Former Sydney cocaine kingpin tells how he avoided life sentence in Australia
The US college athlete turned Sydney drug lord has hit back at claims he is a “snitch” in an explosive interview.
A former US college athlete who became a Sydney cocaine kingpin has revealed how he “played chess” to avoid a potential life sentence in Australia.
Owen “O Dog” Hanson was arrested in 2015 and later sentenced to 21 years in a US federal prison after an FBI and NSW Police investigation into his sprawling criminal enterprise.
Hanson, who played American football for the University of Southern California, was also staring down the prospect of extradition to Sydney and another 25 years’ jail after serving his US time.
But this never eventuated and Hanson, now 42, was quietly released from a Colorado prison sometime in 2024 when his sentence was slashed by a decade.
The “California Kid”, as he has styled himself, recently hit back at allegations he won his freedom by snitching on accomplices in his illegal gambling and drug supply syndicate.
Hanson revealed on the Fresh Out YouTube channel he did name one person involved in cocaine supply in Sydney – but they were already dead by the time Australian cops came asking in 2017.
He claimed to have pointed out a Harbour City gangster called “Raffa” – revealing him to be Raphael Joseph, who disappeared in 2014 and is suspected to have been murdered.
Hanson said he told police Joseph was introduced to him by a figure from a Mexican cartel who was using the American as a Sydney plant for a cocaine trafficking operation.
“I told on a guy named Raffa and Raffa was … the person purchasing the dope in Australia,” Hanson told Fresh Out host Big Herc.
“But here’s where it gets good … Like I told you, it was a game of chess.
“Raffa was killed in 2014. So I told on a dead guy.”
Police in 2018 offered a $1 million reward for information about Joseph’s murder and have revealed they suspect he was kidnapped and killed by a drug syndicate.
Previously known as Rafi Toomi, Joseph was the prime suspect in a 2002 shooting murder and disappeared from Auburn, western Sydney, in 2014 aged 37.
It is not suggested Hanson was involved in Joseph’s disappearance, and NSW Police declined to comment on his claims citing the ongoing investigation into Joseph’s fate.
Officially, NSW Police are still seeking the arrest of Hanson to face charges over his Sydney drug trade - which involved him hiding millions of dollars in a Bondi flat. But it might not be so simple.
It is understood there are concerns over double jeopardy laws as Australian authorities try to ascertain what evidence obtained Down Under was used in the FBI case against Hanson.
“State Crime Command’s Organised Crime Squad continue to work with international partners and agencies to explore the possibility of extraditing a 42-year-old man to NSW,” police said in an official statement.
Hanson, however, has openly declared he’s in the clear from Australian authorities and claimed a NSW prosecutor even urged a US judge to reduce his sentence.
Best friend and the MLB star
In recent times Hanson has become an author and started his California Ice Protein bars business as he tries to land on his feet outside of jail.
He has also been preparing one of his best friends, Matthew Bowyer, for a potential stint in federal prison after he was caught up in a federal probe into illegal gambling.
Bowyer, 50, has pleaded guilty to running sports betting books in Las Vegas and California, where it is illegal, in a case that has become infamous in the States for its link to baseball star Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player and ended up US$40 million in the red after placing 19,000 bets with Bowyer’s bookies.
Ohtani was not charged and is not accused of wrongdoing.
Hanson and Bowyer have regularly appeared on each other’s social media pages, which feature highly-stylised videos about their colourful pasts.
In one video posted to Bowyer’s Instagram, he and Hanson re-enact an $85,000 bet they claim to have placed on a shot from a bunker while playing golf together at Pebble Beach.
In another video Hanson and Bowyer met in a park bathroom so Hanson could show his friend the finer details of prison life.
“For all of you who don’t know, my dear friend might be going to federal prison,” Hanson says.
“Matty, God forbid you do go to prison. I just want to prepare you.
“You need to understand what prison coffee tastes like,” he says, holding a bag of grinds.
The high-roller
In a bizarre coincidence, news.com.au has learned, the man who tipped off Australian police to Hanson’s activities also played a key role in Bowyer’s prosecution.
RJ Cipriani, a professional gambler known as Robin Hood 702, told an inquiry last month he informed the authorities about criminals gambling at Las Vegas casino Resorts World.
Bowyer was arrested as part of investigations into the casino and has since pleaded guilty to running an unlawful gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return. He is due to be sentenced in October.
High-roller Mr Cipriani was a source for the FBI in its investigation into Hanson, having been flown to Sydney as part of Hanson’s efforts to launder money at the Star Casino.
Mr Cipiriani maintains the 2011 trip was pitched to him as a charity venture and that he had not known Hanson’s real name or the source of his cash.
Mr Cipriani has said he blew $2.5 million on purpose at the Star’s high-limit room because he suspected Hanson was a criminal.
The operation ended with police seizing $702,000 in drug money at the Hilton Hotel after Mr Cipriani anonymously called staff saying there was a gun in one of the rooms.
Hanson sent threats to Mr Cipriani afterwards and news.com.au understands made the mistake of contacting the blackjack player using his personal phone.
A tech whiz was able to obtain Hanson’s true identity through the phone number, which became a breakthrough in the investigation into the drug syndicate.
Hanson’s arrest, and the discovery of encrypted Phantom Secure phones in his possession, also led to federal police in the US and Australia developing the ANOM device – an underworld trojan horse credited with the arrests of 800 people worldwide.
The ‘dodgy’ lawyer
Hanson was last in Sydney in 2020 to give evidence as the star witness in the trial of lawyer Michael Anthony Croke, who was tasked with retrieving the drug money seized by police at the Hilton.
He told Fresh Out that US Marshalls took him from a Californian prison in the early hours of the morning and placed him on a Qantas flight to Australia.
“They say ‘you’re getting extradited to Australia’,” Hanson said.
“I’m freaking out … I thought this life sentence was over.”
When he arrived, he says, he was put into an Australian prison and allowed to call his lawyer.
“He says ‘you just won the lotto in life’ Do you remember that crooked lawyer that got you indicted?’
“I said ‘yeah’.
“He says ‘well are you willing to testify he was crooked and gave you bad legal advice?’
“I said ‘yeah!’”
Croke, the court heard, had years earlier unsuccessfully tried to convince investigators the seized money came from a legitimate source.
The court heard he coached Hanson and Aussie music promoter Andrew McManus to claim the cash came from a business agreement over a rock concert.
This tale was picked apart by investigators and led to Hanson’s arrest, and that of McManus, Croke and other players in the scheme.
‘I’d be dead’
Hanson said he saw the opportunity to give evidence at Croke’s NSW District Court trial as a form of pay back against the “dodgy” lawyer he had put his trust in.
Croke was convicted of perverting the course of justice, knowingly helping a criminal group and providing the police with false statements.
He was sentenced to a maximum of five years and nine months in prison. He appealed against the severity of the sentence but the appeal was dismissed.
“And is that co-operating? I don’t think so,” Hanson said.
“It’s somebody who got me in trouble, got me indicted and I’m getting to return the favour.
“Let’s leave it up to the audience. At the end of the day, I was getting my money – I was getting my get back.”
A NSW prosecutor then wrote to Hanson’s sentencing judge in the US recommending his sentence be reduced by eight years.
“You call it ratting, you call it playing chequers or you call it playing chess. I was playing chess,” Hanson said on Fresh Out.
“At the end of the day, I ain’t no sucker. I went to USC. I’m a businessman.
“I’ve never said I’m some gangster. At the end of the day I want to get home to my family as soon as possible and keep it safe.
“If I were to tell on the cartel … I’d be dead.”
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