of codswallop!
- I think you've left people
behind who are, um,
incredibly damaged.
- Oh, what a load of rubbish!
- JILLIAN: Who are these people?
- And who are...?
It's absolute twaddle.
Rubbish. Absolute rubbish...
you know?
- Someone like Brent Lewis.
Do you- Do you know Brent Lewis?
He owned- owned a bookstore,
Nostromo Books.
- He was a very
good friend of...
of ours.
- Yeah, right. Right,
right, right. I'm with you.
- Right. Right, right, right.
- Yeah, yeah. I'm with you.
- Right. So that's
where he met Organ?
- Yeah. Yep.
- The story, as I recall it, um,
was that...
Brent had been given...
I think it was a model yacht...
to put on display in his
shop window. And, uh,
Michael Organ then had taken
a complaint to the police
that Brent had stolen it.
Now, I know Brent -
Brent didn't steal anything.
(LAUGHS) You know?
Um, he was totally honest.
Uh, and it was causing him
real anxiety.
- I think, Michael Organ - he...
accused him of...
stealing some model boat;
it arose out of something
as simple as that.
And he accused Brent,
and he worked on him
psychologically.
He was very fearful of him -
he was fearful.
He thought that he would...
that he would
cause him some harm;
get at him some way
and cause him harm.
It's really all I can
say about it, I think.
Mm.
- Was there anything,
any friends could do around
him? Like, what was your...
what was your take that you
could sort of do, you know?
Cos it's hard to know
how to deal with someone
when they're
scared of something,
and you really don't
know whether that's...
valid or not.
- Well, it was... (SIGHS)
It had to be valid,
because he...
he felt it.
- I just remember the...
the haunted look in
Brent's eyes when he-
when he talked about this.
Nothing like this had happened
to him before. He was on
medication to deal with it.
Uh, but for reasons that
we don't clearly understand -
one night, um, I remember it,
back in 2009. I'd seen
him just a week earlier;
He was staying in a
flat on Symonds St,
on the seventh floor.
And he went on to the
balcony and jumped off,
and that's how he lost his life.
I remember sadly looking at
the...
the hollow in the ground that
had been left by the impact of
his body when he jumped...
and just the overwhelming
feeling, 'Brent,
'what was in your head that
things had become so bad,
'that you thought
you had to do this?'
- MAN: Now, in his bookshop,
- Watching Organ being talked
about at Brent's funeral is
surreal; this whole story I've
just been told is surreal.
That Organ accused Brent of the
crime he himself had carried
out - stealing a yacht.
It seems almost
poetic, in a way.
But it's not poetic.
It's horrible.
- And I just think it's to
do with Michael Organ's...
uh, psychological interest
in manipulating Brent,
because he saw him
as a ready victim.
And he got into Brent's mind
and, to a degree, dominated him.
- The Germans have that term,
you know, dark mind, that, uh,
people get a satisfaction from
spreading misery or seeing,
um...
um, somebody...
in some form of...
what they see is crisis
or whatever.
- Oh, that sounds awful. Yeah.
'Suddenly, all the conversations
I've had with Michael
'start to make sense.'
Sometimes people,
when you know them,
or they get close to you,
or in your circle through
other people you know
may actually be-
I don't use the term wolves
in sheep's clothing,
but that's what they
can actually be.
You know, they can even sit
there, they can eat your food,
they can sit at the table
with you, share your wine...
they can smile when they
greet you - they can...
all those things.
- These people are amongst us.
- And at the end of the
day, there is that side...
to some people.
- For years, I've been trying
to get Michael Organ to tell
me who's behind all the crazy
stuff I've been discovering.
- And I, to this day,
do not know what the
name of that man is.
But if I was lined up, I could
pick him out of any crowd.
If I told you what the person
looked like and how he spoke,
um, then you would be able
to ascertain who it was,
I would think.
- Of course I could,
because I think they're all him.
It's my theory that anyone
Michael doesn't name
is himself.
- The person who
provided that key...
um, would expect
confidentiality.
It wasn't promised them,
but they'd expect it.
And they're not the kinds
of people you wanna cross.
