SA Police Assistant Commissioner John Venditto retires after mysterious year-long absence

Assistant Commissioner John Venditto has been absent from public duties, on full pay, since May last year, when he was reported to have cleared his desk and abruptly departed from SAPOL.

Secrecy laws unique to South Australia prevent media outlets from reporting on circumstances surrounding Venditto’s absence.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens on Wednesday revealed Venditto had given his notice.

“Following a period of leave, I can confirm that Assistant Commissioner Venditto has elected to retire after 42 years of service with SAPOL, with effect from 30 June 2026,” he said.

Stevens, who appointed him more than four years ago, said a selection process will be launched “quite soon” to find a replacement.

“I wouldn’t speculate on who might firstly apply and who might be successful,” he said.

Having been with SA Police for 42 years, Venditto would likely be entitled to the Police Pension Scheme, which covers officers who started with the force before May 31, 1990.

The scheme entitles retired officers from the age of 55 to receive a lifetime pension amounting to a percentage of the highest level of salary they received while working for SA Police.

While ordinary Australians struggle with cost of living pressures, Venditto will likely be entitled to between 60 and 67 per cent of his more than $300,000-a-year salary.

This means he would receive a lifetime pension of more than $180,000 and possibly upwards of $201,000 a year.

A very handsome reward for helping the dubious Stevens preside over a deteriorating police force that routinely ignores real crime in favor of revenue-raising and maliciously prosecuting those who resist and expose SAPOL’s rampant malfeasance.

SA Police declined to answer questions around any payouts or pensions Venditto may receive.

Police Minister Michael Brown referred questions about the matter to Stevens.

Venditto, of the western suburbs, was promoted to Assistant Commissioner in March 2022.

At the time he had been managing SA Police’s Security and Emergency Management Co-ordination Branch, which included the counter terrorism portfolio.

SAPOL’s counter-terrorism efforts under Venditto included the disgraceful arrest of a 13 year old severely autistic boy with “possessing extremist material”. The counter-terrorist idiots at SAPOL couldn’t find any real terrorists to arrest, so they had to justify their existence by arresting a child who didn’t have the intellectual capacity to understand what he was viewing.

Thank you for your service, John! Where would we be without brave cops who arrest young autistic kids while ignoring domestic violence by other cops, home invasions, frantic pleas for help from parents whose kids are subsequently murdered, shoplifting, taxi fare thieves, fuel thieves, harassment and vandalism, and pedophiles who molest four month old children and give them drugs?

“John Venditto brings a wealth of experience to the SAPOL Executive Leadership Team particularly in the area of criminal investigations, having managed SAPOL’s Major Crime Investigation Branch, Sexual Crime Investigation Branch and Anti-Corruption Branch,” Stevens said when announcing Venditto’s appointment.

In a rare public statement, ICAC Commissioner Emma Townsend said a misconduct allegation against the officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was referred to her agency by the Office of Public Integrity, which receives such complaints, on April 2.

She said her inquiry was examining whether the officer had breached the SA Police Code of Conduct and stressed it was “not a corruption investigation”.

“In most cases, the Internal Investigation Section of South Australia Police conducts disciplinary investigations in relation to South Australia Police officers with independent oversight by the OPI,” Townsend said at the time.

“In some circumstances, an independent investigation might be important for maintaining public confidence in SA Police – This is such a matter.”