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. Rogerson, 79, appeared in the Court of Criminal Appeal via video link, dressed in a prison issued green tracksuit and seated beside a walker. The unlikely pairing culminated in Gao, through contacts with a Triad gang in Hong Kong, arranging the import of 3kg of ice from mainland China. It was the beginning of the end for Rogersons police career, and Flannerys hot heatedness and ready gun toting would be his own demise. 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. Theres just something horribly wrong with Rogers head. On 15 June 2016, Rogerson and McNamara were found guilty of Gao's murder. The request was for a chat, not an interview. 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. 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. Where things went horribly wrong for Rogerson was his blindness to the array of CCTV cameras that captured their meeting with Gao in the Padstow storage unit, McNab says. Smith insisted the pair became partners in crime. .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}Plunkett, Geoff (2018). Smith later said that Rogerson ordered him to disarm Lanfranchi en route. At 78 years old, and with a body worn by hard work, hes well qualified. Roger Rogerson was a decorated and skilful detective sergeant of the NSW Police Force who worked on some of the 1970s major cases, including the Whiskey Au Go Go fire and the Toecutter gang murder. [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. He was the master of the police verbal, an unsigned confession from a suspect, and operated in an era later classified as corrupt. He moved his bashing and murder business to Sydney where he made the big-time, including his failed attempt to murder police officer Mick Drury in June 1984. 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. Former detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara have lost their appeals against convictions for the murder of Sydney drug dealer Jamie Gao. His family was among those in court for today's hearing. Single mother faces 170 parking fine after overstaying at McDonald's for just 14 minutes while she treated Man had sex with his wife on bollard in protest after it had been erected by neighbour to stop him parking What will the next pandemic be? Violent and sinister characters populate the script: Neddy Smith, played by Tony Martin, is the charismatic big man of Sydneys gangland. [26] On 21 January 2015, he and his co-accused, Glen McNamara (also a former police detective), were committed to stand trial over the alleged murder. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/roger-rogerson-glen-mcnamara-lose-appeal-murder/100298452, Australia's biggest drug bust: $1 billion worth of cocaine linked to Mexican cartel intercepted, 'Pincers are closing': Ukrainian forces under pressure as Russians shell roads out of Bakhmut, Four in hospital after terrifying home invasion by gang armed with machetes, knives, hammer, 'We have got the balance right': PM gives Greens' super demands short shrift, Crowd laughs as Russia's foreign minister claims Ukraine war 'was launched against us', The tense, 10-minute meeting that left Russia's chief diplomat smoking outside in the blazing sun, 'Celebrity leaders': Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley take veiled jabs at Donald Trump in CPAC remarks. Rogerson was charged with the shooting and Williams testified that Rogerson and Christopher Dale Flannery had agreed to murder Drury for A$50,000 each. The honeytrap plot that left father-of-six dead: Moment two women lead victim into his flat to seduce him 'Sonic boom' is heard across central England as 'ground shakes' and houses are rocked. Harsh words forgotten. "It is clear that the offenders acted with complete disregard for the life of another human being.". One was the murder in company of tow truck driver, Ronnie Flavell and the other of brothel owner Harvey Jones. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The book describes the moment Rogersons notoriety first betrayed his link to Gaos murder. Smith has spent much of his life in prison for earlier crimes, but despite his reputation as a killer, he was convicted of only two deaths. 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 (in handcuffs) is serving life for the murder of 20-year-old drug dealer Jamie Gao. Drury is now retired from the police force and a respected philatelist and collector of rare stamps. In 1984, Duncan McNab was a New South Wales police internal affairs investigator when a deathbed statement from undercover drug cop Michael Drury came across his bosss desk. Late last year, as Rogerson languished in a cell in the geriatric unit of Sydneys Long Bay jail over the Gao murder, I received a call from his wife Anne. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. Rogerson, the once-masterful court performer who swayed a jury to take his word over both Drurys and the heroin dealer who said hed paid Rogerson for the hit, will end his life behind bars, serving a life sentence along with McNamara. Rogerson is in the Kevin Waller Unit for aged and frail prisoners at Long Bay. With Rogerson dismissed from the force in 1986 and Smith's other police friends no longer able to help, he was refused bail and spent the rest of his life in jail. Rogerson and Smith's joint exploits were immortalised in the award-winning 1995 television series Blue Murder and their notorious association helped eventually bring each man down. It would take years for the police to get serious about bringing its shiniest (though far from its only) rotten apple undone. In 1986, Huckstepp, also a sex worker, was found dead in a pond in central Sydney's Centennial Park. Ive never seen a man more terrified in my life, he says. 