Gang life seems to pay well

Stuff reports:

He is a member of a notorious gang and faces serious criminal charges, but Stephen William Daly might also be in the running for father of the year.

The Head Hunters member, on electronic bail for his alleged role in armed kidnappings in the Bay of Plenty a year ago, was so frustrated at not being allowed to leave his Whangarei property and take his kids to the playground that he took extreme measures – bringing the playground to them.

The 33-year-old saw a school playground being auctioned on TradeMe with a $1 reserve and began bidding.

“I thought ‘we can do this’. We had the space for it, it seemed cool, like a mean idea.”

Competition was fierce but he won the auction – “we got it for about two grand” – and he sent a relative down to Opotiki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty to pick it up.

But it was completely dismantled, and Daly had to figure out how to put it back together in his back yard in Mahana Pl, Raumanga, a poor suburb of Whangarei.

“We had no instructions or anything, just photos off TradeMe. We’d grab one pole, look through all the photos at where the gaps were – we jigsaw puzzled it for about two weeks. Our builder was bloody awesome.”

When it was finally completed, Daly posted his delight on Facebook with the post: “It gets to ya telling ya babies you can’t take them to the park because I’m on the bracelet so I did something about it. I no longer have that problem. … school playground at home, boom.”

I think to be father of the year, you teach your kids not to do crime. But regardless, it is a nice story about a dad wanting to give his kids a good time, and an innovative solution to it. So I’m all for that.

But what interested me was this part:

Daly is slowly building his property into a paradise for his children, aged 7 and 6, whom Stuff has chosen not to name. He’s just put in a pool and is now laying large decks. Also on the property yesterday was a jetski and a four-wheel motorbike, as well as a pet turtle that had escaped its enclosure.

Previous Facebook posts show Daly driving a vintage muscle car, registration Psyko, and dining with members of reggae band UB40. 

I’m not sure what his income source is. Maybe he is really good at sharemarket investments. But on the assumption his income comes from gang related activities, it seems to be pretty profitable to be able to afford a pool, large decks, a jetski, a motorbike and a vintage car.

Maybe I’m in the wrong job?