SAS Australia 2022 recruit and convicted drug dealer Richard Buttrose spent nine years in prison trying to make his time in incarceration count for something.
The nephew of media mogul Ita Buttrose was arrested in 2009 after being caught in possession of roughly 6kg of cocaine and $1.3 million in cash.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph Richard revealed how he wanted to make use of the time he had in prison: “I decided early on that I was going to make the time work for me.”
“I knew I was going to be there for a long time and didn’t want to come out the other side without having achieved something,” Richard admitted at the time.
“I saw plenty of other guys doing long sentences who didn’t do a thing and I always thought ‘what a waste of time’,” he added.
How Richard Buttrose A Convicted Drug Dealer And SAS Australia 2022 Recruit Passed Time In Prison
The convicted criminal spent majority of his time in prison studying and assisting his fellow inmates to learn.
Richard explained to the publication that some of the other prisoners were illiterate due to their upbringings so he offered his time to help teach them.
“I started by helping guys read and understand legal correspondence. That led to writing letters in response and in the end I was writing submissions for people’s criminal trials,” he recalled.
“Some of these guys had done some pretty horrific stuff, but you [be]come desensitised to all of that,” he added.
Spending his time to further educate himself, Richard achieved a Bachelor in Business from RMIT and an MBA in Finance from Charles Sturt University.
The Deal Richard Buttrose Struck To Reduce His Sentence And What He Has Done Since His Release From Prison
In 2010 the ex-felon was originally sentenced to 16 years in prison, however, after handing over his book of contacts to the authorities his sentence was reduced to 12 years.
After being released in 2017 after serving nine years out of a 12-year sentence, Richard took on a legal advisory business.
Since his release, the ex-prisoner has married and has also embarked on studying to become a lawyer according to his aunt Ita.
“Richard has a terrific mind and I think he will make a great lawyer,” she told The Daily Telegraph in an interview. “He has a very sharp mind. A very sharp, legal mind,” she added.
The well-known media icon also mentioned how proud she was of her nephew for turning his life around.
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