Rogerson had once been the brightest star in the New South Wales Police Force and Smith one of the heaviest criminals that Sydney has known. 00:01. Crucially, McNab has produced a remarkable portrayal of Rogersons activities in his twilight years, leading up to the murder of Gao. Smith became a star witness for the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Wood Royal Commission, revealing Rogerson and others alleged corruption. Allegations bounced off. [4][5] During his time in office he was implicated inbut never convicted oftwo killings, bribery, assault and drug dealing.[6]. Smith was convicted of the Jones murder and acquitted of killing Huckstepp. EXCLUSIVE: Florence Pugh's father is threatened with 2,500 fine as he goes to war with council over Oxford Do not sell or share my personal information. Rogerson Its a challenge that will almost certainly elude this once-celebrated detective - who will now likely die in jail. 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. [19], In 2008, Rogerson reviewed episodes of the Underbelly series and Melbourne's underworld war in The Daily Telegraph[23] He also wrote about the 2009 series of Underbelly for the same paper. Rogerson and McNamara were found guilty after a four-month trial that showed CCTV footage linking them to the death of Gao, whose body was found floating in a bag in the ocean off Sydney. Smith insisted they became partners in crime. Ive never seen a man more terrified in my life, he says. His defence is trying to establish he wasn't part of the agreement to kill or rob the victim. Read about our approach to external linking. 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 men were due for trial in the Supreme Court on 20 July 2015. But the whiff of suspicion persists that Rogerson had a hand in at least seven others. 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. If your parents dont have a dusty old video cassette of the original or the machine to play it on this is a must read which also includes a handbook to the real characters of the new series. Still, it fascinates me that Rogers career was brought to an end by a 20-year-old Asian kid with an education.. They were famously photographed slapping each other with wads of $50 notes for the benefit of federal police surveillance unit at Chinatown's Covent Garden Hotel. Drury is now retired from the police force and a respected philatelist and collector of rare stamps. Roger Rogerson, a 75-year-old former detective who boasted about killing people and has already served three prison sentences, was on Wednesday found guilty in the death of a student drug dealer. Notorious gangster Neddy Smith died aged 76 in Long Bay jail last week while serving a life sentence of murder. An . An aerial view of Long Bay Correctional Centre in Sydney. Arthur 'Neddy' Smith. 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. They did so because, although they 'knew' Stuart and Finch were involved, they had insufficient evidence to convict them. Just days after their conviction and life sentences were handed down in 2016, the pair lodged a notice of intention to appeal. Blue Murder burst onto the screens with scenes of Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson in a bulletproof vest stalking crims in a line of Sydney traffic with an assault rifle. He once claimed to be a cash millionaire. Lawyers for both Rogerson and McNamara indicated they would appeal against the sentence. New light is shed on Rogersons link to heroin importation via Thai sex workers and trafficking in the 1980s with Melbourne criminal Dennis Dr Death Allen, who was believed to be involved in the killings of up to 15 people. That was close. These days, having left the police force, I make my living as a journalist, specifically writing crime. He was brought in to investigate the Ananda Marga conspiracy case, despite having no connections to the Special Branch investigating the case. Flannery may have shot up to a dozen people before he was called to a meeting with George Freeman On May 9, 1985. The sources say even some prison officers have become starstruck by his presence in the jail. During the Gao trial, McNamara alleged Rogerson confessed to him of complicity in the killings of heroin dealers Alan Williams and Luton Chu, as well as Lanfranchis partner Sallie-Anne Huckstepp. Disgraced former detective Roger Rogerson is appealing his life sentence, arguing he didn't know Glen McNamara had sourced a gun before the murder. The latter are alleged to have been Rogersons hope for unloading the ice. In 1984, undercover policeman Michael Drury was shot in his Sydney home as he fed his young daughter. In 2016 after the men were jailed, he met with Rogerson's solicitor Peter Katsoolis and police then began to investigate. McNamara is yet to make any submissions. Roger Rogerson: The life and crimes of Australia's most notorious cop. As the Seven Network prepares to air the shows sequel Blue Murder: Killer Cop this weekend, news.com.au has prepared a guide to what you need to know from the original. [11] Rogerson attended Bankstown Central School and later Homebush Boys High School. + Follow. "Because he was (Clint Eastwood's) Dirty Harry," says one veteran reporter. Drury claims he refused to accept a bribe Rogerson offered in exchange for evidence tampering in a heroin trafficking trial of convicted Melbourne drug dealer Alan Williams. It was the beginning of the end for Rogersons police career, and Flannerys hot heatedness and ready gun toting would be his own demise. This page was last edited on 7 January 2023, at 20:08. He even bragged of a close encounter with singer Dame Shirley Bassey, after allegedly nabbing a man who had just stolen her handbag. Detectives have variously described . Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara sentenced to life in jail for Jamie Gao murder. One was the murder in company of tow truck driver, Ronnie Flavell and the other of brothel owner Harvey Jones. Rogerson has always maintained Smith was no more than a valuable informant for the Armed Hold-Up Squad. "I guess I thought about it a lot from the start but I wanted to put it out of my mind," he said. In late January, 1985 Flannerys family home was sprayed with rounds from a rifle. Rodgerson is a surname. 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. In January 1958, he joined the New South Wales Police Cadet Service. A large scale search was underway at Freshwater Beach on Saturday night after a young man was reported missing in the water. Rogerson, who. Roger Rogerson being escorted to a prison van at the Supreme Court in Sydney in 2016. He assures me McNamara is the key to his freedom. They were photographed by a federal police surveillance unit in the Covent Garden at Chinatown, 'He's never seen him in prison because Neddy was in the hospital and Roger hasn't been there. 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. Harsh words forgotten. Smith later said that Rogerson ordered him to disarm Lanfranchi en route. [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). While Rogerson was locking up - and sometimes shooting dead - crooks in the 1970s and 1980s, Smith was distributing heroin and pulling off major armed robberies. Rogerson claimed Lanfranchi was armed and he shot him in self-defence. Revealed: The new '23' number plates the DVLA deems offensive and has banned including EU23 OFF and GO23 HEL, The secret WhatsApp mode that lets you EDIT texts after you've sent them. Credit: Daniel Munoz. 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. Rogerson is serving life in prison, alongside fellow former police officer Glen McNamara, over the murder of 20-year-old drug dealer Jamie Gao in May 2014. [29], On 25 August 2016, Rogerson and McNamara faced a sentencing hearing. It was quite disturbing. It is one thats shatteringly at odds with Rogersons public rebirth as a genial rogue through his regular media commentary and improbable stints on the stand up comedy circuit with Mark Chopper Read under the banner of the Wild Colonial Psychos. When Lanfranchi stepped out of the car, Rogerson shot him dead, claiming self defence. Rogerson had publicly accused Smith of informing on other criminals in media interviews and in the early 1990s the crook spectacularly turned on the copper. 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. Gao was not the first drug dealer whose life Rogerson had ended with two bullets to the chest. 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. As investigations into Rogerson mounted, he was sacked from the police force in 1986 for misconduct. Rogerson (in handcuffs) is serving life for the murder of 20-year-old drug dealer Jamie Gao. He later joked that the only way to identify Western's bullet-ridden body was by his ingrown toenails. Both pleaded not guilty in January 2015. In the pre-digital era, illegal bootleg video cassettes of Blue Murder I and II were jealously guarded, surreptitiously leant and massively copied. 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.". Lennie McPherson. 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. [28] On the second day, the trial was aborted 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. 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. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. 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. He says McNamara wasnt a hero cop whose career was ruined by his battle against corruption that was a fiction he created. 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. Sources say Rogerson has become the leader of the unit because of his high profile and reputation. The death of Lanfranchi, whose girlfriend was heroin-addicted prostitute turned police corruption whistleblower, was ruled in the line of duty. In 1992 he gave evidence at an Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry into the relationship between police and criminals, implicating Rogerson and others in organised crime. The latter are alleged to. . But McNab put the project to bed and expected never to write again of Rogerson, presuming the fallen copper would see out his days casting a line over a dinghy and bouncing grandchildren on his lap. They have not been seen or heard from since. Most of Jamie Gao's murder was caught on CCTV. Rogerson has always maintained from that time on Smith was no more than a valuable informant for the Armed Hold-Up Squad. Welcome to the Coronation! Smith, who survived Sydney's 1980s gang wars, had suffered from Parkinson's disease for the past four decades and spent his last 33 years