March 2, 2025 • 45 mins
The Melbourne gangland war was a brutal chapter in Australia’s criminal history, and the Kane brothers—Brian and Leslie—were right at its core. Known for their violent reputations and deep ties to organised crime, the Kane brothers became infamous figures in Melbourne’s underworld. Their brutal feuds, particularly with the Moran family and other crime syndicates, escalated into bloody street wars, leading to assassinations, betrayals, and an era of chaos that gripped the city.
Join Holly & Matthew as they explore the dark world of the Kane brothers and their role in Melbourne’s gangland war.
Background episodes (chronological order):
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/weird-crap-in-australia--2968350/support.
Join Holly & Matthew as they explore the dark world of the Kane brothers and their role in Melbourne’s gangland war.
Background episodes (chronological order):
- 137 & 138 - Squizzy Taylor and the Fitzroy Vendetta
- 309-312 - L'Onorata Societa, and the Victoria Market Murders
- 76 & 77 - The Walsh St Shooting
- 118 - The Death of the Vampire Gigolo
- 327 & 328 - Chopper Read
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/weird-crap-in-australia--2968350/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A strange, spiraling white light was spotted in the early
morning sky over Sydney, with even skeptical witnesses wondering if
it was a UFO.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
They were last seen on the beach with a tall
man and that's the best description police have ever.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Had of it.
Speaker 4 (00:14):
More than seventeen years after Harold Holt disappeared into raging
surf at Chevy A Beach, his widow has finally revealed
his last romantic words.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Gocky, terrifying, mesmerizing.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
That's the way a number of Australians have described the
alleged encounter with the yower. It's time for the Weed
Crap in Australia podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Welcome to the Weed Crap in Australia Podcast. I'm your
host Matthew sol Joining me for another episode is the
researcher Extraordinary hollysoul Me and this is episode three hundred
and fifty two. But before we get into that, I
have to say this week has been an interesting week
in regards to teaching Holly. Some of the things that
(01:06):
I've been learning in my counselor's course, especially behavioralism. How
have you been feeling about that, Holly?
Speaker 5 (01:12):
I don't like the fact that you're doing this.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I was explaining some sort of behavioralism and some of
the studies between Pavlov and BF Skinner. Most people would
know of Pavlov's dogs, and if you don't jump on
YouTube type in the Pavlov's dog experiment, you'll learn something.
You'll enjoy it. So I was sort of explaining this
all to Holly, and I set up this basic idea
of her pushing a button, and you know, I had
(01:37):
a little prop there that was a button, And there
was a certain point where Holly acknowledged that I was
creating a behavior. She understood the behavior, but I still
was able to compel her to push that button for
a third time. And you looked at me and you said,
I don't want you doing this anymore, and then just
walked away. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
I am not a guinea pig.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Because the way that I learn is that I have
to I learn, and then I talk about it and
then I do something a bit practical or I try
and explain it to someone else, and that helps me
solidify my ideas. So Holly was helping me study. That's
effectively what I was. What I was doing, But the
amount of fear that just like sort of put on
a face. I was like, Okay, maybe I better not
(02:20):
experiment on my wife any anymore.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Thank you. I can't believe it something you had to
think in the first place.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Well, you know it's benign, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
At the moment, anything hurt is my pride, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
And that's like two weeks from now. You know, you're
wearing a particular outfit for particular reasons, and I turn
around and go, hey, you know how you've been wearing
that outfit for the last two weeks. Yeah, that's a
behavior I created about a month ago. What would I
think that would be divorce at that point?
Speaker 5 (02:52):
Weren't it pretty close? You have to lock you in
a room and not talk to you for six months.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
It makes me wonder because I'm four weeks into my
diploma now. Obviously there's forty eight other weeks to go.
But you know, I really enjoy this sort of subject matter,
and I think that there are people who study because,
you know, they want to improve their career in their life,
and that's certainly me. I do fall into that category.
But I've also picked something that I quite enjoy, and
(03:20):
I like understanding how people think. Can behave and act
and messing with it and no a little bit. And
so yeah, that's how I effectively study is I learned
something and then I take it into the real world
to see how it applies. So good thing. I have
mostly utilitarian views on things, Holly, I generally just want
(03:43):
to help people. Good for now anyway, time, that's a
nice little diversion to get us all warmed up and
ready as we delve into Part two of the Melbourne
gang Land War. Now, just a quick refresher. Previous episode,
we talked about the Canes. That was correct, wasn't it, Hollis,
(04:05):
and how they may or may not have been though
probably were and definitely were involved in robbing some bookies
who were also attached to other criminal outfits. So that's
where we're at now. I believe it's going to kick
off pretty hard, right.
Speaker 5 (04:24):
I mean, it started with an escalation of Raymond Bennett
beating the crap out of the older Caine brother, the
older Cain brother beating the crap out of one of
his friends and threatening him, and then someone bit off
the older Cain brother's ear, and now we're just escalating
over and over and.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Overon all because someone's just going to be happy with
their fair share of the prize, money, the stolen goods.
That's how it always goes with these people.
Speaker 5 (04:48):
Greed is a motivating factor in everything they do.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
One of the podcasters I listened to, Ed from last
podcast on the Left, has often said being a criminal
sometimes can be much more more difficult than being an
average go to work Joe, Right.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
Well, there's a higher chance of getting shot unless you
live in America.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah. Like, I happen to agree with him. You know,
even when you think about like dealing drugs and things
like that, like risk or reward is just so extreme
that on its face value, And I'm not advocating drug
dealing ladies and gentlemen, but on its face value, it
seems like it's you're just better off going and get
a job. It seems like less stress and less effort,
(05:30):
doesn't it.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah, take the cover job and make that your main job,
and suddenly life is easier.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Yeah, exactly right. Anyway, let's kick it off part too.
Melbourne Gangland Wars Take Away.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
Holly On October nineteen, nineteen seventy eight, Leslie, Kane, Judy
and their children return to their unit after visiting his
brother Brian and other members of the Kane family. Judy
headed upstairs to dress down, remove her jewelry and so forth.
Leslie followed her, heading for the bathroom.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I've never heard the term dressed down, but I like it.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
It's it's probably old talk. It's where you go from
being like dressed to the lines who dressed to home.
Judy discovered three gunmen waiting in their bedroom, armed with
silence machine guns. One silenced her before she could shout
a warning.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
And by silence you mean shot or.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
Hand over the mouth, yanker anyway.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Silence machine guns. Again, we're talking about the eighties. These
sort of weapons were seventies. Sorry, seventies, thank you, Ellie.
These sort of weapons were far more common, obviously than
they are today after the handward gun.
Speaker 5 (06:31):
Reforms, and silencing a weapon does not make it go,
It just makes it a little bit of a less bang.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Yeah. Yeah, you're talking about the difference between what you
would say.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Ruptured ear drums and just barely not ruptured ear drums.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yeah yeah, you're still gonna hear it. So you know
everyone's watched James Bond, right, Well I have you and
you see Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan or Roger Moore.
