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. [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. Smith later said that Rogerson ordered him to disarm Lanfranchi en route. Disgraced former detective Roger Rogerson is appealing his life sentence, arguing he didn't know Glen McNamara had sourced a gun before the murder. Credit: Daniel Munoz. That was close. It was an offer I couldnt refuse, and Mrs Rogerson assured me hed be on his best behaviour. [11] Rogerson attended Bankstown Central School and later Homebush Boys High School. 2023 BBC. Rogerson and another former cop, Glen McNamara, were found guilty of shooting Gao inside a west Sydney storage . Disgraced detective's last bid for freedom to not die in jail. First introduced by the Norman-French at the Invasion of England in 1066, it was originally a baptismal personal name Rogier. 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. 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 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. People who keep describing him to me as mesmerising have got it right. 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.. 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. Rogerson, McNamara 'should be jailed for life' over Gao murder This is a list of the real life characters and what they did in the first Blue Murder. 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. The sources say even some prison officers have become starstruck by his presence in the jail. Roger Rogerson after being jailed for life in June. In 2016 after the men were jailed, he met with Rogerson's solicitor Peter Katsoolis and police then began to investigate. Smith was born in 1944 and was a major criminal, involved particularly in armed robbery, heroin trafficking, and murder. Rogerson claimed Lanfranchi was armed and he shot him in self-defence. '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. Smith was a convicted heroin dealer, rapist and armed robber who claimed Rogerson gave him the "green light" to commit crimes in NSW, while Flannery specialised in contract killing. The pair could often be found drinking with other police and criminals at inner-city pubs includingAlexandria's Star and Iron Duke, the Captain Cook at Millers Point and the Lord Wolseley in Ultimo. [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). Rodgerson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms - HouseOfNames 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. In June 2016, Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara were found guilty of killing student Jamie Gao for his drugs (Partridge, 2016a). He was released from Kirkconnell Correctional Centre on 17 February 2006. 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. Former detective Roger Rogerson, 80, was in Long Bay's aged and frail unit when a prison officer told him Smith had died in the jail hospital. Rogerson, McNamara jailed for life for murder of Jamie Gao 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. 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In 1986, Huckstepp, also a sex worker, was found dead in a pond in central Sydney's Centennial Park. 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 Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre: Murder, Arson and the Crime of the Century. Rogerson verdict: What it's like to be an old bloke in jail - LinkedIn Andrew Rule's final meeting with corrupt cop Roger Rogerson April 2000: He was Australia's most notorious cop.A real-life Dirty Harry who finally crossed the line and finished in jail. 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.". 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. 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. 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. Still, it fascinates me that Rogers career was brought to an end by a 20-year-old Asian kid with an education.. The pair was also found guilty of taking part in the supply of 2.8kg of methamphetamine, known in Australia by its street name ice. 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.. 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.. The book describes the moment Rogersons notoriety first betrayed his link to Gaos murder. [38], In 1988 Roger Rogerson told a Bulletin reporter that he and the other lead detectives fabricated evidence. He was released on appeal after nine months, but in 1992 that appeal was quashed and he was re-imprisoned until 1995. He was also a man who possibly, if you were locked up, could walk up to arresting police and crack a deal for you, either through payment of money or say to the copper, by the way, Ive got a brief [compromising information] on you. Former Sydney detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara have lost an appeal against their convictions for murdering a drug dealer. In the pre-digital era, illegal bootleg video cassettes of Blue Murder I and II were jealously guarded, surreptitiously leant and massively copied. 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. Drury alleged that Rogerson had tried to bribe him to changes his evidence in the heroin trial of Melbourne dealer Alan Williams. 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. 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. The latter are alleged to have been Rogersons hope for unloading the ice. An . Roger Rogerson wanted 'ten million and a jet,' jury hears Rodgerson is a surname. It implicated Roger Rogerson in Drurys attempted execution at the behest of a heroin trafficker. Smith's exploits with Rogerson featured in the 1995 television drama series Blue Murder. [35][36][37], Soon after the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub fire on 8 March 1973, Sydney detectives Roger Rogerson and Detective Sergeant Noel Morey were called to Brisbane to assist in the 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.". Rogerson wanted me to tell him the 'real' McNamara story the one the jury didnt hear. Rogerson was welcomed in Bandidos and Rebels clubhouses across the country and was regularly seen briefing queues of bikies in coffee shops. Ex-cops lose drug dealer murder appeal | PerthNow Brisbane's Whiskey Au Go Go fire killed 15 people. Ex-cops lose drug dealer murder appeal | The West Australian He claimed that he was trying to arrest Lanfranchi for five suspected armed robberies. 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. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. He assures me McNamara is the key to his freedom. 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. 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. [13], Rogerson worked on some of the biggest cases of the early 1970s, including the Toecutter Gang Murder and the Whiskey Au Go Go Fire in Brisbane. Smith was convicted of the Jones murder and acquitted of killing Huckstepp. Apparently he has been regularly enjoying using far more than his allotted precious telephone minutes. 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. Smith said Lanfranchi had asked him to organise a payment to Rogerson so that the dealer wasnt charged with the police shooting. It was Smith who in 1981 drove drug dealer Warren Lanfranchi to an appointment with Rogerson at which the policeman shot Lanfranchi dead in a Chippendale lane. 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). Rogerson, 79, appeared in the Court of Criminal . In January 1958, he joined the New South Wales Police Cadet Service. He is pictured in 1980. 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. 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. Both pleaded not guilty to the murder of Gao and also not guilty to supplying 2.78 kilograms (6.1 lb) of "ice"(methamphetamine). "It is clear that the offenders acted with complete disregard for the life of another human being.". 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 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. In the company of 18 other police officers, Rogerson waited in the lane. Blindsided: Stars affair rocks hit show, Reality star sent to jail over secret sex tape. He had been due to testify in a major drugs trial and alleged that Rogerson offered him a bribe to protect a Melbourne drug dealer. His defence is trying to establish he wasn't part of the agreement to kill or rob the victim. Similarities to the true life scenes played out in Sydney and involving the real Roger Rogerson and a body in the ocean in 2014 must have had Blue Murders producers minds reeling. In Blue Murder, Smith is shown murdering Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, although in real life he was charged but acquitted of that murder. Neddy Smith stood trial for her murder, but was acquitted. 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. Justice Bell said both accused had run "cut-throat defences". Glen McNamara is escorted by a correctional services officer as he leaves the NSW supreme court in Sydney in February 2016. Blue Murder burst onto the screens with scenes of Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson in a bulletproof vest stalking crims in a line of Sydney traffic with an assault rifle. His 'threat' came shortly after the release of my first book on him.