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. Over the past year, detectives have been talking to him about the 1975 murder of Perth brothel madam Shirley Finn and the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go fire in Brisbane. 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. The sources say even some prison officers have become starstruck by his presence in the jail. Rogerson gets jail keyboard at Long Bay jail. But if you take a step back from all that charm, youve got a very nasty bit of goods racist, a homophobe, a misogynist, a cruel man and a man of extraordinary greed who will let nothing get in the way of what he wants.. 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. First introduced by the Norman-French at the Invasion of England in 1066, it was originally a baptismal personal name Rogier. Now a frail old man, Rogerson's sentencing brings down the curtain on a story that, for better or worse, has written itself into Australia's modern mythology. The man said he suspected it might have been the gun used in the murder of Mr Gao. After his latest conviction, he is expected to spend the rest of his life in jail. 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. I dismissed it as bluster, but nonetheless looked over my shoulder for the next few days. Rogerson was acquitted of Drurys shooting, but was convicted of perverting the course of justice over a false bank account. He and fellow former detectiveGlen McNamara were jailed for life in September 2016 and lost appeals over their convictions in July. Followed categories will be added to My News. Drury spent 12 days in a coma, but survived. This was because John Andrew Stuart, accused of lighting the fire, had said criminals from Sydney were behind the nightclub extortion attempts. One of three children, Rogerson grew up in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown (moving there from Bondi at six years old). In 2016 after the men were jailed, he met with Rogerson's solicitor Peter Katsoolis and police then began to investigate. Justice Bell said both accused had run "cut-throat defences". Both pleaded not guilty in January 2015. "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. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. Rogerson who is now 80, and Glen McNamara, now 62, were jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Smith was a convicted heroin dealer, rapist and armed robber who claimed Rogerson gave him the "green light" to commit crimes in NSW, while Flannery specialised in contract killing. I left school at 16 with six GCSEs - and became a self-made millionaire. 'He did mention that he probably would have been dead long before if he hadn't been in jail but that's about it,' she said, Rogerson and Smith could often be found drinking at inner-city pubs including Alexandria's Star and Iron Duke, the Captain Cook at Millers Point and the Lord Wolseley in Ultimo. In the wake of Rogersons arrest over the Gao murder, the flow of information quickened as people who previously had been reticent to talk all of a sudden really started talking. The murder attempt at Drurys Chatswood home makes for dramatic scenes in Blue Murder and the aftermath when Drury almost died from his gunshot wounds. This is a list of the real life characters and what they did in the first Blue Murder. In the following months, the cocaine and booze-fuelled Flannery became increasingly erratic. 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. That young observer has now gone on to become the definitive chronicler of a life on both sides of the law that he says is likely without parallel in the English speaking world. The coronial file and findings into her disappearance are now missing. He assures me McNamara is the key to his freedom. On April 23, 1985 Flannery is said to have been responsible for the gangland shooting of drug dealer Tony Spaghetti Eustace by his gold Mercedes. Three years later he was tried for conspiring with hitman Christopher Dale Flannery to murder Drury. [35][36][37], Soon after the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub fire on 8 March 1973, Sydney detectives Roger Rogerson and Detective Sergeant Noel Morey were called to Brisbane to assist in the investigation. Smith was a major heroin distributor in Sydney when the city's streets were awash with that drug. Actors Steve Bastoni and Peter Phelps play the roles of Detective Michael Drury, who survived an assassination attempt, and Smith friend Graham Abo Henry. Rogerson is pictured in 2004. Children drinking PINTS and the King riding in a 14-wheel golden HGV - this is Kate and Prince William 'are keen' for Prince George to have official role in King Charles' coronation - but Royally hard work! While Smith was virtually untouchable as he ran amok across Sydney many of his criminal associates on the 1980s died violently. Rogerson, who. Tim Anderson, one of the three released in 1985, claimed the confession Rogerson extracted was fabricated, and that he and two other members of the Ananda Marga group were convicted in part because of Rogerson's fabrications. The pair met in November 1976 when Rogerson arrested Smith as he was reporting for bail at Rockdale police station and charged him attempting to snatch the Fielders Bakery payroll at Granville. [13], Rogerson worked on some of the biggest cases of the early 1970s, including the Toecutter Gang Murder and the Whiskey Au Go Go Fire in Brisbane. Notorious gangster Neddy Smith died aged 76 in Long Bay jail last week while serving a life sentence of murder. 