If you don't have taste, you know, I bet you
some James Bonds fans. Just then, Holly, and you see
him walking around and he puts on the little silence
(07:06):
here and he goes or it's just yeah, there is
no silencer on the planet that would do that. I mean,
gun nuts, let me know.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
But I'm I'm we've asked that before and they said, no,
it does not work.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, I'm ninety percent sure that that doesn't work.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
Leslie entered the bathroom and one of the gunmen dragged
Judy out of the bedroom in a way. The other
two opened fire on Leslie through the door. Duty and
the children were in the living room when Leslie's body
was carried through the house and loaded into the boot
of his very distinctive pink Ford Futura. There are fourth man,
believed to be Rodney Collins, a hit man, waited to
drive them away.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
His body and his pink Ford Fortura car were never found.
The theory that both could have been crushed into a
tiny cube a car crushing scrap metal yard is hard
to discount. Quote from the brutal Lions of the King
brothers Andrew Ruhl and Mark Butler January twentieth, twenty twenty one,
Erd Son. Of course, as I just mentioned, it's quite
(08:03):
difficult to be a criminal. I can only imagine though,
the absolute terror of three. They didn't kill the wife
and kids, no, so.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
One son, two daughters plus the wife. It was more
so that a message could be sent to Brian.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
Absolutely, if we can get to Leslie, guess what.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Yeah, we can come into your home, we can hold
your family hostage, we can remove you, and you'll never
be found again. And that's a very very clear message.
And I'm sure, I am sure that the other King
brother is not going to escalate the situation whatsoever. He's
going to accept his warning and go, Well, that's it
(08:43):
for me. My life of crime is over. I'm going
to become a reformed missionary and go and do charitable
work around the world. I'm sure that's exactly what's going
to happen anyway, Holly, take it away, tell us about
his missionary work as he reformed.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Because of the code of silence that the only witness
observed following the murder, It was four days before Leslie's
disappearance made it into the papers, and even longer before
any sign of investigation appeared. Because of Judy Kaine's observation
of the criminal's code of silence. Four days passed before
Leslie's disappearance made it into newspapers, and even longer before
(09:23):
any sign of an investigation appeared.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Police appealed to the public for help yesterday over the
disappearance of a leading painter and Dockers unionist whom they
think may have been murdered in a suburban home. It
is feared that mister Leslie Kane, thirty three, may have
been abducted from his home on Thursday night. Police want
to hear from anyone who may have heard gunshots or
suspicious sounds that evening. Quote from the Camera Times Sunday,
(09:46):
twenty seventh of October nineteen seventy eight, page three, Police
appeal as if the Caines neighbors are going to say.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Shit, not if they know what's good for them.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Yeah, absolutely not. You never get involved in that sort
of nonsense. I mean, there's always some overly enthusiastic person
who wants to speak to police to be part of
the investigation, make themselves feel really good. But if I'm
living next to a crime world. The only words out
of my mouth is, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
Well, there's an eighty year old gossip on the corner
who's half senile and doesn't quite understand what she's telling
the cops.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Exactly. Do you think the police.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
Cared about the fact it was Leslie Kane? No, about
the fact that people have been having their houses broken into.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Possibly, I just don't know. Like, I don't give the
Victorian police a hell of a lot of credit around
this era, because we worth pointed out before. I can't
remember what episode it was, but it's very they're very
much implicated in murdering witnesses and doing reprisal attacks.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
That's the Wall Street shooting. Yeah, now, this wouldn't be
an Australian story without someone throwing in a crappy joke
regatting the incident.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Les Kane died in vain. He was pulling out gray
whiskers in front of the mirror when his killers came
calling with machine guns. Quote from The Brutal Wiams of
the King Brothers Andrew Ruhl and Mark Butler January twentieth,
twenty twenty one. Herold's son, I may be an idiot.
Here's what's the joke.
Speaker 5 (11:10):
Vain as in very particular about his appearance, and he
was plucking gray hairs.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Oh, he died in vain because he's too vain.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Because he was vain.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yes, oh, I cay.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
That's why it's a crappy joke, because no one thinks
it's funny, but it's still there.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
It's really clever. It's really clever wordplay.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Despite Leslie's murder, Judy Keane adhered to the Painters and
Docker's code of silence and did not contact the police.
Authorities eventually caught wind of rumors regarding Leslie's disappearance and
questioned Judy, but she remained uncooperative.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Mister Laurence Pendergas twenty eight, the laborer of Essenden, was
remanded in custody until December eight and Melbourne City Court
yesterday on a charge of having murdered missing painter and
Docker mister Leslie Herbert Kane. On October nineteen, head of
the Homicide Squad, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Delanes, said mister
Pendergass was arrested in a raid on a house at
(12:02):
five thirty am yesterday. Quote from the camera Times Saturday
at second of December nineteen seventy eight, page three murder
charge to play Devil's advocate as well, would it be
fair to say that Duty was probably worried about the
lives of her family.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
Yes, her step kids were definitely something she was very
worried about.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
So I think you're in a very precarious position there
where you are a criminal family. She is aware that
they're a criminal family. She understands the code of conduct.
I guess, for lack of a better turn when it
comes to.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Is still following rules? It is still a code of conduct.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Yeah, so there's a certain code of conduct there. But
I think the most pressing thing for her would be
I am not going to point fingers, because as soon
as I point fingers, my family is in danger and
I am in danger. So at this point it's better
to say, yes, he's disappeared, I don't know where he is,
I don't know what happened, and then leave it at that. So,
if I wanted to play Devil's advocate here, I don't
know if she was necessarily being too concerned with keeping
(12:57):
up the criminal code, but was more concerned for her
own life and that of her children.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Well, the criminal code is snitches get stitches.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Exactly, so you know, you've got to be very, very careful.
So I understand why she did what she did.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
I don't know how well known it was in the
seventies and eighties, what the painters and doctors.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Were up to.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
But the newspapers never point out why he gets attacked,
and never point out his associates or any reason or
motive for this random machine gun shooting in a house
in suburbia. So I feel like there would have been
a lot of Melbourneites who are very scared at that
point in time.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
I don't know, like it's a sort of it's a
difficult one to really nail down. Like I could ask
my father who was living in Victoria at the time,
and maybe get some contacts for our next episode. I will,
I'll have to have a chat with him about it.
But I think that what it probably boils down to
is the journalists, the police, and the crime figures are
(14:00):
sort of involved in let's say it, they're profiting off associations.
Let's just say so journalists who work with police, they
form a bond of relationship and the police in question
that Let's say you know, you focus on a police officer,
they will maybe give out tidbits, you know, bits and
(14:22):
pieces of information. So perhaps the police had said to them, well, look,
there is a bigger story coming. This is all you're
allowed to talk about and off the record. This is
probably what's going on, and once we're happy with the
progress of the investigation, you'll be able to print the rest.
