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. 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. He spent a further three years in jail. 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. Rogerson, McNamara 'should be jailed for life' over Gao murder Both pleaded not guilty in January 2015. Both pleaded not guilty in January 2015. [29], On 25 August 2016, Rogerson and McNamara faced a sentencing hearing. In 1981 came Rogerson's most high profile police killing, the shooting of heroin dealer Warren Lanfranchi in an inner-Sydney alleyway. Rogerson who is now 80, and Glen McNamara, now 62, were jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. Smith insisted they became partners in crime. In late January, 1985 Flannerys family home was sprayed with rounds from a rifle. 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'. 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. McNab was flummoxed too by the involvement of Rogersons unlikely partner in crime, a self-styled former police whistleblower and anti-drug/anti-paedophile/anti-corruption campaigner Glen McNamara. 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. 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. "It is clear that the offenders acted with complete disregard for the life of another human being. He had been at Merrylands Bowling Club the night Huckstepp was killed, and said he had never told Smith it would be 'best to get rid of Croft'. 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. He spent nine months in jail in 1990 before being released on bail pending an ultimately unsuccessful appeal. Fond of talking about himself in the third person, Rogerson was known to say: "Roger is a tough cop in a tough town". In the pre-digital era, illegal bootleg video cassettes of Blue Murder I and II were jealously guarded, surreptitiously leant and massively copied. Ive never seen a man more terrified in my life, he says. 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". "Mr McNamara said don't tell Rogerson because that goes to the whole issue whether or not the applicant had any knowledge of whether or not there was a gun," John Stratton SC argued. Roger Rogerson is escorted to a prison van at the Supreme Court in Sydney, Wednesday, 15 June, 2016. Ex-cops lose drug dealer murder appeal | PerthNow The request was for a chat, not an interview. [38], In 1988 Roger Rogerson told a Bulletin reporter that he and the other lead detectives fabricated evidence. 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. Convicted killer Roger Rogerson was a real life 'Dirty Harry' Smith became a star witness for the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Wood Royal Commission, revealing Rogerson and others alleged corruption. It was an unsettling enough account for its subject that Rogerson, having emerged from jail after a stint for perjury, phoned up the author to give his first personal glimpse of his dangerous side. It would take years for the police to get serious about bringing its shiniest (though far from its only) rotten apple undone. 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. 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. 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. Still, it fascinates me that Rogers career was brought to an end by a 20-year-old Asian kid with an education.. Smith was born in 1944 and was a major criminal, involved particularly in armed robbery, heroin trafficking, and murder. Crooks loved him. 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. 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. There was a whole coterie of men who liked Roger because Roger could do things for them, McNab says. In June 2016, Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara were found guilty of killing student Jamie Gao for his drugs (Partridge, 2016a). "Roger would like to see you," she said. Tony Martin is pictured left playing Smith and Richard Roxburgh as Rogerson in the television series Blue Murder. "It is clear that the offenders acted with complete disregard for the life of another human being.". 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. The NSW crown prosecutor, Christopher Maxwell sought for the judge to jail Rogerson and McNamara for life, stating there was no distinction between a contract killing and killing for the purpose of financial gain[30], One detective witness told the Daily Telegraph "it was like tracking the stars of Amateur Hour", regarding the killing of Jamie Gao. People I know whove taken him on as a mate, love his company, cant even begin to pin down why hed done this [murder Gao], McNab says. Justice Bell said both accused had run "cut-throat defences". "According to the plan McNamara lured the deceased to the storage unit for a drug deal and Rogerson attended supposedly to purchase the drugs. 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. "Extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath," he said. 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. 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. Rogerson, 76, is incarcerated in the aged and frail unit at Sydneys Long Bay prisons, where his old friend Neddy Smith is also serving a life sentence. 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.. Crooks loved him. 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. If he did not, Glass speculated, he at least knew who did. 00:55. But the three appeal judges agreed Witness A was a "liar". Rising through the ranks, he won 12 commendation awards and worked on some of Australia's biggest cases of the 1970s, before his well-documented slide into infamy. 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. 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. Smith insisted the pair became partners in crime. 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. '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. Gao was not the first drug dealer whose life Rogerson had ended with two bullets to the chest. Can the dogs of Chernobyl teach us new tricks when it comes to our own survival? McPherson was a standover man who probably committed or commissioned more murders than any other major organised figure. McNamara had argued that would have convinced the jury that Rogerson shot Gao and he was under duress when he helped dispose of the body. All those years later, [for Rogerson] to have that amount of clout, quite spooky.. Christopher Dale Flannery. He was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease and, more recently dementia, and lives in a prison unit for aged and frail inmates. 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. Rogerson has 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 wanted me to tell him the 'real' McNamara story the one the jury didnt hear. Sources say Rogerson has become the leader of the unit because of his high profile and reputation. CCTV showed both men walking into the facility with the young drug dealer. One was the murder in company of tow truck driver, Ronnie Flavell and the other of brothel owner Harvey Jones. 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? Rogerson who is now80, and Glen McNamara, now 62, were jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. Rogerson is in the Kevin Waller Unit for aged and frail prisoners at Long Bay. Blue Murder: With Richard Roxburgh, Tony Martin, Steve Bastoni, Gary Day. He spun off his infamy into a round of after-dinner pub speaking engagements. It was McNamara who met Gao through his own consultancy work for lawyers, when the young man was acting as a translator for a friend in strife. A Sydney prostitute, Lyn Woodward, later vanished within hours of giving evidence in the case. . Rogerson gets jail keyboard at Long Bay jail. Crucially, McNab has produced a remarkable portrayal of Rogersons activities in his twilight years, leading up to the murder of Gao. 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. Jamie Gao's . She also claimed that Neddy Smith had lied at Lanfranchis inquest and was in cahoots with Rogerson. 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? 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.. Christopher Dale Flannery (Gary Sweet) is the Melbourne hitman known as Mr Rent-A-Kill whose entry into the seamy underbelly miles away from his home territory doesnt end well. Rogerson and McNamara argued the guilty verdict could not be supported by evidence and there hadbeen a miscarriage of justice. 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. He was the master of the police verbal, an unsigned confession from a suspect, and operated in an era later classified as corrupt. . + Follow. He was released from Kirkconnell Correctional Centre on 17 February 2006. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. According to Camden, the noted historian of the 16th century, this name Roger was a valiant . What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? He hasn't seen him for however long he's been in jail.'. The female roles of Neddy Smiths wife Debra (Joy Smithers) and Lanfranchis prostitute girlfriend Sallie-Anne Huckstepp (Loene Carmen) give this story depth. 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. McNab quit the force in dismay. 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.