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. Watch the video above about Roger Rogerson's sentencing. Production isnt even underway yet and theres already friction behind the scenes on the controversial Sydney-based reality series. ", Rogerson claims he didn't know co-accused McNamara bought a gun. Rogerson gets jail keyboard at Long Bay jail, Teen feared missing in water at Freshwater Beach. Former detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara have lost their appeals against convictions for the murder of Sydney drug dealer Jamie Gao. 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. 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. A generation of his colleagues have either keeled over or retired, and Rogers looking around for fresh playmates, McNab says. Rogerson gets jail keyboard at Long Bay jail. In May 2014, Rogerson was remanded in prison after being charged, along with fellow former NSW detective Glen McNamara, with the murder of 20-year-old student Jamie Gao, and supply of drugs. As a public figure straddling corruption and crime in modern times, Rogerson has no peer, McNab says. 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. He turned himself in after being spotted on surveillance, spun a story, and set up his former colleagues. Not much stuck. 2023 BBC. CORRUPT cop and convicted killer Roger Rogerson has been working as a prison cleaner at Long Bay . An aerial view of Long Bay Correctional Centre in Sydney. 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. If he did not, Glass speculated, he at least knew who did. "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. Rogerson and fellow former detective Glen McNamara were caught on CCTV removing Gaos body in a surfboard bag from a storage facility. Reborn as an investigative journalist and author, McNab became Rogersons unauthorised biographer with his 2006 book The Dodger. He assures me McNamara is the key to his freedom. He later joked that the only way to identify Western's bullet-ridden body was by his ingrown toenails. He was part of a drug trafficking ring with notorious paedophiles including Robert Dolly Dunn and bent police. 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. Perhaps most striking is the account of Rogerson touting himself as a murderer for hire, asking for $50k upfront, thanks very much and dont worry, I can still fire a gun even though my knees arent great. Rogerson, now 80, was in Long Bay's aged and frail unit last Wednesday when a prison officer told him 76-year-old Smith had died in the jail hospital. [11] Rogerson attended Bankstown Central School and later Homebush Boys High School. Both have been found guilty of murder and possession of 2.78. 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. He was last seen catching a taxi in the city, and never seen alive again. 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. You might also be interested in these Crime Scene Investigator stories: Charismatic and affable. He said he arranged for it to be handed over to McNamara. On 6 June 1984, Drury was shot twice through his kitchen window as he fed his three-year-old daughter. "I shot Lanfranchi twice, once in the neck and then one in the chest. CONDEMNED to spend the rest of his days behind bars, disgraced detective turned convicted killer Roger Rogerson will be held in an aged care wing where he regularly conducts singalongs, to stop him becoming a godfather-type figure to young inmates, prison sources have revealed. Since joining Smith at Long Bay there have been occasional reports from criminal and police sources of the pair being sighted together which Corrective Services always denied. 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. 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. It was quite disturbing. [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). 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. Given the lead role of Rogerson, brave cop and bad cop rolled into one, Roxburgh played the Roger on the move, taking care of Sydneys most dangerous and violent criminals. The Chubb, McCann, Croft and Sandery cases were dismissed at committal and the Shu case was no-billed. Smith was by then a pariah in the underworld and despised by the detectives he said had allowed him to make millions of dollars from dealing heroin and staging armed robberies. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Disgraced detective's last bid for freedom to not die in jail. 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. Justice Bell said both accused had run "cut-throat defences". On February 6, 1986 she told her flat mate that she would be back home shortly after an evening phone call. When will the Beast from the East be at YOUR door? The latter are alleged to have been Rogersons hope for unloading the ice. - In 2016, Rogerson was jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. Storms threaten north-east United States after tearing through the south, leaving 10 dead. Flannery may have shot up to a dozen people before he was called to a meeting with George Freeman On May 9, 1985. However, on 20 November 1989, Rogerson was acquitted. [29], On 25 August 2016, Rogerson and McNamara faced a sentencing hearing. They dont reminisce over a cup of tea and a Scotch Finger. Based on the years before Smith was jailed for life for murder it depicts the armed robber and heroin dealer as a charismatic player on the Sydney scene. 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. 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. