The Kingpin and the Crooked Cop

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 NED KELLY AWARD FOR BEST TRUE CRIME

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 DANGER AWARD FOR CRIME NON-FICTION

'Stunning revelations, shocking crimes and a cracking read: I thought I knew a lot about these two infamous villains, but what I learned from Mercer's book surprised even me.' Kate McClymont, author of Dead Man Walking and He Who Must Be Obeid

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 the 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 of this glamorous 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 from the 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 never seen or read before.

'This is a truly cracking read. The sweeping array of colourful characters, the front-page incidents, are all covered with flair and a thoroughly entertaining style. This book is a serious history of a lost era in Sydney. There has never been a better, more thoroughly researched summation of Sydney's criminal world from the 70s onwards.' Nick Kaldas, former NSW Deputy Police Commissioner

'The best account of the era that I have read. Meticulously researched and powerfully written.' Keith Banks, author of Drugs, Guns & Lies and Gun to the Head

'A riveting read. Mercer has left no stone unturned.' Tom Gilling, co-author of Smack Express and Blood Money

'Neil Mercer is just the man to write the definitive account of the lives, times and many crimes of Sydney villains Neddy Smith and Roger Rogerson, one a robber, drug dealer and convicted murderer, the other a (very) corrupt cop . . . tells plenty of stories we haven't heard before.' Jason Steger, Sydney Morning Herald

'Dedicated readers of True Crime will really appreciate it . . . a lot of new material mixed in very artfully with established material and written by one of our finest investigative journalists and wordsmiths.' Life and Crimes with Andrew Rule

'Great reading . . . a real window into the criminal underworld' Andy Park, ABC Radio National

'A fascinating read.' Ray Hadley, 2GB