n is appealing his life sentence, arguing he didn't know Glen McNamara had sourced a gun before the murder. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. "I guess I thought about it a lot from the start but I wanted to put it out of my mind," he said. 2023 BBC. 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. [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. The initial approach to Rogerson has been aired via a series of taped phone calls made between . The first Blue Murder series is largely based on Smiths book Neddy. 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.. 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 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. - In 2016, Rogerson was jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. Recorded as Roger, Rodger, Rojer, and the patronymics Rogers, Rodgers, Rodgerson, Rodson, Roddison, Rogerson and others, this is an Anglo-Scottish surname, but one of French origins. This page was last edited on 7 January 2023, at 20:08. 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. Smith insisted the pair became partners in crime. Read more of Duncan McNab's investigations here. , who was shot dead inside a Padstow storage unit in 2014. 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. 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. DISGRACED ex-cops Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara have been jailed for life for the drug murder of student Jamie Gao. His first experience of killing came in 1976 in the NSW town of Avoca Beach, where he and other officers rained gunfire on a house holding murderous criminal Phillip Western. 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. 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. 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.. [21], On 17 February 2005, Rogerson and his wife, Anne Melocco, were convicted of lying to the 1999 Police Integrity Commission. In 2016 after the men were jailed, he met with Rogerson's solicitor Peter Katsoolis and police then began to investigate. 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. 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. Rogerson joined the New South Wales (NSW) police in 1959, aged 18. 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. Harsh words forgotten. 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. While Smith was virtually untouchable as he ran amok across Sydney many of his criminal associates on the 1980s died violently. Stella Dings unique way of relating to her students has seen the NSW science teacher develop engaging lessons based on gaming. All times AEDT (GMT +11). 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. In 1981 came Rogerson's most high profile police killing, the shooting of heroin dealer Warren Lanfranchi in an inner-Sydney alleyway. Drury refused and believed Rogerson was behind the attempt on his life. 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 was last seen catching a taxi in the city, and never seen alive again. Rogerson, who. 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. 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. 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. Actors Steve Bastoni and Peter Phelps play the roles of Detective Michael Drury, who survived an assassination attempt, and Smith friend Graham Abo Henry. Reborn as an investigative journalist and author, McNab became Rogersons unauthorised biographer with his 2006 book The Dodger. He was released on appeal after nine months, but in 1992 that appeal was quashed and he was re-imprisoned until 1995. All those years later, [for Rogerson] to have that amount of clout, quite spooky.. 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. We asked the experts - and their answers will terrify you Public Service Announcement, do NOT watch these ads! 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. "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 had once been the brightest star in the New South Wales Police Force and Smith one of the heaviest criminals that Sydney has known. 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. 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. His defence is trying to establish he wasn't part of the agreement to kill or rob the victim. Stephen Bear, who starred in several seasons of reality TV shows aired in Australia, has been jailed for 21 months for sharing a sex tape. 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. He knew that knowing everybody would be good for his own business and this extraordinary, outwardly affable, bright, capable man showed no fear.. Smith's long relationship with the since disgraced detective sergeant Roger Rogerson caused both men ongoing difficulties. He also became an entertainer, telling stories of his police activities in a spoken-word stage show called The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, with former Australian footballers Warwick Capper and Mark "Jacko" Jackson. An . A year later his autobiography Neddy was published with even more damning claims against Rogerson and the book became the basis for Blue Murder. His family was among those in court for today's hearing. + Follow. 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. She also claimed that Neddy Smith had lied at Lanfranchis inquest and was in cahoots with Rogerson. 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. "I don't know why he said that but I wasn't going to tell Roger anyway because he would have kicked my a--- for touching a gun.". It was one of the most high-profile court cases Australia has ever seen - at its conclusion, Rogerson was acquitted. In June 2016, Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara were found guilty of killing student Jamie Gao for his drugs (Partridge, 2016a). CCTV showed both men walking into a Padstow storage facility with the young drug dealer in 2014 before he was shot dead. A three-judge panel of Justice Andrew Bell, JusticeRobert Beech-Jones and Justice Robert Allan Hulme in the NSW Court of Appeal today unanimously dismissed the appeals. 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. He is also known for his association with other New South Wales (NSW) detectives who are reputed to have been corrupt, including Ray "Gunner" Kelly and Fred Krahe, and with a number of organised crime figures, including Abe Saffron,[7] Arthur "Neddy" Smith and Christopher Dale Flannery. The outcome is now both history and the script line for Blue Murder: Killer Cop, which debuts Part 1 on Sunday, August 6. Rogerson, 80, and McNamara, 62, were jailed for . 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. 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. 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. If he did not, Glass speculated, he at least knew who did. Rogerson who is now80, and Glen McNamara, now 62, were jailed for life for the murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao. On 20 May 2014, former New South Wales police officers Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara murdered student Jamie Gao in cold blood. Roger Rogerson leaves a court hearing in 2014. Rogerson, McNamara 'should be jailed for life' over Gao murder, Rogerson, McNamara jailed for life for murder of Jamie Gao, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart slams NRL, RLPA following further concussion controversy, 'How dare they': Possum Magic author hits out at 'ridiculous' Roald Dahl edits, 'Dastardly and heinous crime': Philippines governor killed at home by unknown gunmen, Vanuatu hit by two cyclones and twin earthquakes in two days, Emily was studying law when she had to go to court. Melbourne hitman Christopher Dale Flannery was a career criminal who became known as Mr Rent-A-Kill. Aw mate, it couldnt be Roger, hes too good a bloke, the boss said. 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. 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. 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. In January 1958, he joined the New South Wales Police Cadet Service. Australia's most corrupt cop Roger Rogerson launches appeal. Crucially, McNab has produced a remarkable portrayal of Rogersons activities in his twilight years, leading up to the murder of Gao. Gao's body was later dumped off the coast. The jury said I didn't act in self-defence. 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. He became a Sydney celebrity because of his close relationship during the 1980s with corrupt police detective Roger Rogerson. Drury said Rogerson had tried to bribe him to change his evidence over a heroin trial and when Drury refused, he was shot. In 1984, undercover policeman Michael Drury was shot in his Sydney home as he fed his young daughter. He became involved in a violent Sydney gang war over the heroin trade and Flannery tried to align himself with Neddy Smith. CCTV showed both men walking into the storage unit with the drug dealer and at their trial they each blamed theother for killing him. This was because John Andrew Stuart, accused of lighting the fire, had said criminals from Sydney were behind the nightclub extortion attempts. Corrupt cops Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara are contemplating a lifetime behind bars after losing their appeals. It was an offer I couldnt refuse, and Mrs Rogerson assured me hed be on his best behaviour. [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. 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. From shooting heroin dealer Warren Lanfranchi in Dangar Place, the now notorious city back lane, to living it up with a violent underworld identity, Rogerson is Blue Murders dramatic focus. 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. McNamara told the trial Rogerson shot the student dead as he "seethed with anger" over the exchange of drugs and cash. 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. He once claimed to be a cash millionaire. And Rogersons last application for an extension of time to do so has been refused by the Supreme Court. 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 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. At an inquest into Flannery's suspected murder, Coroner Greg Glass said he suspected Rogerson had killed him. Roger Rogerson was jailed for life for the 2014 murder of student Jamie Gao. 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[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. [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. [14][15], The Peter Mitchell Award was presented to Rogerson in 1980 for the arrest of escaped armed robber Gary Purdey. Both Rogerson and McNamara lodged a notice of intention to appeal days after their life sentences were imposed in 2016. 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. Rogerson's record of killing has led some Australian media outlets to dub him "the serial killer who wore a badge". Drury was a Sydney detective whose dramatic attempted murder in 1984 believed to have been carried out by Melbourne hitman Chris Flannery brought an end to Roger Rogersons career. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? The coronial file and findings into her disappearance are now missing. 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. This included auctioning signed photos of himself standing near Lanfranchi's dead body. "I was trying to get my life back together, the last thing I needed to do was think about this.". 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. Rogerson was suspected of having organised the hit after former undercover agent Drurys surveillance resulted in charged against Melbourne heroin dealer, Alan Williams. "It was the '80s. 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. Neddy Smith stood trial for her murder, but was acquitted. Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara sentenced to life in jail for Jamie Gao murder. The distinctive gait we saw on CCTV; the presence that riveted juries in his heyday. It implicated Roger Rogerson in Drurys attempted execution at the behest of a heroin trafficker. But the three appeal judges agreed Witness A was a "liar". 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". 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. Smith was a major heroin distributor in Sydney when the city's streets were awash with that drug. Delving deep again into a signal event in Rogersons past the 1981 shooting of heroin dealer Warren Lanfranchi, which began the coppers original fall from grace he tracked down a man believed to have witnessed the event as a teenager on the street. .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).