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' [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. In 1981 came Rogerson's most high profile police killing, the shooting of heroin dealer Warren Lanfranchi in an inner-Sydney alleyway. Both are appealing their convictions and life sentences for the. 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. He and fellow former detectiveGlen McNamara were jailed for life in September 2016 and lost appeals over their convictions in July. CCTV showed both men walking into the storage unit with the drug dealer and at their trial they each blamed theother for killing him. To improve your experience. Crooks loved him. McNamara argued his life sentence was excessive but Justice Bell said it was justified given the murder was a cold-blooded execution. 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. Crooks loved him. A year later his autobiography Neddy was published with even more damning claims against Rogerson and the book became the basis for Blue Murder. Notorious gangster Neddy Smith died aged 76 in Long Bay jail last week while serving a life sentence of murder. There was no gloating when disgraced detective Roger Rogerson learnt of the death in prison of once feared gangster Neddy Smith, his longtime accomplice turned ferocious foe. In September last year, Rogerson was jailed for life for the murder of young drug dealer Jamie Gao, 20, and supplying almost 3kg of ice. Roger Rogerson after being jailed for life in June. . "It was the '80s. 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? Both Rogerson and McNamara lodged a notice of intention to appeal days after their life sentences were imposed in 2016. But Justice Bell said the Crown had established a circumstantial case against the men. Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara lose appeal over Jamie Gao's murder. 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? A large scale search was underway at Freshwater Beach on Saturday night after a young man was reported missing in the water. Property News:House prices in some school catchments explode by up to $367,000 - domain.com.au, Your web browser is no longer supported. Roger Rogerson could not have been written by anyone else. [14][15], The Peter Mitchell Award was presented to Rogerson in 1980 for the arrest of escaped armed robber Gary Purdey. It was the type of relationship that had often existed before - Smith . 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". After his latest conviction, he is expected to spend the rest of his life in jail. Arthur 'Neddy' 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. On 20 May 2014, former New South Wales police officers Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara murdered student Jamie Gao in cold blood. An inquest heard Rogerson fatally shot Lanfranchi while trying to effect an arrest, but failed to find it was done in self-defence. Rogerson, who. 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. 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. She also claimed that Neddy Smith had lied at Lanfranchis inquest and was in cahoots with Rogerson. The men were due for trial in the Supreme Court on 20 July 2015. They also were jailed for stealing 2.78 kilograms of methamphetamine with a street value of up to $19 million from the 20-year-old student. As a former NSW detective, I met Rogerson regularly when we were both stationed at the Criminal Investigation Branch headquarters. Former detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Jamie Gao. Smith insisted the pair became partners in crime. In January 1958, he joined the New South Wales Police Cadet Service. Rogerson has always maintained from that time on Smith was no more than a valuable informant for the Armed Hold-Up Squad. [8][9], A new trial started on 1 February 2016. Allegations bounced off. 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". Rogerson was welcomed in Bandidos and Rebels clubhouses across the country and was regularly seen briefing queues of bikies in coffee shops. Smith's exploits with Rogerson featured in the 1995 television drama series Blue Murder. Gao was not the first drug dealer whose life Rogerson had ended with two bullets to the chest. The CCTV footage of the entirety of the crime was devastating - it's probably the 'most recorded' murder in Australian history. 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. It was an offer I couldnt refuse, and Mrs Rogerson assured me hed be on his best behaviour. The man denied any involvement but was visibly shaken. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up. 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. [27] On 6 March 2015, both accused were arraigned at a hearing in the NSW Supreme Court. Smith insisted the pair became partners in crime. 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. Train fares will rise by 5.9% TOMORROW - but travellers can still get cheaper tickets if they buy them Will El Salvador's new mega-prison turn into a bloodbath? In 1981, in a back lane called Dangar Place in Sydneys Chippendale, in front of a large group of police officers, Rogerson shot dead heroin dealer Warren Lanfranchi. "Roger would like to see you," she said. Theres just something horribly wrong with Rogers head. Huckstepp's body was found floating in a pond at Centennial Park in 1986 and Smith would later be charged with murdering the sex worker, with unproven suggestions Rogerson had been involved. Smith said Lanfranchi had asked him to organise a payment to Rogerson so that the dealer wasnt charged with the police shooting. Can the dogs of Chernobyl teach us new tricks when it comes to our own survival? The request was for a chat, not an interview. A reality TV star has allegedly been caught having a full-on affair with a co-star, leaving his longtime girlfriend and fellow castmate heartbroken. He was released on appeal after nine months, but in 1992 that appeal was quashed and he was re-imprisoned until 1995. Rogerson, now 80, was in Long Bay's aged and frail unit last Wednesday when a prison officer told him 76-year-old Smith had died in the jail hospital. Still, it fascinates me that Rogers career was brought to an end by a 20-year-old Asian kid with an education.. Flannery would ultimately meet a similar fate to that of Roger Wilson. "It alleged both men were part of a plan to steal drugs from the deceased and kill him," he said. 