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torture, mutilate and kill to get their own way. After being told that the Kanes intended to kill him, Bennett, Prendergast and
Vincent Mikkleson killed Leslie Kane on 19 October 1978 and went into hiding. The three were later arrested for the murder but as the body was never found, the charges were dismissed. With Brian Kane threatening to kill him, Bennett was arrested on a minor charge in 1979. While being escorted by police from the courthouse holding cells to the courtroom, he was taken up a flight of stairs into the path of a man, disguised as a barrister. The man shot Bennett several times in the chest. Bennett tried to flee but collapsed on the courthouse steps and died a short time later. Although Brian Kane was suspected, circumstantial evidence suggested a conspiracy to kill Bennett, which included senior members of the Victorian Police, most notably Brian Murphy with whom Bennett had a long-standing feud.
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The identity of the robbers was widely known in the underworld and so
Bennett became the target of standover men, who included Brian and Leslie Kane, and corrupt police demanding part of the proceeds. The Kane brothers were particularly violent psychopaths who wanted 'their cut' and were willing to
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The money was never recovered and although Norman Lee was charged, he was later acquitted. None of the other members of the gang was ever convicted. Prendergast disappeared in 1985, and apart from Lee, the rest of the gang had all been murdered by the end of 1987. In 1992, Lee was killed by police
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208:, of three 90-minute episodes was released depicting the robbery. This miniseries started filming on 26 August 1984, and was broadcast in September 1986. Lee participated in the production as a consultant, and even used his own residence in Verity Street,
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https://www.newspapers.com/image/123102962/?clipping_id=8949314&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjEyMzEwMjk2MiwiaWF0IjoxNzE0OTY4NjU5LCJleHAiOjE3MTUwNTUwNTl9.BdjxEwv4VyeGhMr6RNAZjDWB-ejI4HccjCz7hazSM_c
174:. Lee's lawyer, Phillip Dunn, QC, later revealed the details of the crime, including the identities of all those involved. As no one was ever jailed or convicted, the Great Bookie robbery technically remains an unsolved crime.
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55:(ATO). They rented an office several floors above and hid the money in that room's safe before coolly walking out of the building and onto the street days after the event.
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When police searched through Ian
Carroll’s records after he was killed, they found that between April and June 1977, he deposited $ 437,165 in his accounts.
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draws on the Great Bookie robbery for its major crime scene. In this version, however, a number of people are killed during the robbery.
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Laurence “Laurie” Prendergast (missing from 23rd August 1985, declared dead by foul play, at an inquest on 17 December 2021) and
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as the shooting location for the house of one of the gang. Lee was still living there at the time of his death.
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A highly fictionalised version of the crime was also depicted in one episode of the 2009 miniseries
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Raymond "Chuck" Bennett (died 12 November 1979), who is believed to have been the mastermind,
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Watson, Bronwyn (26 September 1986), "The bookies' loss is
Channel 9's gain",
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in the
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https://australianmissingpersonsregister.com/ampr/LauriePrendergast.htm
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Summary of crime including details revealed by
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based on the original crime but otherwise entirely fictional.
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187:is a 1985 Australian television film directed by
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147:Learn how and when to remove this message
317:Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995
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736:Organised crime events in Australia
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256:"Inside the Great Bookie Robbery"
215:The 2002 Australian feature film
576:Indigenous Australians and crime
227:Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
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321:Oxford University Press
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751:Robberies in Australia
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708:Crime internationally
689:Convicts in Australia
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377:Sydney Morning Herald
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121:improve this section
80:freight terminal at
29:Great Bookie robbery
18:Great Bookie Robbery
63:The gang included:
756:1970s in Melbourne
746:Crime in Melbourne
440:Crime in Australia
350:– via Trove.
315:Ed. Scott Murray,
264:. 27 November 2015
178:In popular culture
170:during a heist at
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189:Michael Thornhill
172:Melbourne Airport
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261:News.com.au
730:Categories
617:Punishment
556:Corruption
242:References
200:miniseries
45:bookmakers
530:Melbourne
202:, titled
108:does not
89:Aftermath
33:Melbourne
520:Canberra
515:Brisbane
505:Adelaide
268:28 March
210:Richmond
59:The Gang
682:History
626:Prisons
184:Robbery
129:removed
114:sources
602:Courts
540:Sydney
525:Darwin
346:28 May
78:Ansett
535:Perth
39:Crime
348:2020
270:2020
196:1986
112:any
110:cite
27:The
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194:In
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