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Their trial was started in July 2015, but was aborted after two days because of the potential prejudice caused after McNamara's then-barrister Charles Waterstreet made a reference to Rogerson "killing two or three people when he was in the police force". His 'threat' came shortly after the release of my first book on him. He looks healthy and on his game, and his actors gift of making you feel youre the only person in the room is undiminished. Aw mate, it couldnt be Roger, hes too good a bloke, the boss said. The man said he suspected it might have been the gun used in the murder of Mr Gao. That was close. Blue Murder covers the height of their relationship, which ended with Smith being charged for the murders of (among others) Huckstepp and Harvey Jones and with Rogerson leaving the force. As one officer scoured through frames of CCTV vision from the storage unit, an older colleague passing by spotted a figure with a distinctive gait. Smith'sfinal downfall had begun in October 1987 when he and another criminal killed tow truck diver Ronald Flavell during a road rage incident at Coogee. ), English footballer; Stan Rodgerson (1894-1955), Australian rules footballer; See also. Disgraced detective's last bid for freedom to not die in jail. While dealing narcotics he was also pulling off brazen armed robberies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, Smith, who was once the most infamous crook in Australia, was serving life for murder. Blue Murder will appear in two parts, beginning at 8.30pm on Sunday on Channel 7. Justice Geoffrey Bellew was satisfied the men formed an agreement to kill so they could steal the 2.78 kilograms of methamphetamine he was going to supply them. Rogerson was referring to the fact that there was a manhunt for him and that his mate Glen McNamara had been arrested on his way back from Cooma jail where he had been discussing the extortion plan. Rogerson, 75, and McNamara, 57, were found guilty of murdering Mr Gao, 20, during a drug deal at a Padstow storage facility on May 20, 2014 and dumping his body in waters off Cronulla the next day. , who was shot dead inside a Padstow storage unit in 2014. More than three decades later, Rogerson now stands as both the definitive figure of police corruption in Australia and also arguably the best-connected figure ever to stalk the criminal underworld. Rogerson, 75, and McNamara, 57, pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Gao and dumping his body in waters off Cronulla the next day. Reborn as an investigative journalist and author, McNab became Rogersons unauthorised biographer with his 2006 book The Dodger. It was a career-defining performance for actor Richard Roxburgh. Rogerson wanted me to tell him the 'real' McNamara story the one the jury didnt hear. One of Australia's most notorious cops, Roger Rogerson, is likely to die in jail after a court declined to extend his time to appeal. "Extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath," he said. Following the shooting, Huckstepp became an anti-police corruption whistleblower. Roger Rogerson was jailed for life for the 2014 murder of student Jamie Gao. This included auctioning signed photos of himself standing near Lanfranchi's dead body. A few months later, Rogerson and colleagues shot Sydney bank robber "Butchy" Burns in his getaway car. First introduced by the Norman-French at the Invasion of England in 1066, it was originally a baptismal personal name Rogier. A bloody and corrupt chapter in Australian criminal history appears to have drawn to a close with the country's most notorious police officer set to spend the rest of his life in jail for murder. Two words showed something was wrong with the system, After centuries of Murdaugh rule in the Deep South, the family's power ends with a life sentence for murder, With Prince Andrew's sweetheart mansion rental ending, King Charles offers compromise that shocks his son, Flooding in southern Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes. Notorious gangster Neddy Smith died aged 76 in Long Bay jail last week while serving a life sentence of murder. "It is clear that the offenders acted with complete disregard for the life of another human being.". Set in 1980s Sydney, this acclaimed mini-series tells the story of the relationship between corrupt Detective Roger Rogerson and one of Australia's most infamous criminals Neddy Smith. "I shot Lanfranchi twice, once in the neck and then one in the chest. Dont watch it before reading this. Smith's final downfall had begun in October 1987 when he and another criminal killed tow truck diver Ronald Flavell during a road rage incident at Coogee. Lanfranchi was something of a wild man who shot at police and robbed other dealers, and also a standover man who worked for Sydney gangster Neddy Smith. The 20-year-old student was shot dead in a Padstow storage unit in 2014 and his body was wrapped in a tarpaulin and dumped in Cronulla. All those years later, [for Rogerson] to have that amount of clout, quite spooky.. [8][9], A new trial started on 1 February 2016. "It was open to the sentencing judge to determine that a life sentence should be imposed," he said. What Rogerson didn't mention to me during my two visits was that his time to appeal was gone. Sallie-Anne Huckstepp was a Sydney private schoolgirl who fell into heroin addiction and prostitution and in 1981 began a relationship with Sydney dealer Warren Lanfranchi. Throughout their trial, Roger asserted McNamara was the architect of the deadly plot and he only gave grandfatherly advice.. Crucially, McNab has produced a remarkable portrayal of Rogersons activities in his twilight years, leading up to the murder of Gao. The latter is what brought Rogerson together with McNamara, whose own cultivated image as a former honest cop hung out to dry likewise unravels under McNabs inspection. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. There was a whole coterie of men who liked Roger because Roger could do things for them, McNab says. In 2005, when Roger Rogerson was sentenced to his second stint in jail - this time for lying under oath to the Police Integrity Commission six years earlier, unaware the true story had been captured on audiotapes - a District Court judge and a prominent psychiatrist both expressed the view that the former NSW detective might be rehabilitated and . And so are the Sydney gang wars of the mid 1980s, when criminals turned on each other in a shooting feast over dominance in the Sydney heroin trade. The prospect of an appeal still drives him, despite the court having denied him the ability to do so. While it was impossible to know who fired the fatal shot, Rogerson claimed the kill, according to Australia's News Limited newspapers. The request was for a chat, not an interview. Born in 1921, McPherson was convicted of various crimes as a boy and . From shooting heroin dealer Warren Lanfranchi in Dangar Place, the now notorious city back lane, to living it up with a violent underworld identity, Rogerson is Blue Murders dramatic focus. CORRUPT cop and convicted killer Roger Rogerson has been working as a prison cleaner at Long Bay since he was jailed for life last year. Rogerson and his second wife Anne Melocco were convicted of lying to the Police Integrity Commission, and this is portrayed in Blue Murder: Killer Cop. Fellow detective Michael Drury opens up on Roger Rogerson and 1984 shooting, "He rightly perceived that if the true position was disclosed then it may be suspected that he had concocted or at least moulded his story about providing a pistol to suit Rogerson's interests.". Prosecutors said the length of the prison term they are seeking for Ng is justified under US federal sentencing guidelines because of the size of the fraud. An armed robber, nightclub bouncer and convicted rapist, he moved into contract killing and is said to have murdered a Melbourne barrister and later a Sydney brothel owner. Melocco was sentenced to two years' periodic detention for the same offence. Rogerson, 75, has taken a job as the prison sweeper, which involves general cleaning duties like emptying bins and mopping floors, at the Kevin Waller Unit for aged and frail inmates. In 1986, Huckstepp, also a sex worker, was found dead in a pond in central Sydney's Centennial Park. "I was trying to get my life back together, the last thing I needed to do was think about this.". But the whiff of suspicion persists that Rogerson had a hand in at least seven others. After his release, he leveraged his infamy to conduct a series of public speaking engagements, along with another notorious criminal, Mark "Chopper" Read, and former high-profile Australian Rules football players Mark Jackson and Warwick Capper. Disgraced NSW detective Roger Rogerson, jailed for murder, could give evidence to the coronial inquest into the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub firebombing in Brisbane which killed 15 people. Rogerson gets jail keyboard at Long Bay jail. In the company of 18 other police officers, Rogerson waited in the lane. Unlike the remains of lawyer Brian Alexander, which has never been found, Gaos body wrapped in a blue tarpaulin bobbed to the surface off Cronulla beach in May, 2014. However, it was alleged by Lanfranchi's partner, Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, and later by Neddy Smith, that Rogerson had murdered Lanfranchi as retribution for robbing another heroin dealer who was under police protection and for firing a gun at a police officer. [22][failed verification] Following his release from prison in 2006, Rogerson resumed his entertainment career with Mark "Jacko" Jackson by appearing in a show called The Wild Colonial Psychos with Jackson and Mark "Chopper" Read. A source revealed to McNab that Gaos contact in Hong Kong who helped broker introductions with the Triad later vanished. Although gun residue was found on Rogerson's clothes, the judge said he couldn't be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of who fired the fatal shot. An inquest heard Rogerson fatally shot Lanfranchi while trying to effect an arrest, but failed to find it was done in self-defence. Drury was a Sydney detective whose dramatic attempted murder in 1984 believed to have been carried out by Melbourne hitman Chris Flannery brought an end to Roger Rogersons career. [16], Fellow police officer Michael Drury has alleged that Rogerson was involved in his attempted murder. Rogerson who is now 80, and Glen McNamara, now 62, were jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. He assures me McNamara is the key to his freedom. - In 2016, Rogerson was jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. That shooting hastened the detective's downfall after Lanfranchi's girlfriend Sallie-Anne Huckstepp publicly stated her lover was meeting Rogerson to pay him a bribe. She began a relationship with a police officer. Smith and Rogerson - both serving life for murder in Long Bay jail - had known each other 45 years and once formed the most infamous partnership in Australian crime. The jury said I didn't act in self-defence. + Follow. Violent and sinister characters populate the script: Neddy Smith, played by Tony Martin, is the charismatic big man of Sydneys gangland. On appeal Rogerson called a new witness, who told the court he picked up what he thought was a gun wrapped in a towel from a doorstep in the months before the murder. Rogerson has always maintained from that time on Smith was no more than a valuable