The Kingpin and the Crooked Cop: The definitive inside story of Neddy Smith and Roger Rogerson, partners in crime

by Neil Mercer

The life and crimes of our most corrupt policeman and most notorious gangster – featuring astonishing new evidence.

Roger Rogerson captured Australia's attention as its most notorious cop in the golden age of graft and violence. But who was the real Rogerson? And who was his principal partner in crime, the underworld kingpin, heroin dealer and armed bandit Arthur 'Neddy' Smith? Now Rogerson and Smith are both dead, and the full truth can be revealed.

Roger and Neddy have fascinated the public for decades. Our most decorated yet crooked police officer and the murderous drug importer he protected and enabled led interwoven careers that were truly stranger than fiction. Their crimes were committed against a backdrop of a changing Australia, as the nation's social fabric adapted to a more global world, and money - and drugs - poured into the country. Police, judges and even the media were up for sale, and Rogerson and Smith were the princes in this glamourous but bloody kingdom.

But as Roger and Neddy grew ever richer and more powerful, their crimes became too brazen, too violent and too public, leading to their spectacular downfall, years in court and life in prison. Crime reporter Neil Mercer knew Roger and Neddy since early 1980s, when the men were at the height of their powers. He followed their careers for major news outlets, met with them and was given exclusive interviews and insider information. Rogerson even wrote to him from jail. With key witnesses finally coming forward, Mercer has uncovered astonishing new evidence that will rewrite the story of the Australian underworld.

The Kingpin and the Crooked Cop is the definitive account of Roger and Neddy, and the era that made them. As compelling as any crime novel, it is filled with colour, violence and inside stories not seen or read before.

Genres: Crime, Nonfiction

589 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2024

Reviews

[Matty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing I thought when I finished reading this book was “thank god it’s done”. No disrespect to the author but it’s too bloody long and too much detail!
I have similar feelings about most books written by journalists, which is that they are so focused on getting all the details factually correct that it can get in the way of the yarn. I think the book could’ve been much tighter. It was impossible to follow all the characters & by the end a lot of the stories felt meaningless because I had no idea who the many, many people being referred to were. The only person who could’ve followed it all was the one who researched it! The book could’ve been kept to the best stories, but I understand Neil Mercer was trying to give the most comprehensive snapshot of the lives & crimes of the two protagonists.
Definitely a shocking story about the NSW Police force in the 70’s & 80’s!

[Ian Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE KING PIN AND THE CROOKED COP by NEIL MERCER
In the true style of journalistic books, this one is to the point and wastes little energy on colourful language, thus making it, in my opinion, an excellent read.
Dealing with two of Australia’s most notorious criminals and their crimes Neil, and others, must have been chomping at the bit to get this work out, but only after both were deceased, otherwise, numerous law suits may have ensued.
The swathe that Neddy Smith and Roger Rogerson cut through Sydney’s dark side was almost unbelievable. That they got away with so much was incredible and all due to intimidation, ruthlessness and a corrupted police force and judiciary system.
Roger Rogerson had a personality that was sharp, erudite and cruel. The original smooth talker with evil intent. Neddy Smith also had a soft side when it came to his family, but his coarse other self was never far below the surface.
How many murders did they commit? We’ll never know for sure, but we can be certain it was comfortably into double figures. Rogerson got away with all of his, except the last, which failed to allow for modern things such as security cameras. By anyone’s standard it was amateurish but also showed up the fact that, naturally, Roger was a crook.
Neddy was almost schizophrenic but, mainly, he was not a man you’d want to befriend. Unless you were another crook.
How they both manipulated the court room is a lesson in avoiding prosecutions. Rogerson’s slick talk and understanding of court room procedure bailed him out of many a predicament, but didn’t stop him being sacked from the police force.
Now they’re both deceased, more can be revealed than that we once knew and Mercer has had access to many files previously unavailable, which makes the tome even more revealing.
I couldn’t put it down; five stars from me.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched the ‘Blue Murder’ series not long after it was released – courtesy of living in Victoria, given that it had been banned in NSW for many years.
Growing up in Sydney, I vaguely recalled the Lanfranchi murder but took a lot more notice when Michael Drury got shot and there was always a lot of news around Christopher Flannery.
Of course, police corruption was never far from the surface and, for someone who led a fairly quiet life inside the lines, I actually had a bit of inside ‘oil’ about Buckets Jackson and his crew from an armed robber I met a couple of times.
Still, Neil Mercer’s book is quite the revelation and clearly well researched (unfortunately, the story jumps around quite a bit chronologically and some passages are a tad repetitive).
It would come as a surprise to very few that Neddy Smith was one of life’s bad seeds, but Rogerson comes across as an even greater villain. No-one really cares that much if coppers get a free donut, or even the occasional sling, but what Rogerson did went beyond the pale.
The thing that got me at the time and even more so after reading the book, is the Jamie Gao murder. Rogerson was clearly an arrogant prick but that whole thing seemed so sloppy. I wouldn’t have believed Rogerson if he told me the sun was coming up tomorrow, but for someone who lived so long by his wits that was Keystone Cops stuff … hopefully it preyed on him for the remainder of his days.

[Brooke Alice (brookes.bookstagram) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping I would enjoy this more than I did, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me.

I am a sucker for true crime and although living in Melbourne, I remember so much media over the last 20 years about Roger Rogerson. I have been fascinated by this crooked cop for many years, so was super excited when I was able to get a copy of this book from my local library and listen along through libby.

I really enjoyed learning and listening to all the little connections, how Roger was so embroilled in crime, and how he was able to swindle his way out of so many investigations and enquiries into his corrupt nature.

The reason I didn't resonate as well with this book was it's jumpy timeline and I felt like I had to write things down to remember the connections between the crooks and Roger. It left me a bit confused and going back and re-reading sections to remember the timeline and who and what were involved. I really enjoyed learning more about Neddy Smith and all the connections and ties he had with NSWPOL and many other crime gangs both in NSW and Victoria.

Overall an interesting read about this very VERY crooked cop and his crooked connections.

[Yumiko Tsuji · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was considering giving this book a 4-star rating, but I ended up giving it 3 stars because there are no 3.5 star options. The story itself was intriguing, but I didn’t like the way it was narrated. The events were presented in a non-linear fashion, and there were so many characters mentioned that I found it a bit confusing. It made me ponder about the ongoing drug-related activities involving law enforcement. The police force in 1970s Australia must have been extremely corrupt, as portrayed in this book and in “Barrenjoey Road.”

[Tom J · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s alright. the author speaks in a bizarrely “gee-whiz” tone that makes everything seem tonally weird and absurd, and it undercuts the whole book. he also, for a guy writing a book about corruption, seems blind to how deeply weird it is how chummy he is with these criminals. constant references to how close he is with them, he’s always drinking with them and eating at fancy restaurants with them, at a certain point it becomes comical. rogerson left the author a cache of documents after he died, for christ’s sake. hard to not wonder how that influenced the book

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Mercer has done an outstanding job researching and making sense of the staggering level of corruption within the NSW Police Force in the 1980s and beyond.

The content is staggering and probably too much happened to be contained within the covers of one book. I got lost in the names a few times but that is probably the only criticism.

[Andrew Fielding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book but I feel that it didn't really offer much in the way of new information. I also found too much repetition and jumped around too much. Watching Blue Murder would be better!

[Steven Lewis]

Colourful characters drawn in black and white. Factual when it could also have been vivid.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather repetitive

[Wombat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief overview of the life and crimes of Roger Rogerson and Neddy Smith. Well written. The only problem I can find is with so many unreliable people involved you never really know what happened. Good story though