$1m reward to solve 1984 murder of Painter and Docker Robert ‘Jack’ Richardson

Robert “Jack” Richardson unwittingly brought an undercover cop into a heroin-trafficking ring, with disastrous consequences. On the eve of the court hearing, he knew he was in grave danger.

The Strath Creek scene where the body of Painter and Docker Robert “Jack” Richardson was found.

Robert “Jack” Richardson would have known he was in grave danger on March 4, 1984.

He was due to appear the next day at a heroin-trafficking conspiracy hearing with Alan Williams, an influential and ruthless fellow Painter and Docker, and their co-accused Brian Hansen.

Richardson had brought an undercover policeman named Mick Drury into the Williams syndicate with disastrous consequences.

Because he had vouched for the detective, Richardson faced the twin perils of being blameworthy and also a potential loose end in the heroin prosecution.

As homicide squad cold case detective Leigh Prados observed, when things get to court, the fewer conspirators exist, the harder it is to prove a conspiracy.

Richardson, a former top footballer in South Australia, found himself playing in the criminal A-grade when he got involved with Williams post-career in Melbourne.

Decades before the emergence of bikie gangs and Middle Eastern organised crime, the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union was the power in drug trafficking.

Its influence on the nation’s waterfront gave it a unique capacity to manage and distribute shipments of heroin and cannabis for a lucrative market.

Richardson was a talented footballer in South Australia before turning to a life of crime. Picture: Supplied

Richardson was perhaps out of his depth playing in the criminal A-grade. Picture: Supplied

This was the embodiment of a rogue union, also linked to an untold number of murders, bashings and corporate frauds, and deeply entangled in the corruption of public officials.

Richardson, who had a young daughter, would have been acutely aware its motto was “we catch and kill our own”.

But as the 49-year-old sat with two men in a St Kilda ice cream parlour in the early hours of March 4, there was no indication he was anything other than relaxed.

Veteran St Kilda detective Larry Proud knew Richardson and observed the group, noted nothing unusual, though he did not recognise his companions.

That led investigators to think the two still-unidentified men were people Richardson trusted and that they may have been in the process of leading him to his death.

“You’re not dealing with someone who was naive, he was street smart,” Senior Constable Prados said.

There are other indications Richardson was comfortable before being killed.

A pathologist later found no signs the strong ex-footballer had struggled or been restrained before being shot once in the head in the isolated darkness at Strath Creek, north of Melbourne, within hours of the St Kilda meeting.

No effort was made to cover up the body, found four weeks later by fisherman. It was as though those in the car had pulled up to look at something before Richardson was dispatched and his body pushed over the embankment.

Richardson was shot in the head in the isolated darkness at Strath Creek, north of Melbourne. No effort was made to hide his body. Picture: Supplied

A bullet casing had been left behind at the scene, along with another exhibit which contained an as-yet unidentified DNA profile.

Investigators believe the most likely scenario was a deadly act of betrayal.

“How does he get from the ice cream parlour to Strath Creek? If someone pulled up and said ‘hop in the car’, he wouldn’t,” Senior Constable Prados said.

“It (Strath Creek) is dark, it’s very private. You’d have to be very trusting of somebody not to have some concerns.”

Police actually had been convinced Richardson had turned fugitive because of the court date and placed him on a most-wanted list.

Senior Constable Prados – who has spent months reviewing the file – said the drug case with Williams was almost certainly linked to the killing.

He said Richardson was a well-liked man who had been a small-time operator before getting involved in the Williams importation.

“He didn’t have a long list of enemies, he wasn’t a bash merchant,” Senior Constable Prados said.

“He liked a drink. He was a knockabout. He was never into anything serious until this.”

A run of terrible luck for those linked to Williams had begun in July 1983 when associate Frank Avery was found dead from a heroin overdose in a Sydney hotel room.

There was always suspicion that he had died from a deliberate “hot shot” administered by someone wanting him out of the picture.