informant for the Armed Hold-Up Squad. But the three appeal judges agreed Witness A was a "liar". Blue Murder shows the attempted murder of detective Michael Drury who was shot twice through his kitchen window alleged to have been taken down by Melbourne hitman Christopher Dale Flannery at Rogersons behest. [8][9] Following a retrial, both Rogerson and McNamara were found guilty of murder. With Smith jailed for life Rogerson took to the speaking circuit for a while, telling wild stories of his days on the force, and wrote a memoir. By 1978, his reputation was sufficient to gain convictions based on the strength of unsigned records of interviews with prisoners (known as "police verbals"). Published Sep 4, 2016. Sources also confirmed Rogersons sharp eye for turning a situation to his advantage has not waned since his arrival at Long Bay. Drury said Rogerson had tried to bribe him to change his evidence over a heroin trial and when Drury refused, he was shot. The police confirmed Rogerson was the 'mole' during an early 1990s secret investigation called 'Operation Graveyard'. Most of Jamie Gao's murder was caught on CCTV. There are three known killings directly attributed to Rogerson: Gao and the on duty shootings of Lanfranchi and would-be armed robber Lawrence Byrne in 1977. He was brought in to investigate the Ananda Marga conspiracy case, despite having no connections to the Special Branch investigating the case. [34], During legal proceedings surrounding the trial against suspects involved in the 2009 contract murder of Michael McGurk, the Supreme Court heard evidence that, while in the Cooma Correctional Centre in 2014, Rogerson, McNamara, and Fortunato "Lucky" Gattellari attempted to extort Ron Medich, a businessman and suspect for masterminding the murder of McGurk. New South Wales Crown prosecutor Christopher Maxwell QC told the hearing in the NSW Supreme Court, life sentences have been applied in the past for contract killings. Lennie McPherson. Low income Aussies and pensioners could be forced out of homes, Tens of thousands flock to Bondi for one-off dance party, Major traffic chaos warning for Sydney across busiest weekend in years. Stunning new image reveals rare glimpse at oldest known supernova, Shane Warnes children remember cricket legend on first anniversary of his death, The real reason boys and men join gangs: Its a world of violence, Desperate Aussies are turning to Facebook Marketplace but this one act could cost $11,000, Teenager fighting for life after hit-and-run north of Brisbane, Viewers done with living in Australia after battle with Huntsman spider caught on camera, Man charged over alleged sexual assault of woman at popular Melbourne lake, Warning as thousands of Aussies try DIY teeth whitening. Smith insisted they became partners in crime. The outcome is now both history and the script line for Blue Murder: Killer Cop, which debuts Part 1 on Sunday, August 6. [19] He was subsequently convicted of perverting the course of justice in relation to A$110,000 deposited by him in bank accounts under a false name. [24], In 2009, he published an autobiography about his time as a detective, entitled The Dark Side, launched by broadcaster Alan Jones. CCTV showed both men walking into the storage unit with the drug dealer and at their trial they each blamed theother for killing him. Married to his then wife Debra, with whom he had four children, the physically imposing Smith is both a wiley gangster and a big-hearted family man. He even bragged of a close encounter with singer Dame Shirley Bassey, after allegedly nabbing a man who had just stolen her handbag. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. Lawyer's murder hints at secrets of Australia mafia, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Property News:House prices in some school catchments explode by up to $367,000 - domain.com.au, Your web browser is no longer supported. Smith (left) is pictured with ex-wife Debra and brothel keeper Harvey Jones, who he was convicted of having murdered in 1983. Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Drury almost died and the attempted murder changed the course for Roger Rogerson, who Drury claimed sought revenge. Rogerson, 75, has taken a job as the prison sweeper, which involves general cleaning duties like emptying bins and mopping floors, at the Kevin Waller Unit for aged and frail inmates. And then we bring in Jamie Gao, whos pretty much the face of what Australian criminal gangsters or wannabe gangsters look like these days: young, smart, educated, going for the big quid.. The judge who sentenced them in 2016, Justice Geoffrey Bellew, said the pair were "overwhelmed by greed"and had formed an agreement to kill with "a complete disregard for the life of another human being". "According to the plan McNamara lured the deceased to the storage unit for a drug deal and Rogerson attended supposedly to purchase the drugs. [10] Rogerson's father Owen Rogerson emigrated from Kingston upon Hull, England during his career as a boilermaker; his mother Mabel Boxley emigrated from Cardiff, Wales with her parents as a youth (her English born father Caleb Boxley was the reason for Roger's middle name). In the pre-digital era, illegal bootleg video cassettes of Blue Murder I and II were jealously guarded, surreptitiously leant and massively copied. The menacing conversation included an unsuccessful attempt by Rogerson to wound his biographer by recalling the suicide of a colleague whod been involved in a fatal hit and run on a child and to whose parents McNab had to break the news. Christopher Dale Flannery. Rogerson emerged fresh from the killing at an old mates lunch club at a Sydney pub having invited some unfamiliar guests: a well-known boxer with two bikies in tow.