Bribery, blackmail, murder and corruption: Sydney’s biggest crime kingpins

BRIBERY, blackmail, murder and corruption — these are the underworld bosses whose extraordinary power made an indelible mark on the harbour city.

BRIBERY, blackmail, murder and corruption — Sydney’s past is chequered with the extraordinary crimes of some of Australia’s most notorious underworld bosses.

These are some of the kingpins who made an unprecedented impact on the city.

LENNY MCPHERSON

One of the most formidable underworld figures of the 20th century, Leonard “Lenny” McPherson is believed to have controlled most of Sydney’s organised crime activity for several decades with Abe Saffron and associate George Freeman.

McPherson established his reputation as Sydney’s “Mr Big” of organised crime by building up an extensive network of criminal activities. He rose to power in the 1960s, dabbling in sly grog shops, prostitution, drug dealing, robbery, theft and extortion rackets.

Ever the quiet achiever, McPherson preferred to stay out of the limelight and leave the media attention to other crime figures. He was a major informer to police, whom he once described as “bigger crooks than we’ll ever know how to be”.

McPherson traded information for protection until 1994, when he was jailed by the National Crime Authority. He was offered freedom for giving evidence but declined. McPherson died of natural causes in 1996.

Lenny McPherson, also known as Mr Big. Picture: Supplied

ABE SAFFRON

Dubbed the “Mr Sin” of organised crime, Abraham “Abe” Saffron thrived as one of the most successful kingpins in the Sydney underworld for three decades.

However, he also bucked the trend. Saffron’s first preference was to be a businessman over a gangster and most of his businesses were legal.

In 1960, Saffron opened Australia’s first strip club, The Staccato, in Kings Cross. He also started the iconic Pink Pussycat and many others, including taking over the lease of Les Girls and later financing gay clubs.

Notorious for his own sexual appetite, Saffron sold pornography and at one point had interests in 100 brothels and 50 nightclubs around the country. He flouted the post-war restrictions on the supply and serving of beer and would illegally transfer alcohol from his hotel to his clubs.

Although he was engaged quite publicly in a range of criminal activities over 40 years, Saffron’s only major conviction was tax evasion in 1987. He was sentenced to 17 months in jail. He died in hospital in 2006.

Abe Saffron, businessman and racing identity. Picture: Supplied

ARTHUR ‘NEDDY’ SMITH

Arthur “Neddy” Smith rose to fame in the 1980s when he developed a close relationship with corrupt police detective Roger Rogerson.

Like Lenny McPherson and other successful criminals, Smith survived by being a regular police informer. In his autobiography, The Life and Crimes of Arthur Stanley Smith, he wrote: “There has always been crime and corruption within the NSW police force, but nothing like it was [in the 1980s]. … I could never have committed any of the major crimes I did, and got away with them, without the assistance of the NSW police force. They were the best police force that money could buy — believe me, because I bought them hundreds of times.”

Smith spent much of his life in prison due to his involvement in armed robbery, heroin trafficking and murder. He is serving two life sentences — one for the road-rage killing of Ronnie Flavell and another for the 1983 killing of Harvey Jones.

He tried to escape from a Sydney hospital earlier this year when he was left unsupervised. Nurses discovered Smith outside his room as one officer slept and another used his laptop, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Criminal Arthur Stanley 'Neddy' Smith at Long Bay Jail in Malabar in 2009. Picture: Supplied

Ronnie Flavell, killed by Arthur 'Neddy' Smith in 1987. Picture: Supplied

GEORGE FREEMAN

George Freeman developed a name for himself as Sydney’s most successful SP (fixed-race odds) bookmaker. SP bookmaking was technically illegal in Australia during the 1970s and ’80s but flourished due to the enormous profits.

A professional gambler, Freeman also used his talents to work as an illegal casino operator. In 1976, he was accused of being part of a plot to bribe state politicians who were planning to set up a casino regulatory board to curb illegal gambling. Despite many accusations, Freeman’s only criminal conviction was for SP bookmaking.

He was a close friend of Lenny McPherson and Neddy Smith, playing a leading role in organised crime in Sydney for some 20 years before his death in 1990.

Sydney criminal identity and businessman George Freeman. Picture: Supplied

ANTHONY PERISH

Drug kingpin Anthony “Rooster” Perish developed a fearsome reputation in the underworld for his brutality.

Perish oversaw a major drug manufacturing and distribution business for more than a decade on the east coast.

Perish, his brother Andrew and Matthew Lawston were jailed for the 2001 death of drug dealer Terry Falconer, who is believed to be the killer of Perish’s grandparents. Falconer’s chopped up body was found in plastic bags on the northern river Hastings. The graphic mutilation of Falconer also inspired a season of the television show Underbelly in 2012.

Anthony Perish, who was convicted over the abduction and murder of Terry Falconer in 2001. Picture: Supplied

TILLY DEVINE

One of Australia’s most notorious women, Matilda “Tilly” Devine left London as a war bride bound for Sydney in 1920.

Devine climbed the underworld ladder rapidly, progressing from a prostitute to become a rich madam and organised crime entrepreneur over the next four decades. A great deal of her legendary wealth was used to pay bribes to police sectors and fines for her criminal convictions.

In May 1925, she was jailed for two years for walking into a barber’s shop and slashing a man with a razor. Afterwards, the press described her as the “worst woman in Sydney” and the “queen of the night”.

Devine was also notorious for dealing in sly-grog and her involvement in razor gangs — criminal gangs chose razors as weapons when penalties were imposed for carrying concealed firearms.

She died in a Sydney hospital in 1970. The only public eulogy was given by then police commissioner Norman Allan, who said: “She was a villain, but who am I to judge her?”

Madam Tilly Devine was a wealthy underworld figure. Picture: Supplied