- He knew who stole my key,
the same way he knew who
sent those legal threats
from Jillian's email account.
- Urn, you may have an
inkling who it is. But that...
- No, I don't.
- ...I'LL disclose later.
- 'And Michael
gets very specific,
'telling me the person who set
him up spelled his name wrong.'
- A tell with it was
that what was written...
um, one of the things
that was written,
someone spelled my name wrong -
I think they put E-A-L
instead of A-E-L.
- But Michael's been signing his
own name like this for decades.
(EERIE MUSIC)
And, of course,
Michael Organ had told me
he knew who'd
harassed Brent Lewis;
it was someone who
sounded very familiar.
- And it was very strange,
because there was a lawyer -
all I remember's he said he was
a lawyer - I never had his name.
And...
he started
becoming involved in doing
this weird stuff with Brett,
and...
when I first saw him,
he was quite disheveled -
and not that lawyers can't
be disheveled - but I thought,
'Is this guy actually a lawyer?'
And I thought at the time,
he seemed very dodgy.
- So, who is this guy,
this disheveled guy?
- I don't know his name.
Never knew his name.
- 'Even in our
very last meeting,
'he started making allegations
about someone else.'
- The police referred
to him as predatory.
So as soon as I heard that,
I thought, 'That's it.'
- Right.
- (LAUGHS) We don't
do predatory. (LAUGHS)
I wonder who we're
talking about, eh?
Because you and I know we both
know who we're talking about.
- I've got a suspicion of
who we're talking about.
- (LAUGHS) Yes.
(TENSE MUSIC)
- I thought all my time with
Michael had been wasted,
that I'd learned nothing.
But the truth is,
Michael had been
telling me about himself
from the first day I met him.
He's a man almost
detached from his own body;
occupying this unique
place in society,
free from consequence,
free from the law -
free to do whatever
he wants to people.
I've been trespassed from all
Michael's properties now - well,
his and Jillian's.
Their house, the bank -
it's all off-limits.
But there's one place I can go;
another place Michael lived,
up until a few months ago.
While I'll never understand
Michael's mind,
maybe this place
will provide answers.
Kingseat was an old
psychiatric hospital,
originally opening back in 1932.
Patients would later complain
of abuse, tiny locked rooms,
deadbolts on the doors,
physical and mental t*rture.
It shut down in 1999.
But some people still
choose to live out here
cheap rent, sprawling grounds.
Michael lived in one of
the old psychiatric wards.
I wonder what he left behind...
who he left behind.
- Yeah, well, see, he had
most of this whole interior
of the villa to himself,
cos he was the...
head tenant. So he was
letting out rooms to people,
getting them in
to rent and that.
So...
this is, sort of, where
the foyer is, urn, yes.
- This is all- It's a big place.
- Yeah. Well,
they had a lot of people here
at once, you know - they'd have
50 to a hundred people.
They'd bring them in here
when they were running
the mental hospital.
- So, where did he used to live?
Where was his room?
- This is upstairs. We'll go
upstairs and have a look.
I'll show you where he had
his bedroom and their kitchen
and their lounge and that sort
of thing. But he used to like to
spend most of his time dwelling
around other people's areas -
being a parasite,
he would come into their area.
It's been tidied up a lot. A
bloody mess of a pigsty he had.
- (CHUCKLES) Yeah.
- You know, he poisoned me off.
He left me angry
and crazy in the head.
That's what-
That's his trademark.
You know? Soften them up,
poison them off,
and then sh**t
them down in flames.
That's all you are.
- And what do you mean by
poisoning people off?
- What he does, he tries to get
inside their head and
psycho-dysfunctional-ise them -
muck them up and dull them down
and try and give them- you know,
stun them and turn them
into a zombie, and then he...
- Ah. See,
I've been filming with him
over the last couple of years,
and I've been feeling
elements of that.
Like, it's hard to explain to
people why you get that way.
But it's like he does- Yeah.
- And that's what he does -
he just victimizes people;
that's all he's all about.
Just crushes and chews and shits
on people as he goes, basically.
- Mm.