Does that make sense, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Yes, yeah, symbotic parasitic kind of relationship.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I think it's more of a symbotic relationship between the
police and the media. And now, like honestly there's no look,
they're outside of independent journalism and maybe the Guardian, maybe
some of the smaller publications. There is a very very
little investigative journalism that happens today because there's no budget
for it. There's no you know, you look a camera
(15:07):
for example, Camera Times staple newspaper for a long time.
Now they've transitioned over to a website. Tell me in camera, Holly,
where do you think you'd find the journalists? Sydney there
you go, you know, And that's that's the problem, is,
like there's decentralization and remote working, so to actually have
(15:28):
a member of the press go out into the community
is something that is incredibly rare these days. That's not
how it was back in the day. You know, a
journalist would have a network of people. They would know
some politicians, they would know some police, they would low
community leaders, and they would get all of those perspectives
when they were forming their articles. You know. So if
(15:49):
I was you know, had a contact within the police
who said to me, like, you can publish this, but
don't publish this, but there's a bigger story coming and
then you'll be able to activate the rest of your
network to add you know, a bit of social commentary
and things like that. You know you're going to wait.
And there were also many corrupt journalists at the time,
just like they were corrupt police. And those three people,
(16:12):
those three groups, the police, criminals and some of the
journalists were definitely in like a very very profitable symbiotic relationship.
Because you've also got to remember who funds newspapers at
the time. Well, big business there will get to it eventually,
but how much big business was involved in these guys
as well? Spoiler a lot more than none. So there's
(16:37):
a lot of reasons there that they could have shaped
the article in that way. I actually worked in newspapers,
so I get to use some actual acquired knowledge.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
With Leslie Kane missing, presumed dead, Brian kan lost his shit. Well,
Leslie was often claimed to be the psychotic one. When
he lost his temper, Brian became obsessed with settling the
score and he wasn't going to target Bennett's family. He
was going to take the man down himself.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
What's happening here? We can assume that Bennett is preempting
the Canes coming after them because the Caine brothers still
had their nose out of joint over not getting what
they considered their fair share of the booking money from
the previous episode.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
Yeah, and the insults delivered to them afterwards, such as
Brian Kaine now missing part of his ear.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Yeah, so they've suffered a lot of embarrassment. And do
you blame the Bennetts's And that's what I find fascinating
about criminal families going back and forth, Like I feel
like Bennett put everything on the table, organized, everything, had
his plan, And I mean, I guess that's just the
(17:43):
danger of working with psychopaths and psychotics and sociopaths, isn't it.
You know, you need that sort of personality type in
order to pull off a good job. But the problem
is that you then have to deal with those personality.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
Types and the greed that comes along with've seen all
of that money.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
And that's why it's harder to be a criminal. Like honestly,
it's just harder to be a criminal.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
It's easier if you're on your own.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
It is absolutely like if I was if I was
a bank robber, I think I would be very similar
to like the postcard bandit, you know what I mean,
like maybe one or two very close people, like if
I were, if I was to go rob banks, and
it's pretty much impossible now, but if I was to
go out rob banks, the only person I've got beside
(18:28):
me is Holly. She's the only person I trust, and
we both have vested interest in keeping each other alive
and scoring the big score. So that's who I'm working with,
and I'm not bringing anyone else into that. You know,
you only need two people who shotguns to rob a bank,
or at least you did in the nineteen eighties.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
You said scoring this score, and I just heard baby
driver y made.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
You know, So that's what I would do. You know,
you would you keep it within the family, or you
would keep it within you know, you're very very close circle.
Speaker 5 (18:57):
And then you still worry about them stubbing you in
the back.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Yeah, absolutely, because that happens as well. And it's about
you know, once you have to expand out into much
bigger operations where you require six people with shotguns, that's
generally when this sort of shit kicks off. But yeah,
you would assume at this time everyone is guessing that
it was the Bennetts that pulled off the hit, the abduction,
(19:20):
in the murder. Though Leslie Kane has never been found, no,
not even today, so technically speaking, still dis missing. He
is just a missing person. He is absolutely fucking dead.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Bullet was seventy eight, so that's what fifty fifty two
years fifty three.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Oh, he was killed. He was killed and disposed of.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
Yeah, he'd be in his eighties even if he was alive,
which we know he wasn't.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
The three suspects of the Leslie Kane murder, Fraemon Bennett,
Vincent Michelson, and Lawrence Pendigas, were eventually charged with murder
after vigorous investigations.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Mister Vincent William Francis Mickelson thirty two, formerly of broad Meadows, Victoria,
appeared in Karetha police call in the Far North of
Carata Police Court in the Far North of Western Australia,
Changs with having murdered mister Caine on or about October nineteen.
Mister Kaine's body has not been found. Mister Michelson was
arrested at Caratha after an extensive inquiries by detectives of
(20:15):
the Melbourne, Perth and Caratha Criminal Investigation Branches. Quote from
The Camera Times, Tuesday, nineteenth of nineteenth of January nineteen
seventy nine, page seven quarter reports Court reports you.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
Should have used your old timey voice sept seventies.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
So currently not I mean in the seventies the voice
would be more like't It wouldn't be yuppy yet, but
it would be that conversion from hippie sixty language to
yuppy language. It's just around that time.
Speaker 5 (20:47):
Unfortunately, the case against the men became a larger issue
when one considered, as the judge did, that there was
no real crime scene, no evidence, no witness is willing
to come forward and most importantly nobody.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
I mean on all accounts, He's right right.
Speaker 5 (21:02):
Judy would have cleaned up the house. So there goes
your crime scene. There's no witnesses willing to tell because
Judy doesn't want to say, and there's nobody.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
So effectively she has just said, my husband's missing. I
don't know where he is. Pretty much what are the
circumstances of his disappearance? He was here then he wasn't.
Can we investigate your house?
Speaker 5 (21:20):
No, don't come in my house. Okay, well we can't
do anything.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
So as far as the judge's concerned, and who's to
say that judges were not on the take as well?
Speaker 5 (21:30):
This one's illegally, this one's illegally sound Russian elbow.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
So well, you can't argue with it because as far
as and I've always said that too, like there's a
difference between justice and the law. Right. Law is legal
proceedings with rules. Justice is a more calmic effect. Let's
say so that those two things are very different, and
the judge is right, what can you do when you
(21:55):
have no information?
Speaker 5 (21:57):
All the prosecution had was a missing and a few
people with the motivation to do him in.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
A warrant of apprehension was issued for mister Raymond Chuck,
also known as mister Raymond Bennett. Mister Mason found that
mister Kane, thirty three of died on October nineteen last
year from the effects of gunshot wounds feloniously, unlawfully and
maliciously infinflicted by mister Michelson, mister Pendergast and mister Bennett.
Please if not guilty were entered by mister Pentdegast and
(22:24):
mister Michelson. Quote from the Camera Times, Friday, the fifteenth
of June nineteen seventy nine, page three. Docer's death too
for trial. I'm shocked that they took to trial.
