John Ibrahim's secret date with Rogerson. McNamara told the trial Rogerson shot the student dead as he "seethed with anger" over the exchange of drugs and cash. Not much stuck. 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. The initial approach to Rogerson has been aired via a series of taped phone calls made between . 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. Jamie Gao's . [21], On 17 February 2005, Rogerson and his wife, Anne Melocco, were convicted of lying to the 1999 Police Integrity Commission. 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. Published Sep 4, 2016. [24], In 2009, he published an autobiography about his time as a detective, entitled The Dark Side, launched by broadcaster Alan Jones. In the pre-digital era, illegal bootleg video cassettes of Blue Murder I and II were jealously guarded, surreptitiously leant and massively copied. She also claimed that Neddy Smith had lied at Lanfranchis inquest and was in cahoots with Rogerson. [11] Rogerson attended Bankstown Central School and later Homebush Boys High School. A new book by former colleague Duncan McNab details how the charismatic one-time detective manipulated generations of fellow officers and gangsters, but when the mask slipped he revealed a vile and vicious criminal. 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. Roger Rogerson was jailed for life for the 2014 murder of student Jamie Gao. Drury is now retired from the police force and a respected philatelist and collector of rare stamps. Rogerson 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. 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. During Rogerson's career, he was one of the most decorated officers in the police force, having received at least thirteen awards for bravery, outstanding policemanship and devotion to duty including the Peter Mitchell Trophy, the highest annual police award. You start meeting so many people whove had their lives trampled on by this guy, both coppers and civilians, McNab says. So you get that very clear view this was a bloke who was completely and utterly ruthless and self-absorbed and didnt mind who he hurt to get what he wanted.. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. Rogerson, 80, and McNamara, 62, were jailed for life in 2016 after being convicted of murdering Jamie Gao in May 2014. Rogerson was tried but acquitted on conspiracy to murder charges. 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. He was last seen catching a taxi in the city, and never seen alive again. He was released from Kirkconnell Correctional Centre on 17 February 2006. 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. With his running knowledge of underworld sellers and buyers, Rogerson was a fantastic middleman but came to grief when he stopped being middleman and decided to actually take a bigger slice, McNab says. But Justice Bell said the Crown had established a circumstantial case against the men. He grumbles about the attention but relishes telling old stories to a fresh audience. 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. 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. 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. Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov provokes gales of laughter as he tells audience the West started Find out what Uber drivers really think of you! The new book explores in richer detail the accounts of Rogersons profiteering from crime while a detective, anticipating the pivotal shift in Australian criminal enterprise from armed robberies and safe breaking to drug trafficking. News Limited reported Thursday that police four years ago investigated claims Woodward was killed and buried in sand hills behind a beach south of Sydney. Reborn as an investigative journalist and author, McNab became Rogersons unauthorised biographer with his 2006 book The Dodger. It was also alleged that Rogerson gave heroin dealer and underworld killer Arthur Stanley Neddy Smith the green light to commit crimes, in exchange for being an informant and a slice of the heroin trade. He and fellow former detectiveGlen McNamara were jailed for life in September 2016 and lost appeals over their convictions in July. By 1978, his reputation was sufficient to gain convictions based on the strength of unsigned records of interviews with prisoners (known as "police verbals"). The latter are alleged to have been Rogersons hope for unloading the ice. Smith insisted the pair became partners in crime. [29], On 25 August 2016, Rogerson and McNamara faced a sentencing hearing. Glen McNamara (right) is escorted by a correctional services officer as he leaves the NSW Supreme Court in 2016. Smith later said that Rogerson ordered him to disarm Lanfranchi en route. He could get them out of strife with the coppers, he could tell them how the coppers operated, how best to avoid things, the depth of his knowledge. 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. And Rogersons last application for an extension of time to do so has been refused by the Supreme Court. The following day her body was found floating in Busby Pond, in Centennial Park. According to his girlfriend, Sallie-Anne Huckstep, who pursued the matter through the media, Lanfranchi was unarmed and carrying A$10,000 (5,200, $7,350) - money which was never found. BLUE Murder was the original true crime TV blockbuster with scenes so shockingly thrilling about the lives of Sydneys cops and gangsters that it was a hit even while it was still banned. This is a list of the real life characters and what they did in the first Blue Murder. His sentencing in August will likely be seen as ending an era of deeply rooted police corruption. At the age of 73, Rogerson murdered a 20-year-old university student called Jamie Gao over a 3kg package of crystal meth, a drug deal that became a straight rip-off. [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. [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". He later joked that the only way to identify Western's bullet-ridden body was by his ingrown toenails. They have not been seen or heard from since. Roger Rogerson is escorted to a prison van at the Supreme Court in Sydney, Wednesday, 15 June, 2016. She began a relationship with a police officer. Roger Rogerson was the teak-hard. His 'threat' came shortly after the release of my first book on him. His one-time mate Arthur Neddy Smith is across the road in the prison hospital suffering from advanced Parkinsons disease. Smith became a star witness for the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Wood Royal Commission, revealing Rogerson and others alleged corruption. 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. BLUE Murder was the original true crime blockbuster, a massive hit even while it was still banned. 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. Drury alleged that Rogerson had tried to bribe him to changes his evidence in the heroin trial of Melbourne dealer Alan Williams. 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? CORRUPT cop and convicted killer Roger Rogerson has been working as a prison cleaner at Long Bay . In 1999, Rogerson was convicted of perverting the course of justice and lying to the Police Integrity Commission. Rogerson is in the Kevin Waller Unit for aged and frail prisoners at Long Bay. As a former NSW detective, I met Rogerson regularly when we were both stationed at the Criminal Investigation Branch headquarters. "Extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath," he said. Smith's long relationship with the since disgraced detective sergeant Roger Rogerson caused both men ongoing difficulties. The idea was quite simply the Triad in Hong Kong and their enforcers would not know who Jamie Gao was selling to, so if Jamie Gao disappeared and it was done cleanly and concisely, hed just become a disappeared person.. The Court of Criminal Appeal threw out their cases in Sydney this morning, almost five years after they were jailed for life for murdering Jamie Gao. 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. Flannery would ultimately meet a similar fate to that of Roger Wilson. 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. I dismissed it as bluster, but nonetheless looked over my shoulder for the next few days. A generation of his colleagues have either keeled over or retired, and Rogers looking around for fresh playmates, McNab says. 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. Notorious gangster Neddy Smith died aged 76 in Long Bay jail last week while serving a life sentence of murder. Born in 1921, McPherson was convicted of various crimes as a boy and . 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. Throughout their trial, Roger asserted McNamara was the architect of the deadly plot and he only gave grandfatherly advice.. 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.. They did so because, although they 'knew' Stuart and Finch were involved, they had insufficient evidence to convict them. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Storms threaten north-east United States after tearing through the south, leaving 10 dead. Arthur 'Neddy' Smith. 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. Rogerson is pictured in 2004. When Lanfranchi stepped out of the car, Rogerson shot him dead, claiming self defence. Roger Rogerson leaves a court hearing in 2014. Australia's most corrupt cop Roger Rogerson is making a last ditch attempt not to die in jail as he has applied to the High Court of Australia to appeal his life sentence. Brash and boastful to friends and the media, Rogerson has been involved in a litany of crimes and misadventures which have repeatedly thrust him into the spotlight, and which led to the production of a TV mini-series about him called Blue Murder. Roger Caleb Rogerson (born 3 January 1941) is a former detective sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force, and a convicted murderer. Followed categories will be added to My News. 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. Smith said Lanfranchi had asked him to organise a payment to Rogerson so that the dealer wasnt charged with the police shooting. He says McNamara wasnt a hero cop whose career was ruined by his battle against corruption that was a fiction he created. Arthur Stanley Neddy Smith is a big force of character in the first Blue Murder series. Rogerson also used his influencing skills in a multimillion-dollar civil legal dispute while doing consultant work under the auspices of other peoples private investigator licences. One was the murder in company of tow truck driver, Ronnie Flavell and the other of brothel owner Harvey Jones. 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. "Roger would like to see you," she said. He spent nine months in jail in 1990 before being released on bail pending an ultimately unsuccessful appeal. Australian disgraced former detective sergeant and convicted murderer, Rogerson leaving the Supreme Court, June 2016, Involvement in the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub fire investigation, "Roger Rogerson: A life of crime and comedy", "Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara found guilty of the murder of Jamie Gao", "Disgraced former detective Roger Rogerson arrested at Sydney home, charged over alleged Jamie Gao murder", Independent Commission Against Corruption, A bizarre twist has Rogerson answering questions of murder, Jury discharged in trial of Roger Rogerson, Glen McNamara for Jamie Gao murder, "Research Report on Trends in Police Corruption", "Disgraced Sydney detective Roger Rogerson is a consummate storyteller who loves a beer, writes Mark Morri", Novel end as Rogerson gets two years to finish thriller, Roger Rogerson reviews 'Underbelly' and blogs live, Roger Rogerson reviews the third episode of Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, "Roger Rogerson myth can stand no longer", "Roger Rogerson charged over Jamie Gao murder; Gao shot twice in the chest, police allege", "Former detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara face murder trial over Jamie Gao death", "Jamie Gao murder: Rogerson and McNamara should be jailed for life, prosecutor says", "Gao was person of interest for years: AFP - 9News", "Jamie Gao murder: Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara sentenced to life in prison", "Roger Rogerson likely to die in jail after court declines time extension to appeal", "Roger Rogerson's murder appeal to start", "As Medich is jailed, the man who organised the hit demands to be released", "Roger Rogerson part of $25 million plot to extort Ron Medich, court told", "Secret files detail 'fake report' on Whiskey Au Go Go blaze The Australian (1 September 2018) The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre", "Roger Rogerson telemovie Blue Murder: Killer Cop fast-tracked to air by Channel Seven", Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service Final Report Volume 1 Corruption, Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service Final Report Volume 2 Reform, The honest cop who pays for the sins of his brother, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roger_Rogerson&oldid=1132211448, Australian police officers convicted of crimes, Australian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, People convicted of murder by New South Wales, Police officers convicted of drug trafficking, Police officers convicted of planting evidence, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by New South Wales, Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Articles with dead external links from September 2016, Articles with failed verification from March 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Murder, drug trafficking, perverting the course of justice. On February 6, 1986 she told her flat mate that she would be back home shortly after an evening phone call. Rogerson, 79, appeared in the Court of Criminal . [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. 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. [14][dead link], Rogerson was responsible for the 1981 shooting death of Warren Lanfranchi. He became a Sydney celebrity because of his close relationship during the 1980s with corrupt police detective Roger Rogerson. A Sydney prostitute, Lyn Woodward, later vanished within hours of giving evidence in the case. DISGRACED ex-cops Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara have been jailed for life for the drug murder of student Jamie Gao. The Dodger had brought a whole new network of people who knew Rogerson out of the woodwork. In 1986, Huckstepp, also a sex worker, was found dead in a pond in central Sydney's Centennial Park. 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.