- He wanted me to go and move
down to, um, Whanganui with him-
- Did he?
- ...and live there with him.
Yeah, he was trying to
talk me into leaving here
and going and moving
with him to Whanganui.
You may as well jump
out the bloody window -
be better off. Hopefully you'd
break your legs or your neck,
and you'd be dead;
rather than go with him.
You'd end up dead anyway.
Cos he used to come in my room
quite a bit. He loves to go
round when you're in bed
asleep and get in your room.
- Jesus.
- He's got this really...
He's got this really
sort of weird,
sneaky, creepy thing.
- God, it's a certain
vibe, isn't it?
Cos he... Yeah, he, um... sort
of, long, very boring story,
but when the shop closed down,
I took some old signs
that were by the bin,
and then he accused
me of stealing them.
- That'd be about right.
- And then I was gonna give
them back to him, and they
disappeared overnight from
where I had them under my house.
- Yeah, he would have
gone and taken them.
You live in, is it,
um, Ponsonby?
- I'm in Ponsonby.
Yeah, yeah.
He's been round your house,
sneaking round your house.
- How... How do you know that?
- He prowls.
He goes and prowls
and lurks after people -
that's what he does.
He goes and he... Yeah.
Yeah, he goes round
people's houses and that
and spies on them and that.
- So, how did you know
that he'd been to my house?
- Cos he's talked all about you
and said that he's on to you.
- CHUCKLES: Oh! f*cking hell.
- Yeah.
And he's been going
round. Apparently,
he's even got a key to your
house. He's got a hold of it.
- Yeah, he does - he does
have a key to my house.
- Yeah. Yes.
That's actually illegal.
- How? But-
- He's not supposed
to be doing that,
cos it's your house
and your property.
- So he openly talks about this?
- Yes.
He just- In his head,
he gets delusions
about making
victims out of people.
And once he gets the
idea in his head about,
you know, he's going to
go and go for someone,
or go after someone,
that's the end of it.
What do you do?
- Well, that's the thing -
what do you do?
- Well, he needs- See,
in the old days, they sent
people to places like that,
like here. And what
they've clone now is
they just chuck
them into the street.
- But he weirdly
ended up here anyway.
But it's not
a mental institution.
- Yeah, well, 20 years too late,
cos the doctors and the
nurses aren't here any more.
But he could fill this place up
on his own. Oh yeah. Yeah,
you just get him to go round
the general population,
he could make plenty of,
um, customers for this place.
Poisoning people off,
making people mental, crazy,
destabilizing people
that's his function.
- WHISPERS: Yeah.
f*ck.
- He makes up so
much muck about people,
like you're some evil person.
- Yep. Yeah. (LAUGHS)
- Um, 'Oh, there's this bastard
'who's going round making
this documentary about me.'
And on one sort of hand,
you can, sort of, see that
he's loving it and he's getting
his euphoric pleasure from it.
But the same time, it's bugging
him or biting at him as well...
- Yeah.
- ...uh, psychologically,
because it's the truth
that really he's a bastard,
and he's gone round just
poisoning the world off
and leaving everybody in
a wake of destructive mess
that he leaves behind
with everybody afterwards.
That's all he does.
- Yeah. Yeah.
- (CHUCKLES)
- It just adds up.
- Well, what his... Like
I said, it's just what he did.
His whole life,
he'll just spend expanding,
continuously goes along
just getting people
and just trying to poison
them off. That's what he does.
Possibly he's an evil spirit -
that's why he runs
the way he does.
- Wonder where
Michael will end up.
- Um, if he went down to
hell... - Mm.
- ...Satan would be up banging
on the door, asking God,
'Oh, please get me
away from Michael.'
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
- MICHAEL: You
have crossed the line,
in terms of civil threshold.
OK. The way you were speaking
and making hateful comments,
your body language
and your voice tone -
your voice tone come through,
but your body language,
I mean...
- OK.
- OK?
- OK. Bye, Mike.
- See ya.
- So I just have...
(PENSIVE MUSIC CONTINUES)
Mister Organ (2022)
Moderator: Maskath3