John Kizon on Ben Cousins...

Juddism

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...I had to laugh at the interview last night, Kizon saying that Cousins couldn't stay away from them, no prizes for guessing why!

anyway...the more disturbing part was the fact that the pony tail allegedly spoke with Cousins last week.

It’s all Kizon Cousins as John tells how he ‘helped’ his mate


7th May 2008, 6:00 WST



Just when it seemed it could barely get any worse for fallen West Coast Eagles star and self-confessed drug addict Ben Cousins, it has — he’s now being spoken of in glowing terms by convicted heroin dealer John Kizon.

In a television interview in which he was allowed to gloss over his highly controversial past, the pony-tailed boxer who went to jail in 1982 for possession of heroin and money from the sale of the drug, last night claimed he was close friends with Cousins and spoke to the troubled footballer just last week.

Mr Kizon’s bid to put his mate in a better light came as Cousins and a friend placed a death notice in The West Australian for Bill Christian, the father of controversial boxing trainer Craig, a good friend of Mr Kizon’s.

Craig Christian rose to infamy in 1995 after being charged with the bashing death of a young man outside the Leederville Hotel. He was ultimately acquitted.

In an interview with Today Tonight, Mr Kizon boasted of how he had advised Cousins about his drug addiction since as early as 2003.

Cousins has since confessed to a drug addiction, had his contract axed by the Eagles and is in football limbo. But Mr Kizon’s apparent lack of success as a counsellor did not deter him from telling the world how he had tried to get Cousins on “the right path”.

Sitting next to long-time mate and one of the few survivors of Melbourne’s bloody gangland wars, Mick Gatto — who was in Perth for Mr Christian’s funeral on Monday — Mr Kizon said he confronted Cousins “privately” about his drug use after rumours surfaced about police phone taps of the footballer’s contact with known drug dealers.

But Mr Kizon dismissed allegations he was partly responsible for the troubled footballer’s downfall.

“When we heard Ben was in quite a bit of trouble himself with his problem, we’ve privately had chats with him, with a number of friends of mine, and tried to get him on the straight and narrow,” Mr Kizon said. “I said, ‘Listen mate, you’ve got to overcome your demons . . . you’ve got a few problems but, mate, you’ve got to be strong within yourself. You’ve got to wake up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror and say, mate, I’m all that matters’.”

Showing that he wasn’t just an expert in one-on-one drug counselling with Brownlow medallists, Mr Kizon said he was well placed to comment on the culture at the Eagles.

He said a “champagne” culture saw the Eagles use Cousins as the face of its corporate and sponsorship events but abandon him when his drug use became public.

“Ben admitted to us that he was having a few problems earlier on (and) no one else would help him, not the club and their so-called people,” Mr Kizon said.

“No one took him for a walk somewhere, sat him on a bench somewhere and said, ‘Listen Ben, we’ve been through this and we understand the streets’. They left him out there to dry and he was on a path to destruction.”

Mr Kizon said Cousins had tried to heed warnings from the club to stay away from him and other so-called colourful identities. But alas, it was too hard for Ben to stay away. “We don’t try to get close to footballers, people try to get close to us. I think we’re likeable,” he said.

Viewers who were hoping that Mr Kizon’s propaganda may at least be sprinkled with a few insights into his past were sorely disappointed — he said his reputation among the police was unwarranted.

“When I was 18 or 19 they mentioned something about a drug charge. Listen, the police and the media would love that because they’d love to blow it up,” he said.

Given that Mr Kizon seems to know so much about the Eagles and footballers, it might have been interesting to know his views about the death of former Channel 7 reporter Chris Mainwaring. But alas, it was not to be. TIFFANY LAURIE

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=71572
 
Aug 4, 2003
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heh lazy. ;)

I found it interesting he had a go at the club over the whole thing and was intrigued whether Bigfooty would consider it a positive or a negative to be heading south on John Kizon's moral compass....it's a toughie...
 

lazy

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heh lazy. ;)

I found it interesting he had a go at the club over the whole thing and was intrigued whether Bigfooty would consider it a positive or a negative to be heading south on John Kizon's moral compass....it's a toughie...

I would put John in charge of player welfare at WC. He obviously cares about them and has been unofficially in the position anyway:thumbsu:
 
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“When we heard Ben was in quite a bit of trouble himself with his problem, we’ve privately had chats with him, with a number of friends of mine, and tried to get him on the straight and narrow,” Mr Kizon said. “I said, ‘Listen mate, you’ve got to overcome your demons . . . you’ve got a few problems but, mate, you’ve got to be strong within yourself. You’ve got to wake up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror and say, mate, I’m all that matters’.”

Can't believe he kept using after such a powerful intervention.:rolleyes:
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I was really disappointed with the angle Alison Fan took. She challenged him on nothing and made this "high profile northbridge identity" look like he was a guy that had been hard done by.

For someone that only has Ben's best interests at heart and wants nothing more than to assist him, he had no problem in pointing out that Ben was still associating with them. Great friend that is.
 

Juddism

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The fact Mick Gatto couldn't keep a straight face throughout Kizon's rant yesterday speaks volumes for how much of it was true

Craig Christian standing behind Mick couldn't stop laughing either...some interesting discussion with Geoff on 720 this morning.
 

Crow-mo

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talk about naive.

Kizon has been alleged to be involved in the traffic of such things, no more than that. but that doesn't matter.

assuming that the allegations are hypothetically true, someone like that would be very mindful of someone they knew over indulging. it's one thing for the fiends to load up, but quite the opposite for someone you knew.
 

thegrach

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talk about naive.

Kizon has been alleged to be involved in the traffic of such things, no more than that. but that doesn't matter.

assuming that the allegations are hypothetically true, someone like that would be very mindful of someone they knew over indulging. it's one thing for the fiends to load up, but quite the opposite for someone you knew.
So your argument is that you are better to be friends with a know drug dealer if you are a junkie, because they will care enough to tell you when to stop? Good argument, sure you aren't a former Greens candidate?
 

WCE57

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Craig Christian standing behind Mick couldn't stop laughing either...some interesting discussion with Geoff on 720 this morning.

What was said this morning?

Watch the interview. Hopefully, Kizon's new found 'disgust' at the club means he is no longer a supporter.

With friends like Kizon, god help Ben.
 

Juddism

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What was said this morning?

Watch the interview. Hopefully, Kizon's new found 'disgust' at the club means he is no longer a supporter.

With friends like Kizon, god help Ben.

nothing flattering and basically telling it like it is, just as Kizon likes to do.

was a little mixed on 6PR with that knobjockey Simon Beaumont saying Alison Fan conducted a good interview...moron that he is.

Kizon has been alleged to be involved in the traffic of such things, no more than that. but that doesn't matter.

he's actually a convicted heroin trafficker and did time for it.
 
Never heard of this guy.
What a ridiculous interview.

Kizon is the most well known "underworld" figure in Perth and is also allegedlly Perth's 'Mr Big'. He's also a known associate of the Carlton crew from Melbourne and was at a lot of their funerals including Jason Moran who he was good mates with.
 

huggy_b

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Either he is crooked as or there is more money in promoting boxing in Perth than I am aware of and I should change profession - he lives the lifestyle thats for sure.

But he is like teflon, nothing sticks.
 
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Kizon is the most well known "underworld" figure in Perth and is also allegedlly Perth's 'Mr Big'. He's also a known associate of the Carlton crew from Melbourne and was at a lot of their funerals including Jason Moran who he was good mates with.
Kizon is the most well known and argueably most visible of Perths underworld.
Not "Mr Big" just known
 

WCE57

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nothing flattering and basically telling it like it is, just as Kizon likes to do.

was a little mixed on 6PR with that knobjockey Simon Beaumont saying Alison Fan conducted a good interview...moron that he is.



he's actually a convicted heroin trafficker and did time for it.

Thanks for that Juddism :thumbsu:

A good interview :rolleyes:, yes real hard hitting stuff!. What a joke, Beaumont!
 
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