Speaker 5 (22:34):
Well, they were trying to get them on anything even
grown up to court date. They were trying to find
evidence in new charges to put on them.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
How did they get that before the court?
Speaker 5 (22:44):
It's the seventies, and like you said, there's probably a
few judges on the take. But there's also this this
overall social thing. If we've got to do something about
the mafia and the gun crews and the robbers and
everyone who's targeting Melbourne at this point, So anyone we
can get hold of for any reason is a good idea.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Because if I was a prosecutor looking to take that case,
I'd be fucking terrified.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Yeah, there's no way I win. The ast I can
do is tie them up in jail for another three months.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Yeah, well, I mean, what can you say, Oh, well,
these criminals all associated with each other and we think
there was bad blood. Therefore they killed them because you know,
they had shitty all like, they probably had alibis. Like
whether they were shitty or not, but they probably had
alibis as well.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
Hey, everyone on their crew would have been like, no,
they were with me that night.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
And you have no physical evidence to put well, not
only their crew, but their friends and family often would
vouch for them, So you can't put them there. So
why bother.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
It's again, tie them up in jail for another three months,
keep them off the street for another three months.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
And just like you suggested, Holly, just demonstrate to the
public that hey, we're doing some trying. We're trying. Yeah,
that's interesting.
Speaker 5 (23:48):
The men were acquitted in September nineteen seventy nine. What
a shock, Owing to the lack of evidence and no
proof that Leslie Kane was dead. Chuck pikershrew face like
Ryan kin knew who the men were who killed his brother,
and he was determined to avenge Leslie. One way or another.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Bryan became obsessed with a payback. He saw Michaelson's barristera
at a nightclub after the acquittal and told him he
was going and cut your client's head off, and then
I'm going to leave it on your front doorstep. And see,
these people are associate with each other. That's what I
was talking about. You know, whether you're the lawyer or
the judge or the cops, more often than not you
could find all four in the same clubs.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
Having a drink at the same table.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Yeah. Another time, when he found the lawyer in a bar,
see what I mean, he pulled a gun on him,
and as a reminder that not all was forgiven, one
of Kin's best friends, Graham the Munster Kinnenberg, knocked the
gun out of his hand. Quote from Killer Caine by
John Silvers by John Sylvester and Andrew Rule, October twenty third,
two thousand and nine at Sydney Morning Herald. I couldn't
(24:50):
think of anything more stupid and unhinged to do. It's
a fucking lawyer and you've got witnesses.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
Yeah, in a public place, dude.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
And you've now threatened them. Twice. Wonder if that lawyer
was reconsidering his number one where he goes to have
a drink and number two his career as a as
a lawyer for criminals events.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
If it was me, I would be reconsidering living in
the fucking state.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yeah, consletely absolutely.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
Kinneber later aligned himself with our fones Gagatino, who was
engaged in a violent rivalry with Mark Chopper Reid. Kinneber
was supposedly out of the house when Gangatino was killed,
further leaking him to some of the most violent events
in Melbourne's criminal timeline. And we'll talk about that one
next week.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
And if you want more on Reid, we did like
three parts or two parts, two parts on Reid, so
that we've covered Chopper read so if you want to
go back and listen to that.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
The episode numbers are in the in the episode notes.
I went through and I pulled out all of our
Gangland episodes.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Now, whether he did that or not, I don't know.
He used to take credit for a lot of shit,
whether he did it or not, So maybe he did,
maybe he didn't, we don't know. And we have a
quote here Brian who once told colorful detective Brian Skull Murphy,
it'd have liked to be a policeman and his own
investigation while ducking around Melbourne to stay ahead of the
(26:15):
killers he was aiming to kill first. He even offered
to pay police for help in tracking down the enemy.
In the end, Bennett thought it would be safer in
custody so did not apply for bail on a relatively
minor charge. But that decision gave the Cane camp a
chance because they knew Bennett would have to appear in court.
The brutal lives of the Caine brothers, Andrew Rule and
Mark Butler.
Speaker 5 (26:36):
Once the notice of Bennett's pending court date was finalized,
Cain's ideas were pulled into place, accomplices were contacted, and
the plan was assembled.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
It's like the stupid Avengers of the Stupid eighteen. When
you said it like that, I just imaginally dick heads
with a cigarette hanging out of the well, or that
the eighteen played in my head, and they're like assembling
a shit player.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
Because Power Ranger's Ord's coming together.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
We watch a lot of team based pop culture, don't
we We do? Yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
On November nineteen, nineteen eighty Brian Kin made good on
his threats. Bennett was a major target for law enforcement
and rival criminals alike. It would not be easy to
get to.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I mean he stole a bunch of booking money from
the mob. Yeah, like fuck.
Speaker 5 (27:22):
He was facing five charges, three of which were for
armed robbery and would thus be under a moderate amount
of guard. But this was Melbourne in the years leading
very quickly to the Wall Street shooting. Corrupt police were
really easy to find.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
And we did an episode on that, as I mentioned earlier,
if you'd like a little bit more info.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
At about ten fifteen am, Bennett was escorted from the
City Court to Courtroom ten. When the three detectives reached
the bottom of the stairs to the courtroom, Senior Detective
Noel Anderson went into the courtroom. Senior Detective Phil Glare
climbed to the top of the stairs to peek into
the room and make sure all the witnesses were attending.
Senior Detective John McGavin and Bennett remained at the bottom
(28:00):
of the stairs. Blair called for Bennett to be brought up.
When they reached the top of the stairs, a bearded
man stood up off a seat. He walked it within
a meter of Bennett and shot him three times, twice
in the chest and once in the hand. The Govin
tried to grab the gunman, but the weapon was turned
on him. The gunman ordered glare as they put and
as they were unarmed, they had no way to stop
the gun toting man as he fled through a side
(28:22):
door and down a different set of stairs.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Now, just before I read this quote here, Holly, the
way you sort of set that up, you implicated the
police officers at the time, or you were just suggesting
that overall corruption allowed for this man with this gun
to be in caught at that time.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
The running theory is that there were cops involved, whether
it was these specific three, but there were definitely cops.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Involved, Yeah, because you know, how do you put someone
with a gun in the middle of the court to
them be able to get up see the dude chewed
him and then get out really quickly. And of course
this person knew the layout to escape.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Yeah, which means he's been in court at least once.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
At least once, so yeah, there is the implication there
that there was some sort of corrupt police involvement. And
now we have this quote Raymond Patrick Bennett was ushered
from the holding cells through the old City Court in
Russell Street to go to an upstairs court Russell Street.
Obviously we'll have some history later on check out the
Russell Street bombings. See this is why we did all
those episodes before doing these.
Speaker 5 (29:21):
We have context and it was being held in old
Melbourne jail. We did two episodes on this, yes.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
And we've covered a lot of a strain history we have.
Speaker 5 (29:28):
It's a lot of episodes.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Before he was led through the dock, he passed the
cell with a message scrawled on the wall, a Chuck,
you will get yours in due course, you fucking dog.