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. Roger Rogerson leaves a court hearing in 2014. CCTV showed both men walking into the facility with the young drug dealer. Rogerson, played by Roxburgh, and Neddy Smith (Tony Martin) in a famous scene from the first Blue Murder in which crook and cop enjoy the spoils of crime. Both pleaded not guilty in January 2015. He did less than other crime bosses to avoid publicity, and was referred to in the media as Mr Big and less often as "Mr Ten Percent". [40], Richard Roxburgh portrayed Rogerson in the 1995 TV mini-series Blue Murder and its 2017 sequel Blue Murder: Killer Cop.[41]. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. 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. Roger Rogerson In addition, two Hong Kong men drove Gao to the deadly drug deal and called New South Wales police 30 hours after he disappeared. You might also be interested in these Crime Scene Investigator stories: Charismatic and affable. 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. 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. She went on television and gave extensive interviews about allegedly crooked police, including Rogerson who she claimed murdered Lanfranchi and stole the $10,000 bribe he was carrying to be let off the police shooting. [31], On 2 September 2016, Justice Geoffrey Bellew sentenced Rogerson and McNamara to life in prison, with the statement "The joint criminal enterprise to which each offender was a party was extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath". Smiths loving family and his ex-wife Debra, with whom he has remained friends, have continued to visit him in prison, where the 72-year-old is set to die without being released. 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. Melocco was sentenced to two years' periodic detention for the same offence. [4][5] During his time in office he was implicated inbut never convicted oftwo killings, bribery, assault and drug dealing.[6]. Watch the video above about Roger Rogerson's sentencing. And fabled underworld tales are recreated, such as the scene of Sydney lawyer Brian Alexander on a boat trussed up and chained to a stove, being pitched overboard outside the Sydney Heads. Theres a long and sad list and I reckon there would be a few people who have just gone, disappeared, that no one cares about.. The outcome is now both history and the script line for Blue Murder: Killer Cop, which debuts Part 1 on Sunday, August 6. The Chubb, McCann, Croft and Sandery cases were dismissed at committal and the Shu case was no-billed. "I shot Lanfranchi twice, once in the neck and then one in the chest. Smith insisted they became partners in crime. This page was last edited on 7 January 2023, at 20:08. Roger Rogerson was the teak-hard. The disgraced ex-policeman and fellow former detective Glen McNamara were found guilty in a Sydney court of murdering 20-year-old Jamie Gao in a storage facility in the city's south-west in May, 2014, during a botched drug deal. What an interesting confluence: one man who has an appalling reputation but has rehabilitated himself to genial rogue for hire, and a bloke whos supposed to be pure and downtrodden, McNab says. The 20-year-old student was shot dead in a Padstow storage unit in 2014 and his body was wrapped in a tarpaulin anddumped in Cronulla. Justice Bell said although both accused had denied the existenceof a joint criminal enterprise to kill Mr Gao, the Crown had shown the men cooperated to dispose of the body. 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. 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.". All times AEDT (GMT +11). Rogerson, 75, and McNamara, 57, pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Gao and dumping his body in waters off Cronulla the next day. His wife Anne Melocco told Daily Mail Australia that Rogerson had mentioned Smith's death but there had certainly been no celebration or revengeful one-liners. She also made statements to the New South Wales Police Internal Affairs Branch. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. Drury refused and believed Rogerson was behind the attempt on his life. The jury said I didn't act in self-defence. BLUE Murder was the original true crime blockbuster, a massive hit even while it was still banned. "The deceased was shot and killed by one of them and both Rogerson and McNamara cooperated to dispose of the body at sea and cover their tracks.". 'He did mention that he probably would have been dead long before if he hadn't been in jail but that's about it,' Ms Melocco said. Smith would claim that before Jones disappeared - his body was not found until 1995 - the sometime used car salesman had been arranging to pay Rogerson $60,000 to make gold bullion theft charges go away. 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. Neddy Smith stood trial for her murder, but was acquitted. Gao was unlikely to have had any real idea of the background of the men he was dealing with, particularly Rogerson, McNab says. Loose Women star Jane Moore puts her seven-bed Battersea home on the market for 4.5M three months after Are YOU a romantic comedy buff? Born in 1921, McPherson was convicted of various crimes as a boy and . jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. He turned himself in after being spotted on surveillance, spun a story, and set up his former colleagues. But as McNab now recalls, Rogerson was protected in large part by his aura within the polices own ranks.