I got a real hard time with the author calling these criminals, patriots.

...During R and R, Houghton received all sorts of special benefits. When the troops came to port, Sydney residents recall that Houghton was sometimes helicoptered out to the flagship to greet his prospective customers and meet their commanding officer.

And as Houghton grew bigger and more visible, so did his friendship with Michael Hand.

Despite his denials, a circumstantial case has been made by some that Bernie Houghton was wearing the cloak of patriotism as a U.S. intelligence agent. The case is furthered by his otherwise hard-to-explain relationship with the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, a government agency best known to Australians by its acronym, ASIO. While doing for Australia some of the work that the CIA does for the United States, ASIO also functions domestically, much as the FBI's counterintelligence branch does in the U.S.

ASIO's name showed up when, after the collapse of Nugan Hand, Houghton's immigration file was investigated. Curious references were found both by the police task force and by the local press, which obtained documents through devices of its own. It was learned that on October 21, 1969, ASIO had given Houghton a security clearance; this was after he applied for permanent residency status in Australia.

Then, on February 12, 1972, ASIO did Houghton a very special favor. He had been traveling abroad—to "Saigon to check on the feasibility of buying surplus war material," he later explained. But he had neglected to obtain a re-entry visa for his passport. His original Australian visa had expired November 10, 1971. In the palaver at the airport immigration desk, he gave the officers two references, who quickly saw to it that he was admitted. One was John Charody, Sir Paul's business partner.

The other was Leo Carter of ASIO—not just an ordinary ASIO agent, but the director of ASIO for the whole state of New South Wales, the largest in Australia.
https://exploringrealhistory.blogspot.com/2019/10/part-2-crimes-of-patriotsthe-education.html