A minute or so after he was esqutted upstairs, there
were three shots and the sound of running feet. A
man looking like a solicitor in a dark suit with
spectacles and a beard jumped up as two wary detectives
led Chuck past him, snarled cop this motherfucker and shot
(29:54):
him with a subnose at thirty eight pistol. Quote from
The Brutal Lives that the king brothers Andrew Brall and
Mark Butler.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
The killer was described as being bearded, but not much
more than that. Sixty eight minutes after it was shot,
and it died at Saint Vincent's Hospital while undergoing emergency surgery.
The shooter fled down a pre arranged escape route, at
the end of which was a corrugated iron wall, behind
which was the magistrate's parking area. One of the panels
had already been pre removed for an easier escape.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
It's a corrupt legal system, no matter which way you
look at it, isn't it. Yeah. You know, whether it's
the stenographer, the police, or the judge who removed that panel,
someone within the legal system is acting with the criminals.
So you know, I think you're one hundred percent right.
There is corruption somewhere there. Cops don't get paid.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
That much, y, No, they don't, especially back in the seventy.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
And out of all the I'm sort of thinking through
it's like, you know, it's either the clerks, stenographer or
a cop, well.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
The court security guard who's like, I don't get paid
anywhere near enough of this shit.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:55):
The identity of the shooter has never been officially revealed,
but it's theorized that the shooter was Brian Kan and
the driver of the guinaway car was his brother Raymond Kane.
They reportedly drove to the airport and hooked it to
Perth for a bit.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Raymond Patrick Bennett, thirty one, was shot three times in
the chest as he was being escorted between courtrooms by
four detectives. Police believed that a fifty thousand dollars contract
had been put out on Bennett. The bearded gunman threatened
the detectives with a snubnose thirty three revolver before shooting
Bennett and fleeing from a side entrance at the courthouse
for waning maroon colored holden. Police said. Quote from the
(31:31):
Pampa New Guinea in Post Curia, Tuesday, the thirteenth of
November nineteen seventy nine, at page seven, the world and
I would argue that in this day and age, you
really couldn't get away with that. With artificial intelligence and
facial regnition technology.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
Well just a shit ton of cameras that are hanging
around stuff.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
It's really interesting how quickly Australia became civilized in the nineties,
isn't it.
Speaker 5 (31:54):
It's amazing how quickly it became surveiled.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
Well, I mean yes and no, it was always probably
the goal eventually, but you know, this year I was
called for jury duty. So I went, and unfortunately I
was dismissed. Because I wanted to see how the process worked.
I thought it would have been great to have that
context for future podcast episode. So I was pretty keen
to go through the whole experience. I know most people
don't want to do jury duty, and I understand that completely.
(32:21):
But you know, you walk through metal detectors and there
are two police officers, proper police officers, because the police
station is attached, and there are two police officers there
fully armed. As you're going through as you would expect,
you know, then you're let into another room, and there
are so many locked doors and so much of the
courthouse can be sectioned off that this sort of thing
(32:44):
I think would be nearly impossible in this day and.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Age, not without severe corruption.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah, exactly, you would need a lot of help be
able to pull this off today.
Speaker 5 (32:52):
That fifty thousand dollar contract way back then is now
worth two hundred and forty thousand dollars. It's not really
that much true human life, even a criminal one late that.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Yeah, but do you think they really give human life
a lot of value? These people they wanted revenge, and
there was probably someone there who was willing to do
it as well. If it was one of the King brothers.
They obviously didn't claim their own contract anyway, did they
n Because they would have been the ones who put
it out.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
It would have been like, all right, first person, you're
getting wins?
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Yeah, yeah, you can't. You can't put a contract on
someone for fifty grand, kill that person and then take
the money off yourself, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
Well you could if you use a credit card. Hey, yeah,
I'm fifty thousand dollars. Event there were persistant rumors that
certain police helped set up the hit, as well as
a few other points in the plan being pre arranged
and pre organized.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
There is the miner mystery of the gardener seen in
them car park behind the City Court the day before
the hit on Les Kane, where the hole appeared in
the Court's garage wall. Quote from the Brutal Lives of
the King Brothers Rule d Butler.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
In return for avenging his brother, Brian became a marked man,
especially by Bennett friends. One such man was hit man
Russell Cox.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Brian Kane had the covert support of some crime squad
detectives because the story went they thought he was the
lesser of two evils. The decision to murder Les Kane
in his own home in front of his wife and
children was a step too far, they said, old time
crooks like the Canes. When it's stooped to that. Then again,
perhaps wrote police wanted the same thing. The Canes had
(34:24):
a slice of the great Bookie Robbery loot. The Bookie
robbery cursed almost everyone who had anything to do with it.
Quote from the brutal Lives of the Cane brothers, Andrew
Rule and Mark Butler.
Speaker 5 (34:36):
With Bennett dead, Brian briefly went into hiding, knowing that
retaliation was inevitable. However, he did not remain in the
shadows for long. On November twenty sixth, nineteen eighty two,
Brian met his female acquaintance, Sarah Walsh, at a coffee
shop on Lyden Street in Melbourne. It was also known
as Little Italy. I wonder if you can guess why.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
A Matthew, Probably because of all of the Italian restaurants.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
It's the home base for the U Itali in the
Cambrian Mafia.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
But I bet you there was a bunch of Italian
restaurants there too.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
Quite possible. He arranged for a friend to borrow Walsh's
V twelve Jaguar and instructed them to bring it to
the Quarry Hotel At eight pm that afternoon, he and
Walsh left the coffee shop to run errands, including getting
a haircut. At nine pm, Bryan arrived at the Quarry
Hotel in Leigan Street, where he began socializing and buying drinks.
He was well aware of the danger surrounding him, but
(35:27):
carried himself with the same confidence that he had defined
that had defined his criminal career. As he took a seat,
two masked gunmen stormed into the hotel and fired multiple
shots from thirty eight snubnosed revolvers, which seemed to be
his favorite among all these people, the same kind of
weapon that Kine had allegedly used to kill Bennett. The
assassins shot him in the chest and head at point
(35:47):
blank range. He was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital
for Bryan succumbed to his injuries on the operating table.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Father Brosnan's best boxing student, dined again. He was fighting okay, right,
so that's a boxing term. Died game. He shoved his
female companion out of harm's way, then up ended the
table to try and foil the two master assassins. The
shooters have never been officially identified, although Russell Cox's name
(36:15):
is often mentioned with that of a murderous reptile named
Rodney Collins, who did the world a favor.
Speaker 5 (36:20):
By ty let us know how you really feel.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
Jesus ruling Butler chill a fuck ass. Ray Cain lived
longer than his better known brothers, but did not live better.
It was a standover man and thief and eventually was
jailed for murdering his ex girlfriend, who served his time
and died of natural causes a few years ago. Only
a few old time Richmond identities were still around for
his funeral. It was, in some ways the end of
(36:45):
an era. Quote from the Brutal Wives of Caine brothers
Rule and Butler. So that's it, that's the end of
the came brothers and everything was fine and everyone was avenged.