behind bars. We asked the experts - and their answers will terrify you Public Service Announcement, do NOT watch these ads! He was the master of the police verbal, an unsigned confession from a suspect, and operated in an era later classified as corrupt. He had been due to testify in a major drugs trial and alleged that Rogerson offered him a bribe to protect a Melbourne drug dealer. The distinctive gait we saw on CCTV; the presence that riveted juries in his heyday. Languishing in Long Bay he was paired with a police informer dubbed Mr Brown who secretly recorded him confessing to a string of 1980s murders, all of which he later denied having committed. He claimed that he was trying to arrest Lanfranchi for five suspected armed robberies. He was utterly charming, very smart, a great conversationalist, witty, with great one-liners, says McNab, a once starry-eyed colleague who remembers how others in the NSW criminal investigation bureau would be drawn to Rogerson and bask in some of that reflected charisma. He and fellow former detectiveGlen McNamara were jailed for life in September 2016 and lost appeals over their convictions in July. It would take years for the police to get serious about bringing its shiniest (though far from its only) rotten apple undone. 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 released on appeal after nine months, but in 1992 that appeal was quashed and he was re-imprisoned until 1995. There was a whole coterie of men who liked Roger because Roger could do things for them, McNab says. "Oh it's a little f------ beauty isn't it Oh and by the way, don't tell Roger about this," the witness alleged McNamara said. 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. A big Beckham birthday! 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. His sentencing in August will likely be seen as ending an era of deeply rooted police corruption. [16] During the inquest, the coroner found Rogerson was acting in the line of duty, but a jury declined to find he had acted in self-defence. jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. To improve your experience, Corrupt cops Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara are contemplating a lifetime behind bars after losing their. In June 2016, Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara were found guilty of killing student Jamie Gao for his drugs (Partridge, 2016a). 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. Reborn as an investigative journalist and author, McNab became Rogersons unauthorised biographer with his 2006 book The Dodger. Things went fatally wrong for the naive Gao after Rogerson, waiting in the wings on the deal, conceived with McNamara a more brutal but profitable alternative. 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. Hes in his mid-60s but Roger misses being on centre stage in the criminal life so hes reconstructing his drug-dealing mates.. Read more of Duncan McNab's investigations here. I cant think of a copper with such a high profile who has been caught out the way he has and likewise a copper whos maintained this level of public focus for almost 40 years, as a copper, as a crook, or as an affable old man offering grandfatherly advice, he says. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. On 6 June 1984, Flannery was allegedly the shooter who fired two rounds through the kitchen window of the home of Sydney Drug Squad detective, Michael Mick Drury. [32] However, neither Rogerson nor McNamara formally lodged appeals, and in July 2019 Rogersons last application for an extension of time to do so was refused by the NSW Supreme Court. 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'. Pictured left to right are Gary Sweet playing hitman Chris Flannery, Peter Phelps as Henry, Richard Roxburgh as detective Roger Rogerson and Tony Martin as Smith, Rogerson has always maintained Smith was no more than a valuable informant for the Armed Hold-Up Squad. Born in 1921, McPherson was convicted of various crimes as a boy and . Early Origins of the Rogerson family. Smith said his assistance to Rogerson at a coronial inquest into Lanfranchi's death led to senior police granting him a 'green light' to commit major crimes. "Roger would like to see you," she said. His one-time mate Arthur Neddy Smith is across the road in the prison hospital suffering from advanced Parkinsons disease. But I suspect there are a lot more, McNab 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. 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. McPherson was a standover man who probably committed or commissioned more murders than any other major organised figure. Neddy Smith stood trial for her murder, but was acquitted. It was the type of relationship that had often existed before - Smith . The surname Rodgerson was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland from ancient times, some say as early as the 11th century. Blindsided: Stars affair rocks hit show, Reality star sent to jail over secret sex tape. Had Jamie been a little bit more dexterous in the use of Google he might actually have not gone to that deal, he says. 