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. Both pleaded not guilty to the murder of Gao and also not guilty to supplying 2.78 kilograms (6.1 lb) of "ice"(methamphetamine). 00:01. The female roles of Neddy Smiths wife Debra (Joy Smithers) and Lanfranchis prostitute girlfriend Sallie-Anne Huckstepp (Loene Carmen) give this story depth. ISBN9781925675443. [19], Rogerson was dismissed from the NSW Police Force on 11 April 1986 (had not seen active service since his suspension on 30 November 1984 as a result of the Drury investigation). "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.". McNab took it as a measure of the enduring chilling effect of Rogersons reputation. 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. Early Origins of the Rogerson family. Throughout their trial, Roger asserted McNamara was the architect of the deadly plot and he only gave grandfatherly advice.. And Rogersons last application for an extension of time to do so has been refused by the Supreme Court. 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. [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". Rogerson has always maintained Smith was no more than a valuable informant for the Armed Hold-Up Squad. His doctor, the prominent Sydney medico Geoffrey Edelsten, gave him a medical certificate saying he was unfit to go to trial for the Sydney murder. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. People who keep describing him to me as mesmerising have got it right. 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. Roger Rogerson being escorted to a prison van at the Supreme Court in Sydney in 2016. 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. 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. [4][5] During his time in office he was implicated inbut never convicted oftwo killings, bribery, assault and drug dealing.[6]. He spent a further three years in jail. 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. 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. 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. 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. In the company of 18 other police officers, Rogerson waited in the lane. 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. He looks healthy and on his game, and his actors gift of making you feel youre the only person in the room is undiminished. [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. 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. [20], After leaving the force, Rogerson worked in the building and construction industry as a supplier of scaffolding. [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. 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. 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. In 1995 he was charged with the murders of Huckstepp, brothel keeper Harvey Jones (1983) and drug dealers Lewton Shu (1983), Danny Chubb (1984), Barry McCann (1987), Barry Croft (1987) and Bruce Sandery (1988). He will get that chance over coming days. There was a whole coterie of men who liked Roger because Roger could do things for them, says author Duncan McNab. "I was trying to get my life back together, the last thing I needed to do was think about this.". Ive never seen a man more terrified in my life, he 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. CCTV showed both men walking into the facility with the young drug dealer. He spun off his infamy into a round of after-dinner pub speaking engagements. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Roger Caleb Rogerson (born 3 January 1941) is a former detective sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force, and a convicted murderer. Smith later said that Rogerson ordered him to disarm Lanfranchi en route. He says McNamara wasnt a hero cop whose career was ruined by his battle against corruption that was a fiction he created. The last time I'd spoken to him - or rather been spoken at by him - he said he'd make sure I was 'sorted out'. 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. [40], Richard Roxburgh portrayed Rogerson in the 1995 TV mini-series Blue Murder and its 2017 sequel Blue Murder: Killer Cop.[41]. Rogerson was jailed again in 2005 for 12 months for lying to NSW's Police Integrity Commission about bribing a local council official to obtain work. He grumbles about the attention but relishes telling old stories to a fresh audience. She began a relationship with a police officer. They also rejected the claim the jury should have been told about a conversation McNamara said he had with Rogerson before the murder where he allegedly admitted to murdering or conspiring to murder six other people. Drury refused and believed Rogerson was behind the attempt on his life. 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.