Speaker 5 (36:56):
Yeah, there's absolutely no way that one of the kids
is going to end up melding do a different family
or anything.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
You know. And that's this thing. It's like this just
this escalation of violence and it's not like obviously the
public gets caught up in this all the time, you know,
especially during the Gangland Wars, members of the public were
inevertently killed. But generally speaking, it's just idiots going back
and forth.
Speaker 5 (37:19):
Your tat orna.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
You slighted me, I'm going to slight you. You slided
me back, I'm going to slight you. And it's just
back and forth and back and forth.
Speaker 5 (37:28):
The only difference between them and a kindergarten having a slap.
Fighters effected the Gangland killers have guns.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
Yeah, well, they're just a dog with a fucking bone,
aren't they. That's all they're doing.
Speaker 5 (37:38):
The murder of Brian Kan sent another ripple through Melbourne's underworld,
reinforcing the relentless cycle of retribution that defined the era.
Police were met with blank stairs and silence as they
attempted to investigate, encountering the same code of silence that
had hindered their inquiries into Leslie Kane's murder years earlier.
The primary suspects in Brian's murder included Michelson, friend of gar,
(38:00):
an unnamed hitman, and Russell Cox, all of whom had
strong motives for eliminating him. The disappearance of Prendegast in
August nineteen eighty five only added to the speculation and
secrecy surrounding these violent events.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
Not long before Brian Kin met his end in nineteen
eighty two, Brian Murphy saw him in the street late
at night, obviously drunk or drugged or both. But Murphy
asked why he was in such a state. Kine said,
I've got nothing to live for. He was shot a
week later. The brutal lives of the Caine brothers Rule
and Butler.
Speaker 5 (38:33):
While this was the end of the Kin brothers themselves,
their extended family was still in deep with the crime
Word of Melbourne. Dezanne Kan, Leslie's daughter, was later charged
as an accessory after the fact in the murder of
Desmond Moran in Ascot Vale in June two thousand and
nine in connection to Judy Moran, the matriarch of the
Moran family at the time. Dizann Kane was sentenced in
(38:53):
February two, twenty eleven, to two years in jail, though
her sentence was suspended for two years. The Kane brothers
connections to Keith figures in organized crime, including the Marine Family,
Gangatino and Kinnerbra place some at the heart of one
of the most turbulent periods in austraaing criminal history. Their
stories were later depicted in various media, including the Underbelly series,
(39:16):
which brought their exploits to a broader audience. The cycle
of violence, revenge and power struggles that define their lives
continued to shape Melbourne's criminal landscape long after their deaths,
and with.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
The death of the Kine Brothers, that wraps up the
Melbourne gang Land Wars, we had done out of here
finished ha.
Speaker 5 (39:34):
Ha oh, No, we have another. I think it's like
forty eight murders to go looking.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
This shit has only thus started, So do a little
bit of homework. We've got the Chopper Reid series, which
if you'd like a bit more contact on Chopper Reid,
because we are going to bring him up again, you
can go check out those two episodes. And we also
did I think it was two episodes on the Wall
Street Shooting. Yep, those great primers for like, they were
(40:02):
a sort of a microcosm of what the Gangland Wars became.
So go check that out. And as I said in
the previous episode, please don't watch the under Belly TV
series until you've listened to this so you have proper context.
You can see where that added their dramatic elements as well.
Because the Underbelly series is not at documentary no, it
is not no, it's fictionalized drama television, so you have
(40:23):
to keep that in mind based on true events. So
that brings us to the conclusion of the King Brothers.
If you'd like to reach out to us, you can
do so via social media. You can just type in
Weekrap and Austrainer into the search bar of your social
media of choice and shoot us a DM. You can
also shoot us a good old fashioned email through Weekrap
and Austraia at gmail dot com and if you ever
(40:44):
have anything you'd like to send us through the post,
our post office box is listed on the Facebook page.
You can also help support the show in a couple
of different ways, first and foremost being Vitreon friendly five
dollars a month. You get uncut episodes early as well
as bonus minisodes that are only there for our Patreon supporters.
Big thank you, of course for all for our Patreon supporters.
(41:05):
You can also grab yourself a week Crap in Australia
T shirt from our Red Bubble and Tee public stores.
Just typing we Crapping Austraya into the search engine and
you can also grab yourself our book series We Crap
in Austraia out Volume one two five are available now
our great mates over at Impactcomics dot com dot Au. Now,
Mal just did send us a message to say he
was out of stock on book one and book five
(41:27):
and book five. So that's our latest book. So thank
you very much for selling us out on our first run,
because he ordered quite a few this year for the
first run, didn't he h Yeah, it was quite a
few books. So thank you very much for selling us out.
We really really appreciate that, honestly, from the bottom of
our hearts. Thank you. You're helping us. You're helping a
small business. You're helping an independent operation. It's just me
(41:49):
and Holly. We're not associated with any big business, so
big thanks to you. So Volume five should be back
in stock, Holly, have a date when it should be there.
Speaker 5 (42:00):
About two weeks time.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
Usually it takes right, So today is the as A
twenty fourth, twenty fourth so forwards the end of March. Yeah,
those should be back in stock for you guys at
Impact Comics dot Com. What are you if you are
missing out on volume five, and it's always great to
see the volume one runs out because that means that
there are people taking it up for the very first time,
(42:22):
So thank you for that. That is pretty much all
the things that I have to sprook above before we
let you go. Our little tradition here is to give
Holly the final words. And for the Gangland series, she's
finding Reddit stories from everyday people who encounter Gangland. Figures,
what have you got for us this way? Collie?
Speaker 5 (42:39):
I have a little story from Nikki DM. He used
to work in a club and was asked every Saturday
night to keep an eye out for a small group
of guys. They would hang around my spot next to
a particular bar, and I'd make sure that they didn't
get too rowdy. Sometimes i'd intervene if it looked like
there was going to be tension with other punters. So
after many months of spending every Saturday night with these guys,
(43:01):
we were on good terms. One of them was a
chair of faced guy called Carl standing on my box
looking over the crowd. Al was standing next to me.
We'd often have a chat.
Speaker 3 (43:10):
I know who this Carl is.
Speaker 5 (43:13):
He told me to look down. He had a small
nine millimeter gun pointed at my leg and was grinning
from ear to ear. I told him off for having
it and got stroppy with him. He became very sheepish,
apologized and said he'd never bring it to the club again.
He scurried off and returned without it an hour later. Anyhow,
he ended up getting killed in prison. Ah Williams never
had any idea.
Speaker 3 (43:34):
If you have ever wondered why Carl Williams picked up
the reputation of dopey shithead, it's because of crap like that. Yeah,
that's why. Because like, think about it from this perspective,
very very quickly, because I know we're trying to finish
the episode very very quickly. Look at it from this perspective.