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! CCTV showed both men walking into a Padstow storage facility with the young drug dealer in 2014 before he was shot dead. She began a relationship with a police officer. Both pleaded not guilty to the murder of Gao and also not guilty to supplying 2.78 kilograms (6.1 lb) of "ice"(methamphetamine). Discover your rider rating - how many one-star reviews do Take care of your gut and it will take care of you: Could these 'friendly' bacteria transform your gut Are YOU eating the right colours? Interactive map reveals when you may see SNOW, Revealed: The top 10 fastest-growing destinations for UK pensioners retiring overseas. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. Drury alleged that Rogerson had tried to bribe him to changes his evidence in the heroin trial of Melbourne dealer Alan Williams. 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". NSW News. 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. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. It is understood many of Rogersons fellow prisoners at the Kevin Waller wing suffer age-related memory loss, allowing him to persuade them into letting him use their allocated phone time. The pair could often be found drinking with other police and criminals at inner-city pubs includingAlexandria's Star and Iron Duke, the Captain Cook at Millers Point and the Lord Wolseley in Ultimo. [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 is pictured, Rogerson's wife Anne Melocco told Daily Mail Australia her husband had mentioned Smith's death but there had been no celebration or revengeful one-liners. His 'threat' came shortly after the release of my first book on him. Rogerson who is now 80, and Glen McNamara, now 62, were jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. For all his criminal investigation nous, awareness of electronic surveillance was an old Achilles heel of Rogerson, who was caught on camera years earlier opening fake bank accounts to deposit $110,000 in cash allegedly from a heroin deal with Allen, McNab says. . Brisbane's Whiskey Au Go Go fire killed 15 people. In Blue Murder, Smith is shown murdering Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, although in real life he was charged but acquitted of that murder. It was one of the most high-profile court cases Australia has ever seen - at its conclusion, Rogerson was acquitted. His only hope for freedom, now, would be an uphill battle to try to find new and compelling evidence that will change the court's mind and give him one last chance to appeal. Rogerson was eventually jailed in 1990 for conspiring to pervert the course of justice over the transfer of A$110,000 into bank accounts under false names during the Drury trial. Early Origins of the Rodgerson family. Inside Prince Harry's finances from when he met Meghan Markle to landing 100M with Netflix and book Spare 'Why the last-minute delay?' 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. 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 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.". 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. People who keep describing him to me as mesmerising have got it right. Not much stuck. On 20 May 2014, former New South Wales police officers Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara murdered student Jamie Gao in cold blood. Both have been found guilty of murder and possession of 2.78. The jury said I didn't act in self-defence. [40], Richard Roxburgh portrayed Rogerson in the 1995 TV mini-series Blue Murder and its 2017 sequel Blue Murder: Killer Cop.[41]. Notable people with the surname include: Eva Rodgerson (born 1945), Canadian politician; Ian Rodgerson (born 1966), English footballer; Ralph Rodgerson (1893-? In 1999, Rogerson was convicted of perverting the course of justice and lying to the Police Integrity Commission. "Roger would like to see you," she said. Huckstepp was later murdered, her body found in a pond in Centennial Park, New South Wales. 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. He was part of a drug trafficking ring with notorious paedophiles including Robert Dolly Dunn and bent police. Smith insisted the pair became partners in crime. 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. McNamara told the trial Rogerson shot the student dead as he "seethed with anger" over the exchange of drugs and cash. The latter-day Rogerson was a valued source of advice to criminals on how to find weaknesses in prosecutions against them, building on an already staggering range of underworld contacts. Followed categories will be added to My News. [14][15], The Peter Mitchell Award was presented to Rogerson in 1980 for the arrest of escaped armed robber Gary Purdey. Rogerson, who was called to give evidence at the seven murder committals, denied ever taking money off Smith or that Jones had been paying him a bribe. Theres just something horribly wrong with Rogers head. He put himself up on the pedestal then kicked his own pedestal from underneath him., Roger Rogerson will be published by Hachette Australia on 11 October, Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara given life sentences for murder of Jamie Gao, Former detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara found guilty of murder of Jamie Gao, The noble aim of open justice and the public's right to know | Richard Ackland, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning.