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. 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? The jury said I didn't act in self-defence. An inquest heard Rogerson fatally shot Lanfranchi while trying to effect an arrest, but failed to find it was done in self-defence. More than one acquaintance describes Rogerson as a psychopath but the apparently remorseless killer has never undergone a psychiatric assessment of any depth, McNab says. People who keep describing him to me as mesmerising have got it right. 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 will get that chance over coming days. He hasn't seen him for however long he's been in jail.'. It was later claimed that Rogerson shot Lanfranchi for robbing a heroin dealer under the detectives police protection. On 20 May 2014, former New South Wales police officers Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara murdered student Jamie Gao in cold blood. 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". 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. On 15 June 2016, Rogerson and McNamara were found guilty of Gao's murder. Rogerson has always maintained from that time on Smith was no more than a valuable informant for the Armed Hold-Up Squad. 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. The latter are alleged to. Former detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara have lost their appeals against convictions for the murder of Sydney drug dealer Jamie Gao. [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. Rogerson and fellow former detective Glen McNamara were caught on CCTV removing Gaos body in a surfboard bag from a storage facility. Australia's most corrupt cop Roger Rogerson launches appeal. McNamara told the trial Rogerson shot the student dead as he "seethed with anger" over the exchange of drugs and cash. 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. Rodgerson is a surname. I dismissed it as bluster, but nonetheless looked over my shoulder for the next few days. 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. The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre: Murder, Arson and the Crime of the Century. That was close. "According to the plan McNamara lured the deceased to the storage unit for a drug deal and Rogerson attended supposedly to purchase the drugs. The man denied any involvement but was visibly shaken. 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'sfinal downfall had begun in October 1987 when he and another criminal killed tow truck diver Ronald Flavell during a road rage incident at Coogee. It was the beginning of the end for Rogersons police career, and Flannerys hot heatedness and ready gun toting would be his own demise. Throughout their trial, Roger asserted McNamara was the architect of the deadly plot and he only gave grandfatherly advice.. 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. This is a list of the real life characters and what they did in the first Blue Murder. And Rogersons last application for an extension of time to do so has been refused by the Supreme Court. McNamara is yet to make any submissions. 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. 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'. He had the politicians knack about him, the charm to work a room, says McNab. Big Sky Publishing. Roger Caleb Rogerson (born 3 January 1941) is a former detective sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force, and a convicted murderer. He later joked in court that the media had changed his name by deed poll from decorated officer to "disgraced former detective". McNab also reveals the hitherto unknown depth of Rogersons ties with outlaw motorcycle gangs, his close friendship with convicted rapist, kidnapper and Bandido Arthur Loveday among others, as he sought to rekindle drug connections. Jamie Gao's . By 1978, his reputation was sufficient to gain convictions based on the strength of unsigned records of interviews with prisoners (known as "police verbals"). Stella Dings unique way of relating to her students has seen the NSW science teacher develop engaging lessons based on gaming. 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. The initial approach to Rogerson has been aired via a series of taped phone calls made between . According to Camden, the noted historian of the 16th century, this name Roger was a . In 1999, Rogerson was convicted of perverting the course of justice and lying to the Police Integrity Commission. 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. In the company of 18 other police officers, Rogerson waited in the lane. 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. 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. 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. 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. While it was impossible to know who fired the fatal shot, Rogerson claimed the kill, according to Australia's News Limited newspapers. Smith would claim that before Jones disappeared - his body was not found until 1995 - the sometime used car salesman had been arranging to pay Rogerson $60,000 to make gold bullion theft charges go away. "It is clear that the offenders acted with complete disregard for the life of another human being.". Roger Rogerson could not have been written by anyone else. Disgraced former detective Roger Rogerson is appealing his life sentence, arguing he didn't know Glen McNamara had sourced a gun before the murder. Test your knowledge by naming all 20 of these famous films. But as McNab now recalls, Rogerson was protected in large part by his aura within the polices own ranks. Still, it fascinates me that Rogers career was brought to an end by a 20-year-old Asian kid with an education.. 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. Neddy Smith stood trial for her murder, but was acquitted. Rogerson, the once-masterful court performer who swayed a jury to take his word over both Drurys and the heroin dealer who said hed paid Rogerson for the hit, will end his life behind bars, serving a life sentence along with McNamara. 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. As a former NSW detective, I met Rogerson regularly when we were both stationed at the Criminal Investigation Branch headquarters. They did so because, although they 'knew' Stuart and Finch were involved, they had insufficient evidence to convict them. Smith (left) is pictured with ex-wife Debra and brothel keeper Harvey Jones, who he was convicted of having murdered in 1983. 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. 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.. "Extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath," he said. Smith was born in 1944 and was a major criminal, involved particularly in armed robbery, heroin trafficking, and murder. Both pleaded not guilty in January 2015. Actors Steve Bastoni and Peter Phelps play the roles of Detective Michael Drury, who survived an assassination attempt, and Smith friend Graham Abo Henry. Early Origins of the Rodgerson family. 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. 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. 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. He became involved in a violent Sydney gang war over the heroin trade and Flannery tried to align himself with Neddy Smith. 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. Smith was a major heroin distributor in Sydney when the city's streets were awash with that drug. [29], On 25 August 2016, Rogerson and McNamara faced a sentencing hearing. 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. He said he arranged for it to be handed over to McNamara. Smith was convicted of the Jones murder and acquitted of killing Huckstepp. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [14][15], The Peter Mitchell Award was presented to Rogerson in 1980 for the arrest of escaped armed robber Gary Purdey. Melbourne hitman Christopher Dale Flannery was a career criminal who became known as Mr Rent-A-Kill. Smith became a star witness for the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Wood Royal Commission, revealing Rogerson and others alleged corruption. 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. 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. The surname Rogerson 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. 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.. 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. 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.". [39] The journalist has refused to discuss the matter. 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. Former Sydney detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara have lost an appeal against their convictions for murdering a drug dealer. Drury almost died and the attempted murder changed the course for Roger Rogerson, who Drury claimed sought revenge. 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. John Ibrahim's secret date with Rogerson. Smith insisted the pair became partners in crime. [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). 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. Drury alleged that Rogerson had tried to bribe him to changes his evidence in the heroin trial of Melbourne dealer Alan Williams. Roger Rogerson being escorted to a prison van at the Supreme Court in Sydney in 2016. Credit: Dean Lewins/AAP Late last year, as Rogerson languished in a cell in the geriatric unit of Sydney's Long Bay jail over the Gao murder, I received a call from his wife Anne. Apparently he has been regularly enjoying using far more than his allotted precious telephone minutes. Rogerson wanted me to tell him the 'real' McNamara story the one the jury didnt hear. There was a whole coterie of men who liked Roger because Roger could do things for them, McNab 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! 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. Rogerson, 75, and McNamara, 57, pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Gao and dumping his body in waters off Cronulla the next day. But the escapade would put to the sword for all time the old coppers cultivated public image as a misunderstood rogue and confirm in the eyes of the law his murderous intent. Lanfranchi was something of a wild man who shot at police and robbed other dealers, and also a standover man who worked for Sydney gangster Neddy Smith. 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.. The prospect of an appeal still drives him, despite the court having denied him the ability to do so. This was tainted by Purdey's claims that Rogerson assaulted him, prevented him from calling his solicitor and typed up to five different records of the interview. 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. 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. [12] He has two daughters by his first wife Joy Archer. McNab uncovered one startling exception. 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. 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. 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 man said he suspected it might have been the gun used in the murder of Mr Gao. He claimed that he was trying to arrest Lanfranchi for five suspected armed robberies. The CCTV footage of the entirety of the crime was devastating - it's probably the 'most recorded' murder in Australian history. Even after he was booted from the police force in 1986, outed "dog" drug dealer Neddy Smith as his informant and was jailed twice, the man known as Roger the Dodger seemed a Teflon man. [21], On 17 February 2005, Rogerson and his wife, Anne Melocco, were convicted of lying to the 1999 Police Integrity Commission. Just days after their conviction and life sentences were handed down in 2016, the pair lodged a notice of intention to appeal.