He thought he was being clever or smart, or intimidating
(43:56):
or impressive, right, So he wanted an ego boost. So
he thought the best way to do that was to
point a nine millimeter gun at a person who's been
nice to him. This young lady turns around and admonishes him,
and he accept the admonishment like a child deservedly. So
runs away, comes back an hour later and tells her,
(44:18):
I put my gun back at home. I'm sorry. And
people wonder, and he himself wondered why he was depicted
as a dopey shithead in Underbelly because he did dope shit,
Because he did dopey shit like that. That's a fantastic story.
Thank you for another good one, Holly Well. That said
for us from the Weak Crap in Australia Podcast, Thank
you so much. Please be kind to each other out there,
(44:40):
stay safe and we will see you next week for
more week Crap in Australia till then bye for now.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
By a strange, spiraling white light was spotted in the
early morning sky over Sydney, with even skeptical witnesses wondering
if it was a UFO.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
They were last seen on the beach with a tall
man and that's the best description police have ever had.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
A bit more than seventeen years after Harold Holt disappeared
into raging surf at Chevy a Beach, his widow has
finally revealed his last romantic words.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Docky, terrifying, mesmerizing.
Speaker 1 (45:11):
That's the way a number of Australians have described their
alleged encounter with the Yowe. It's time The Weed Crap
In Australia podcast
A strange, spiraling white light was spotted in the early
morning sky over Sydney, with even skeptical witnesses wondering if
it was a UFO.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
They were last seen on the beach with a tall
man and that's the best description police have ever.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Had of it.
Speaker 4 (00:14):
More than seventeen years after Harold Holt disappeared into raging
surf at Chevy A Beach, his widow has finally revealed
his last romantic words.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Gocky, terrifying, mesmerizing.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
That's the way a number of Australians have described the
alleged encounter with the yower. It's time for the Weed
Crap in Australia podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Welcome to the Weed Crap in Australia Podcast. I'm your
host Matthew sol Joining me for another episode is the
researcher Extraordinary hollysoul Me and this is episode three hundred
and fifty two. But before we get into that, I
have to say this week has been an interesting week
in regards to teaching Holly. Some of the things that
(01:06):
I've been learning in my counselor's course, especially behavioralism. How
have you been feeling about that, Holly?
Speaker 5 (01:12):
I don't like the fact that you're doing this.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I was explaining some sort of behavioralism and some of
the studies between Pavlov and BF Skinner. Most people would
know of Pavlov's dogs, and if you don't jump on
YouTube type in the Pavlov's dog experiment, you'll learn something.
You'll enjoy it. So I was sort of explaining this
all to Holly, and I set up this basic idea
of her pushing a button, and you know, I had
(01:37):
a little prop there that was a button, And there
was a certain point where Holly acknowledged that I was
creating a behavior. She understood the behavior, but I still
was able to compel her to push that button for
a third time. And you looked at me and you said,
I don't want you doing this anymore, and then just
walked away. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
I am not a guinea pig.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Because the way that I learn is that I have
to I learn, and then I talk about it and
then I do something a bit practical or I try
and explain it to someone else, and that helps me
solidify my ideas. So Holly was helping me study. That's
effectively what I was. What I was doing, But the
amount of fear that just like sort of put on
a face. I was like, Okay, maybe I better not
(02:20):
experiment on my wife any anymore.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Thank you. I can't believe it something you had to
think in the first place.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Well, you know it's benign, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
At the moment, anything hurt is my pride, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
And that's like two weeks from now. You know, you're
wearing a particular outfit for particular reasons, and I turn
around and go, hey, you know how you've been wearing
that outfit for the last two weeks. Yeah, that's a
behavior I created about a month ago. What would I
think that would be divorce at that point?
Speaker 5 (02:52):
Weren't it pretty close? You have to lock you in
a room and not talk to you for six months.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
It makes me wonder because I'm four weeks into my
diploma now. Obviously there's forty eight other weeks to go.
But you know, I really enjoy this sort of subject matter,
and I think that there are people who study because,
you know, they want to improve their career in their life,
and that's certainly me. I do fall into that category.
But I've also picked something that I quite enjoy, and
(03:20):
I like understanding how people think. Can behave and act
and messing with it and no a little bit. And
so yeah, that's how I effectively study is I learned
something and then I take it into the real world
to see how it applies. So good thing. I have
mostly utilitarian views on things, Holly, I generally just want
(03:43):
to help people. Good for now anyway, time, that's a
nice little diversion to get us all warmed up and
ready as we delve into Part two of the Melbourne
gang Land War. Now, just a quick refresher. Previous episode,
we talked about the Canes. That was correct, wasn't it, Hollis,
(04:05):
and how they may or may not have been though
probably were and definitely were involved in robbing some bookies
who were also attached to other criminal outfits. So that's
where we're at now. I believe it's going to kick
off pretty hard, right.
Speaker 5 (04:24):
I mean, it started with an escalation of Raymond Bennett
beating the crap out of the older Caine brother, the
older Cain brother beating the crap out of one of
his friends and threatening him, and then someone bit off
the older Cain brother's ear, and now we're just escalating
over and over and.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Overon all because someone's just going to be happy with
their fair share of the prize, money, the stolen goods.
That's how it always goes with these people.
Speaker 5 (04:48):
Greed is a motivating factor in everything they do.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
One of the podcasters I listened to, Ed from last
podcast on the Left, has often said being a criminal
sometimes can be much more more difficult than being an
average go to work Joe, Right.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
Well, there's a higher chance of getting shot unless you
live in America.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah. Like, I happen to agree with him. You know,
even when you think about like dealing drugs and things
like that, like risk or reward is just so extreme
that on its face value, And I'm not advocating drug
dealing ladies and gentlemen, but on its face value, it
seems like it's you're just better off going and get
a job. It seems like less stress and less effort,
(05:30):
doesn't it.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah, take the cover job and make that your main job,
and suddenly life is easier.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Yeah, exactly right. Anyway, let's kick it off part too.
Melbourne Gangland Wars Take Away.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
Holly On October nineteen, nineteen seventy eight, Leslie, Kane, Judy
and their children return to their unit after visiting his
brother Brian and other members of the Kane family. Judy
headed upstairs to dress down, remove her jewelry and so forth.
Leslie followed her, heading for the bathroom.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I've never heard the term dressed down, but I like it.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
It's it's probably old talk. It's where you go from
being like dressed to the lines who dressed to home.
Judy discovered three gunmen waiting in their bedroom, armed with
silence machine guns. One silenced her before she could shout
a warning.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
And by silence you mean shot or.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
Hand over the mouth, yanker anyway.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Silence machine guns. Again, we're talking about the eighties. These
sort of weapons were seventies. Sorry, seventies, thank you, Ellie.
These sort of weapons were far more common, obviously than
they are today after the handward gun.
