Lyon abuses luxury bail

By SCOTT MacLEOD

Officials in a tropical nation are urging that Mark Lyon be forced to leave amid allegations of trashed hotel rooms and a crumpled rental car.

Concerns about the Auckland multimillionaire have gone as high as the Prime Minister of the nation, which cannot be named because of a court order.

Many of the nation's citizens are angry that Lyon is there on bail, and its top policeman is annoyed that New Zealand authorities did not warn him Lyon was coming.

Lyon has spent much of the past seven weeks there between his court appearances in Auckland on drug utensil, firearms, violence and other charges. He is due to appear in the Auckland District Court again on Friday.

As a result of his visits, the former property developer is not welcome at five of the nation's plushest resorts and apartments, and police have spoken to the owners of a house who said they felt threatened by Lyon's "demeanour".

Police have also investigated the crashing of a rental car into the steps of a residence around New Year while a male relative of Lyon was in the vehicle.

Police took no action after Lyon paid $15,200 for the damage.

But Lyon's lawyer, Chris Comeskey, says his client has created no more damage than other tourists might, has paid all his bills, and paid more than ample compensation for any damage.

The Weekend Herald spoke to managers of four resorts and an apartment complex which cannot be named because a High Court order requires Lyon's bail conditions to be kept secret.

One manager indicated he would take out a trespass order against Lyon's partner, Susan Bridgeman, former wife of designer Keith Matheson, after she and Lyon were asked to leave "for the benefit of our guests".

The manager of two other resorts spoke of "undesirable behaviour", a broken table, a cracked bed and concerns raised by residents.

"He conducts himself like a pig. He has no regard for other people's possessions. Everyone is asking how the hell he got here in the first place."

Another manager said Lyon's lifestyle was so disgusting that within three days she refused to have his room serviced and raised his rent to force him out.

"He is unbearable. The problem is with the trash - he's messy, very messy. "

The manager of the fourth resort said Lyon was well behaved during his three-night stay, but would not be allowed back because of his behaviour elsewhere.

The manager of a villa complex where Lyon stayed this week could not be contacted. It is understood Lyon left after a few days, placed a deposit on an $895,000 home nearby and shifted in.

Lyon has been director of 17 companies in the past six years and backed the $60 million Chancery shopping centre in Auckland City.

Mr Comeskey said he was not aware of any complaints against his client while staying in the nation.

He said Lyon was not the driver of the crashed vehicle, which was damaged in a routine accident. Lyon paid $1200 to the owner of the steps for damage worth just $50 and bought the crashed jeep off the rental firm for $14,000.

Mr Comeskey was aware of minor damage to glassware and a light fitting in the resorts that may have been caused by Lyon shifting his electric piano and stereo system. The damage was paid for.

The lawyer said he accepted that there was general untidiness, with day-old food and dishes lying around, but there was no major damage.

"Give him credit for paying for damage without questioning where the liability really lies. In a lot of ways, ambassadorially he's quite a good tourist for New Zealand."

The High Court at Auckland granted Lyon bail on December 3, five days after he was charged with possessing explosives, a drug pipe and a pistol.

He has also denied 15 charges from two incidents between November 2001 and January last year. They include assaulting a policeman, threatening to kill a policeman, stealing a $14.45 magazine, dangerous driving, assault, and using the threatening phrase, "I'll come back and smash you with a baseball bat".

On January 1, he was charged with breaching bail conditions and exporting the class-B drug Ecstasy to Australia.

He also faces assault and firearms charges from an incident in Queenstown.

The unnamed nation's top police officers this week sent a file about Lyon to their Prime Minister. They want the 47-year-old kicked out when he applies to extend his stay, which they expected him to do early next month.

The Police Commissioner told the Weekend Herald he was "a bit annoyed" that New Zealand authorities failed to tell him Lyon was coming.

The first he knew was when Lyon was spotted getting off an aircraft there early last month.

The commissioner said he was especially concerned because of the charge of assaulting police.

"There was no correspondence from the New Zealand police. I would have thought we would be the first ones to be notified. We had to contact New Zealand, and the response was rather slow."

The nation's Prime Minister said he had received the police report but could not comment because he was yet to read it. He already knew about Lyon from Australian news reports.

"The matter is being looked into by the police," he said. "I and the Government need to be informed, but it is not fair to make any comment."

Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier, who was in court on December 3 when Lyon was given bail, said yesterday that he received a phone call from an overseas resort manager. He advised the manager to treat Lyon like any other tourist.

Mr Brazier said thousands of people facing charges travelled overseas each year, and it was impractical to tell all countries about visits.

If Lyon was accused of murder or some other very serious charge, the tropical nation's police would probably have been told out of courtesy.

"If Lyon wants to cause grief and piss the locals off, then that's up to him, and it's up to them what to do about it. If they want to kick him out - even out of the country - then that's up to them."

Under the nation's laws, Lyon can stay for short periods without a visa if he periodically leaves and returns.

But the chairman of the local tourist accommodation council said he understood there was a law under which Lyon could be turned back at the airport. He was urging authorities to take advantage of that law the next time Lyon flew in.

The chairman said he had posted a bulletin to major hotels warning them about Lyon. Two hotels with empty rooms had already told Susan Bridgeman they were full when she asked them about accommodation.

The chairman said staff at hotels where Lyon had stayed were astounded at the amount of mess he was able to create in a short time. Lyon was an "undesirable" and not welcome in the nation long-term.

Lyon is known to have an aversion to telephones and could not be reached this week. Susan Bridgeman did not return messages left on her cellphone.

Lyon's Mt Eden mansion, which backs on to Government House, was worth $3.1 million before it was burned out on September 24. Within 16 days there were two other mysterious blazes at properties linked to Lyon - his former Mission Corporation offices in central Auckland and a rural building in Queenstown.

Police are still investigating.