Can’t really have a crime board without this one. In terms of Australian heists, nothing comes close. And although the perpetrators are widely known, it’s technically still unsolved, with no conviction ever recorded.
On 21st April 1976, after another successful day, dozens of Melbourne bookmakers were winding down and settling up at the Australian Jockey Club on Queen St. Six heavily armed men burst into the club, took everybody hostage, and relieved them of every last cent in the room. Although the figure reported stolen was $1.4m, it’s widely believed that the total take was as high as $15m – that’s around $90m in today’s money. Bookies being bookies, amounts disclosed to authorities tend to vary wildly from the actual take.
The crew had rented an office in the building a few months earlier, from which they planned the robbery and staked out the eventual crime scene, even (according to some legends) running full dress rehearsals whilst the building was empty on public holidays.
On the day, an inconspicuous repairman arrived at the foyer of the building to attend to a leaking fridge in the Jockey Club. His real job was to stake the room and wait for the bookies and their cash (delivered via armoured truck) to arrive. Once the scene was set, he slipped downstairs and let his accomplices in - five burly men cloaked in masks and overalls, all brandishing automatic weapons.
The thieves quickly took control of the room, taking everybody hostage. Two men kept the room at gunpoint, whilst the remaining four broke into the padlocked cash boxes with bolt cutters and transferred the loot into large calico bags. In terms of armed robbery, it was extremely efficient – the whole thing was over in under 10 minutes, with no perpetrators or hostages injured.
What happened next is the subject of some debate. There’s no doubt that at least four of the crew quickly piled into a van waiting in the street, and sped off with the cash in hand. However it’s believed that this was a ruse to fool police and anybody seeking swift recovery of their dough – the bags on board the van were actually empty, and the actual bags were hidden in the rented office upstairs, and quietly spirited away weeks later.
Ultimately, nobody was caught that day, no cash was ever officially recovered, and nobody ever convicted of the crime. The gang is believed to have consisted of six career criminals:
Ray Chuck-Bennet: the leader and mastermind of the gang. After being arrested on a minor charge in 1979, Chuck-Bennet was famously executed by an unknown gunman posing as a journalist, on the steps of a city courthouse whilst in police custody. Brian Kane was the main suspect in his murder, though rumours pointed to a conspiracy involving senior members of the Victorian Police.
Les Kane: violent standover man and well-known member of the Melbourne underworld. Thought to have demanded a larger slice of the proceeds from Bennet after the robbery. Reputedly murdered by Bennet and others after his demands became more and more violent, his body was never found, and nobody was ever convicted of his murder.
Brian Kane: brother of Les. Thought to have murdered Bennet in retaliation for the killing of his brother. Murdered in an underworld execution in 1982.
Ian Carrol: also shot and killed execution-style in 1982.
Laurence Prendergast: mysteriously disappeared in 1985. Not seen since, and no body ever recovered.
Norman Lee: the only member of the gang ever charged with the robbery. He was acquitted on a lack of evidence. Shot dead by police during another armed robbery attempt at Melbourne Airport in 1992. It’s from Lee’s lawyer, Phillip Dunn, that we know much of the detail regarding the robbery. With all of the assailants were either confirmed or believed dead, he eventually publicly disclosed what he knew of the heist.
The mystery of what ultimately became of the considerable loot remains. With the perpetrators so well known in the Melbourne underworld, it’s thought the majority was passed on in “tax” to angry standover men and corrupt senior police, irate that such a daring heist was pulled right under their noses and without their “permission”. Another theory is the gang eventually came to an agreement with victims to return much of the money, in exchange for the bookies refusing to co-operate with any investigation. One conspiracy theory, citing the lack of security and resistance from the victims, even has it that the whole episode was an elaborate stage show planned by the bookmakers in order to vastly reduce their official turnover in the eye of increasing attention from the Australian Tax Office.
Whatever the fate of the cash, it remains one of the most famous and daring crimes in Australian history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Bookie_Robbery
http://www.progroupracing.com.au/horse-racing-articles/great-bookie-robbery
On 21st April 1976, after another successful day, dozens of Melbourne bookmakers were winding down and settling up at the Australian Jockey Club on Queen St. Six heavily armed men burst into the club, took everybody hostage, and relieved them of every last cent in the room. Although the figure reported stolen was $1.4m, it’s widely believed that the total take was as high as $15m – that’s around $90m in today’s money. Bookies being bookies, amounts disclosed to authorities tend to vary wildly from the actual take.
The crew had rented an office in the building a few months earlier, from which they planned the robbery and staked out the eventual crime scene, even (according to some legends) running full dress rehearsals whilst the building was empty on public holidays.
On the day, an inconspicuous repairman arrived at the foyer of the building to attend to a leaking fridge in the Jockey Club. His real job was to stake the room and wait for the bookies and their cash (delivered via armoured truck) to arrive. Once the scene was set, he slipped downstairs and let his accomplices in - five burly men cloaked in masks and overalls, all brandishing automatic weapons.
The thieves quickly took control of the room, taking everybody hostage. Two men kept the room at gunpoint, whilst the remaining four broke into the padlocked cash boxes with bolt cutters and transferred the loot into large calico bags. In terms of armed robbery, it was extremely efficient – the whole thing was over in under 10 minutes, with no perpetrators or hostages injured.
What happened next is the subject of some debate. There’s no doubt that at least four of the crew quickly piled into a van waiting in the street, and sped off with the cash in hand. However it’s believed that this was a ruse to fool police and anybody seeking swift recovery of their dough – the bags on board the van were actually empty, and the actual bags were hidden in the rented office upstairs, and quietly spirited away weeks later.
Ultimately, nobody was caught that day, no cash was ever officially recovered, and nobody ever convicted of the crime. The gang is believed to have consisted of six career criminals:
Ray Chuck-Bennet: the leader and mastermind of the gang. After being arrested on a minor charge in 1979, Chuck-Bennet was famously executed by an unknown gunman posing as a journalist, on the steps of a city courthouse whilst in police custody. Brian Kane was the main suspect in his murder, though rumours pointed to a conspiracy involving senior members of the Victorian Police.
Les Kane: violent standover man and well-known member of the Melbourne underworld. Thought to have demanded a larger slice of the proceeds from Bennet after the robbery. Reputedly murdered by Bennet and others after his demands became more and more violent, his body was never found, and nobody was ever convicted of his murder.
Brian Kane: brother of Les. Thought to have murdered Bennet in retaliation for the killing of his brother. Murdered in an underworld execution in 1982.
Ian Carrol: also shot and killed execution-style in 1982.
Laurence Prendergast: mysteriously disappeared in 1985. Not seen since, and no body ever recovered.
Norman Lee: the only member of the gang ever charged with the robbery. He was acquitted on a lack of evidence. Shot dead by police during another armed robbery attempt at Melbourne Airport in 1992. It’s from Lee’s lawyer, Phillip Dunn, that we know much of the detail regarding the robbery. With all of the assailants were either confirmed or believed dead, he eventually publicly disclosed what he knew of the heist.
The mystery of what ultimately became of the considerable loot remains. With the perpetrators so well known in the Melbourne underworld, it’s thought the majority was passed on in “tax” to angry standover men and corrupt senior police, irate that such a daring heist was pulled right under their noses and without their “permission”. Another theory is the gang eventually came to an agreement with victims to return much of the money, in exchange for the bookies refusing to co-operate with any investigation. One conspiracy theory, citing the lack of security and resistance from the victims, even has it that the whole episode was an elaborate stage show planned by the bookmakers in order to vastly reduce their official turnover in the eye of increasing attention from the Australian Tax Office.
Whatever the fate of the cash, it remains one of the most famous and daring crimes in Australian history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Bookie_Robbery
http://www.progroupracing.com.au/horse-racing-articles/great-bookie-robbery