Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

'Crime boss' fights conviction

Northern Advocate
11 Oct, 2012 08:14 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A once successful businessman turned "crime boss", who was found guilty last year of serious drug charges including supplying 2kg of P, has appealed his conviction and sentence.

Max John Beckham, of Northland, was sentenced to 13 years and six months' imprisonment in August last year for manufacturing and supplying methamphetamine, supplying cocaine, MDMA and cannabis, and money laundering.

Beckham previously co-owned the ITM store in Mangonui, ran a property development company, hand-planted a large olive orchard and once owned a large commercial fishing fleet.

At his hearing in the Court of Appeal at Auckland yesterday, Justice Lynton Stevens, Justice Robert Dobson and Justice Geoffrey Venning were told police listened to privileged conversations between Beckham and his lawyer while Beckham was in custody. While information from the calls was not used at Beckham's April 2011 trial, "at least some of the calls were listened to, to some extent", his lawyer Simon Mount said.

Crown Counsel David Boldt said it was worth noting the calls were made from public prison phones. Prisoners had the option of the more secure method of using a phone in an office, which was not monitored, Mr Boldt said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The calls were made 18 months before Beckham's trial, while he was in custody on other matters. Police listened to seven to nine calls, Mr Mount said.

He asked that either Beckham's convictions be quashed altogether or a retrial be held at which police who listened to the calls had to give evidence. Alternatively, the sentence should be reduced.

Justice Stevens said Beckham was an admitted drug dealer and the victims of his crime would be punished by a sentence reduction.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Also asking for a sentence reduction for Beckham at the Court of Appeal was lawyer Steve Bonnar. He argued that the eight months Beckham spent on electronically monitored bail was not taken into account at sentencing.

It also emerged Beckham has stage-two pancreatic cancer.

"One of the provisions of the sentencing act is that a court has to have regard to the fact whether there are any factors that would make the term of imprisonment more harsh for a particular person than for an ordinary person," Mr Bonnar said.

It was hard for Beckham to receive the treatment he needed. Mr Bonnar said the Paremoremo Prison lockdown in July had meant Beckham missed a radiologist's appointment.

When arrested in 2008, Beckham was a significant figure in the methamphetamine trade in Northland and Auckland, police said. He was described as a crime boss who made millions in a drug ring he ruled ruthlessly.

Officers found 112g of methamphetamine in his car and 252g buried next to his driveway, and $856,720 in a car and in Beckham's house.

Assets and cash worth more than $10 million were frozen by the High Court.

Two late-model Ford Falcons were among assets seized - one with the registration plate B4DBOY - as well as a fishing vessel called Unity.

As the presiding judge, Justice Stevens reserved the court's decision.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales
Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

More than 170 customers south of Cape Rēinga are still without power.

17 Jul 08:26 AM
'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi
Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

17 Jul 06:02 AM
Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime
Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP