******* in spotlight
Insiders say the move is designed to determine the nature of the jailed law enforcement boss's long-term friendship with John Anderson, one of the key suspects in the slaying of the 18-year-old business college student.
Career criminal Anderson is also considering a deal with prosecutors after the sudden postponement of his sentencing on unrelated drug charges, The Sun-Herald has learned.
The developments follow the announcement of a $250,000 police reward for information leading to a conviction over Ms Adams's murder and a series of rapes on Sydney's northern beaches.
Sources have also revealed the case is linked to a string of unsolved killings, including the 1984-85 murders of Andrea Wharton and Ante Yelavich, and the 1991 execution of former Australian light-heavyweight boxer and heroin dealer Roy Thurgar. Insiders have likened the scenario to "an underworld mosaic", with the chances of solving the long-cold homicides hinging on what Anderson reveals.
On June 2, ******* was accused of involvement in a $120 million global drug conspiracy and arrested by federal police.
Anderson, 68, who is understood to be suffering from hepatitis C and dementia, was charged with trying to smuggle 27kilograms of cocaine into Australia chained to the hulls of cargo ships, including the Tampa, in 2006. His son Michael, 30, has been convicted over the same matter, with the potential length of his jail sentence allegedly crucial to any deal in the Adams case, sources say.
Ms Adams was last seen with a group of men outside Newport Surf Life Saving Club on June 24, 1978.
Her body has not been found. After she disappeared, a stream of young women came forward to report being kidnapped and assaulted in the previous 10 months, by two armed men aged in their 30s along Barrenjoey Road.
While not prepared to name Anderson or his accomplices, homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Geoff Beresford said last week there was little doubt the attacks were connected. "Based on that link, if you like, it makes us confident that the same offenders are responsible for all those offences," he said.
At the time, some detectives were so convinced more could have been done to prosecute Anderson - also known as Neville Tween - and his alleged co-offender that a complaint alleging a lack of support in the matter was lodged with the Police Integrity Commission. It is still being examined.
Routine inquiries into Anderson's background then found *******'s son staying in the home of Anderson's estranged wife Susan.
There is no suggestion ******* was aware of Anderson's activities. It was also established ******* had been a close friend of Anderson for at least 30 years and a regular visitor to his Central Coast home.
Mr Yelavich's girlfriend, Ms Wharton, was last heard from on February 19, 1984, when she rang her mother to say she was staying with friends at Byron Bay.
Police sources say she became embroiled in a fatal dispute with an underworld associate of Anderson over an alleged drug rip-off and that, in the weeks before she vanished, she was warned off by hitman Christopher Dale Flannery. Detectives believe Mr Yelavich was killed after subsequently threatening revenge.
Inquiries have also revealed that the other man suspected of Ms Adams's murder is a person of renewed interest in the slaying of Thurgar, who was shot dead outside his wife's laundromat in Alison Road, Randwick, in May 1991.
Gold Coast cold case: What happened to Andrea?
ANDREA Wharton was just 23 years old when she vanished without a trace.
The Gold Coast woman had told her family she was going to visit friends in Byron Bay and was never seen or heard from again.
But police believe her frequent use of drugs and regular visits to Kings Cross were proof she fell victim to foul play in the 1980s underbelly of Sydney.
Andrea was just 16 when she had her first taste of heroin and for the next eight years the drug held her captive, controlling her life and ruining relationships.
Then in February 1984 the pretty blonde disappeared and one year later so did her boyfriend, Ante Yelavich.
There is believed to be a strong link between the disappearance of Andrea and Yelavich, who was also involved in drugs.
Until recently it had been thought Andrea disappeared from Byron Bay, the last reported location she was seen alive.
But it is now thought Sydney is probably where she vanished, a city she frequented to visit Yelavich.
Andrea met Yelavich in 1981. He was a few years older and, like her, was a heroin addict. He was also a criminal and known drug dealer.
The pair met on the Gold Coast and continued their relationship when Yelavich was extradited to NSW in September 1983 to serve a prison term in Long Bay Gaol.
NSW Detective Chief Inspector John Lehmann said at the time of her disappearance Andrea was under Queensland Probation and Parole supervision for drug-related offences.
“There is some information to suggest Ms Wharton’s involvement with heroin is a key factor in her suspected murder,’’ he said in 2011.
“There is information that persons Ms Wharton had associated with during her visits to Sydney were also known to Mr Yelavich.
“Investigators cannot rule out a possible link in the disappearance of Ms Wharton and Mr Yelavich, even though their respective disappearance occurred 19 months apart.’’
On February 19, 1984 Andrea stormed out of her parents’ Coast home after an argument.
She told her now-deceased mother she was travelling to Byron Bay with a friend and several days later called home to say she was not ready to return.
On February 29 the Wharton family received a letter from Andrea indicating she was still not ready to return. The letter was postmarked Darlinghurst, NSW.
New information obtained by police indicates Andrea had no intention of travelling to Byron Bay and flew straight to Sydney from Coolangatta to see Yelavich.
“There is suggestion that Ms Wharton was in contact with Mr Yelavich while she was in Sydney and that she was frequenting the Kings Cross area,’’ Det Lenmann told the Bulletin in 2011.
“It is believed that Ms Wharton was still using heroin at this time.’’
There have been no sightings or any other information regarding Andrea’s whereabouts following the letter she wrote to her mother.
According to one of her close friends, Andrea travelled to Sydney, not Byron Bay, because she knew where a “secret stash’’ of heroin was hidden and it is believed she planned to steal the drugs.
A 2007 coronial report into Andrea’s disappearance was unable to determine whether she was alive or dead.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.