Stan James was never convicted of a serious crime in a long and seemingly law-abiding life — but after his burial last week, his role as a criminal mastermind can finally be revealed.
Smoke from a canon salute mixed with the embers from a welcome to country, as the crowd gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance’s 90th anniversary. Watch the livestream.
Not every rapper is a wannabe gangster but a lot of wannabe gangsters tap into rap’s “street” culture of violence, sex, guns, drugs and prison.
The race that stops the nation is also the race that has broken many a champion’s heart. But who needs champions when you have great characters?
The law is clumsy at weighing the damage done by someone in a position of trust who sexually assaults someone vulnerable — which is exactly what sleazy dentist George Koudos did.
Just days after hit man “Benji” Veniamin was shot in Carlton, Lewis Moran took a disturbing phone call as he sat at the bar of the Brunswick Club — moments later he was dead.
By the time Andrew “Benji” Veniamin confronted Mick Gatto at the back of his Carlton restaurant on this day 20 years ago, the hitman had become a liability to a growing list of enemies and anyone who had done “business” with him.
John Latorre was a friendly Epping greengrocer to those who didn’t really know him, and a capo in the mafia to those who did. But even captains have a boss, and when the big bucks stop, the buck stops with someone.
For Middle-Eastern organised crime groups embroiled in a vicious war over Melbourne’s illicit tobacco trade, revenge has become a more potent motivation than profit.
No one wants to spell out the bitter truth in cases like Samantha Murphy’s disappearance — when people vanish for more than a few days, the odds against their return grow longer with every hour.
When Roger Rogerson turned up at the dressing room door of sultry Welsh singer Shirley Bassey, for once he didn’t have a gun in his pocket. But he did have her stolen handbag.
A decade ago Rosie Batty saw her only child die in unspeakable circumstances, but through her unthinkable loss she has continued to find a way to help others.
Gary Lawrence was a crook with a moral compass whose roughcast chivalry underpins Boy Swallows Universe — it’s why the former robber with a head like a robber’s dog can be played by a male model in the hit Netflix show.
Some of the country’s biggest elite cycling names have made headlines for more than winning world championships and Olympic medals when they took a wrong turn towards drugs, violence, lies and cheating.
Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/andrew-rule/page/5