There were no signs Richardson had struggled or been restrained before being shot in the head. Picture: Supplied

There was a murderous postscript to the saga on September 18, 1984.

Lindsay Simpson pulled into the Lower Plenty driveway of his brother-in-law Williams, who police had warned to stay away from home. Career criminal Roy Pollitt was on a mission to murder Williams on behalf of Dennis “Mr Death” Allen.

Allen teed-up that contract because Williams had not forked out an agreed $50,000 fee to those responsible for shooting the undercover cop, Drury, earlier that year.

Pollitt asked no questions to establish the motorist’s identity and went on to join Melbourne’s long list of bungling contract killers.

“My name is Simpson,” were his victim’s last words.

Now, police are making a fresh bid to get justice for the family of Robert Richardson.

There is $1m on the table for anyone able to help arrest and convict those involved in his murder.

The trail is quite cold but the advantage investigators have today is that the Painter and Dockers Union is no more and those who might once have made those in the know stay quiet are old, have lost their influence, are dead or in prison.

“Sometimes in our job, time is the enemy and sometimes it is our friend,” Senior Constable Prados said.

“We’ve got some chances but it’s got to be now.”

$1m reward to solve Painter and Docker murder

A $1 million reward will on Tuesday be posted on a cold case gangland murder linked to one of Australia’s worst police corruption scandals.

The body of Painter and Docker Robert “Jack” Richardson was found in bush north of Melbourne in 1984 after he was murdered execution-style on March 4.

Richardson and ruthless organised crime figure Alan Williams were due to appear in court a day later over a major heroin trafficking conspiracy.

It is the first time a reward of any kind has been posted for the Richardson murder, a plot suspected of involving multiple people.

The Director of Public Prosecutions will also consider indemnity from prosecution for anyone able to bring the killers to justice.

Police say a recent re-examination of the matter had yielded new information and that they have “helpful” DNA profile evidence from the scene.

Richardson was relaxed when last seen alive with two unidentified men at a St Kilda ice cream parlour between 1.20am and 2am on March 4.

Richardson was murdered execution-style on March 4, 1984. Picture: Supplied

The killing was almost certainly carried out to stop Richardson appearing in court.

Investigators believe he was shot in the back of the head just hours later after a betrayal by friends.

His body was found 27 days later by a member of the public in scrub off King Parrot Creek Rd in Strath Creek.

The killing was almost certainly carried out to stop him appearing in the drug case.

Investigators have never been able to work out who the men in the ice cream parlour were, but they do believe Mr Richardson trusted them.

“What we’re lacking is any positive identification of those people,” detective Senior Constable Leigh Prados of the homicide squad cold case unit said.

Police say disgraced New South Wales detective Roger Rogerson is regarded as a person of interest, not a suspect, in the Richardson murder.

Investigators say this is because of the “context” of events in that period.

Disgraced New South Wales detective Roger Rogerson is regarded as a person of interest. Picture: AAP

In the same year Richardson was murdered, Sydney undercover detective Michael Drury was shot in an attempted contract hit also suspected of being linked to the Williams prosecution.

Rogerson – now in jail for murder – was later charged but acquitted of the Drury ambush.

The suspected triggerman in the Drury case, Christopher Dale Flannery, subsequently disappeared and is believed to have been murdered.

“This is a dirty pond,” Sen-Const. Prados said.

Sen-Const. Prados said he believed there were likely to have been multiple people involved in the plot which ended with the events at Strath Creek.

“When we talk murder, we’re not just talking about people who pulled the trigger. We believe there was a conspiracy. We’ve got numerous persons of interest,” he said.

“Jack trusted the wrong person or people. He was stitched up by a mate or mates. As long as you are alive, you will never be able to stop looking over your shoulder or sleep peacefully because the investigation to find you will not stop. If you know something, now is the time.”

Anyone with information on the murder can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit crimestoppersvic.com.au.