Speaker 5 (06:31):
Reforms, and silencing a weapon does not make it go,
It just makes it a little bit of a less bang.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Yeah. Yeah, you're talking about the difference between what you
would say.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Ruptured ear drums and just barely not ruptured ear drums.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yeah yeah, you're still gonna hear it. So you know
everyone's watched James Bond, right, Well I have you and
you see Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan or Roger Moore.
If you don't have taste, you know, I bet you
some James Bonds fans. Just then, Holly, and you see
him walking around and he puts on the little silence
(07:06):
here and he goes or it's just yeah, there is
no silencer on the planet that would do that. I mean,
gun nuts, let me know.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
But I'm I'm we've asked that before and they said, no,
it does not work.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, I'm ninety percent sure that that doesn't work.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
Leslie entered the bathroom and one of the gunmen dragged
Judy out of the bedroom in a way. The other
two opened fire on Leslie through the door. Duty and
the children were in the living room when Leslie's body
was carried through the house and loaded into the boot
of his very distinctive pink Ford Futura. There are fourth man,
believed to be Rodney Collins, a hit man, waited to
drive them away.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
His body and his pink Ford Fortura car were never found.
The theory that both could have been crushed into a
tiny cube a car crushing scrap metal yard is hard
to discount. Quote from the brutal Lions of the King
brothers Andrew Ruhl and Mark Butler January twentieth, twenty twenty one,
Erd Son. Of course, as I just mentioned, it's quite
(08:03):
difficult to be a criminal. I can only imagine though,
the absolute terror of three. They didn't kill the wife
and kids, no, so.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
One son, two daughters plus the wife. It was more
so that a message could be sent to Brian.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
Absolutely, if we can get to Leslie, guess what.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Yeah, we can come into your home, we can hold
your family hostage, we can remove you, and you'll never
be found again. And that's a very very clear message.
And I'm sure, I am sure that the other King
brother is not going to escalate the situation whatsoever. He's
going to accept his warning and go, Well, that's it
(08:43):
for me. My life of crime is over. I'm going
to become a reformed missionary and go and do charitable
work around the world. I'm sure that's exactly what's going
to happen anyway, Holly, take it away, tell us about
his missionary work as he reformed.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Because of the code of silence that the only witness
observed following the murder, It was four days before Leslie's
disappearance made it into the papers, and even longer before
any sign of investigation appeared. Because of Judy Kaine's observation
of the criminal's code of silence. Four days passed before
Leslie's disappearance made it into newspapers, and even longer before
(09:23):
any sign of an investigation appeared.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Police appealed to the public for help yesterday over the
disappearance of a leading painter and Dockers unionist whom they
think may have been murdered in a suburban home. It
is feared that mister Leslie Kane, thirty three, may have
been abducted from his home on Thursday night. Police want
to hear from anyone who may have heard gunshots or
suspicious sounds that evening. Quote from the Camera Times Sunday,
(09:46):
twenty seventh of October nineteen seventy eight, page three, Police
appeal as if the Caines neighbors are going to say.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Shit, not if they know what's good for them.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Yeah, absolutely not. You never get involved in that sort
of nonsense. I mean, there's always some overly enthusiastic person
who wants to speak to police to be part of
the investigation, make themselves feel really good. But if I'm
living next to a crime world. The only words out
of my mouth is, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
Well, there's an eighty year old gossip on the corner
who's half senile and doesn't quite understand what she's telling
the cops.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Exactly. Do you think the police.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
Cared about the fact it was Leslie Kane? No, about
the fact that people have been having their houses broken into.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Possibly, I just don't know. Like, I don't give the
Victorian police a hell of a lot of credit around
this era, because we worth pointed out before. I can't
remember what episode it was, but it's very they're very
much implicated in murdering witnesses and doing reprisal attacks.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
That's the Wall Street shooting. Yeah, now, this wouldn't be
an Australian story without someone throwing in a crappy joke
regatting the incident.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Les Kane died in vain. He was pulling out gray
whiskers in front of the mirror when his killers came
calling with machine guns. Quote from The Brutal Wiams of
the King Brothers Andrew Ruhl and Mark Butler January twentieth,
twenty twenty one. Herold's son, I may be an idiot.
Here's what's the joke.
Speaker 5 (11:10):
Vain as in very particular about his appearance, and he
was plucking gray hairs.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Oh, he died in vain because he's too vain.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Because he was vain.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yes, oh, I cay.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
That's why it's a crappy joke, because no one thinks
it's funny, but it's still there.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
It's really clever. It's really clever wordplay.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Despite Leslie's murder, Judy Keane adhered to the Painters and
Docker's code of silence and did not contact the police.
Authorities eventually caught wind of rumors regarding Leslie's disappearance and
questioned Judy, but she remained uncooperative.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Mister Laurence Pendergas twenty eight, the laborer of Essenden, was
remanded in custody until December eight and Melbourne City Court
yesterday on a charge of having murdered missing painter and
Docker mister Leslie Herbert Kane. On October nineteen, head of
the Homicide Squad, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Delanes, said mister
Pendergass was arrested in a raid on a house at
(12:02):
five thirty am yesterday. Quote from the camera Times Saturday
at second of December nineteen seventy eight, page three murder
charge to play Devil's advocate as well, would it be
fair to say that Duty was probably worried about the
lives of her family.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
Yes, her step kids were definitely something she was very
worried about.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
So I think you're in a very precarious position there
where you are a criminal family. She is aware that
they're a criminal family. She understands the code of conduct.
I guess, for lack of a better turn when it
comes to.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Is still following rules? It is still a code of conduct.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Yeah, so there's a certain code of conduct there. But
I think the most pressing thing for her would be
I am not going to point fingers, because as soon
as I point fingers, my family is in danger and
I am in danger. So at this point it's better
to say, yes, he's disappeared, I don't know where he is,
I don't know what happened, and then leave it at that. So,
if I wanted to play Devil's advocate here, I don't
know if she was necessarily being too concerned with keeping
(12:57):
up the criminal code, but was more concerned for her
own life and that of her children.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Well, the criminal code is snitches get stitches.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Exactly, so you know, you've got to be very, very careful.
So I understand why she did what she did.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
I don't know how well known it was in the
seventies and eighties, what the painters and doctors.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Were up to.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
But the newspapers never point out why he gets attacked,
and never point out his associates or any reason or
motive for this random machine gun shooting in a house
in suburbia. So I feel like there would have been
a lot of Melbourneites who are very scared at that
point in time.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
I don't know, like it's a sort of it's a
difficult one to really nail down. Like I could ask
my father who was living in Victoria at the time,
and maybe get some contacts for our next episode. I will,
I'll have to have a chat with him about it.
But I think that what it probably boils down to
is the journalists, the police, and the crime figures are
(14:00):
sort of involved in let's say it, they're profiting off associations.
Let's just say so journalists who work with police, they
form a bond of relationship and the police in question
that Let's say you know, you focus on a police officer,
they will maybe give out tidbits, you know, bits and
(14:22):
pieces of information. So perhaps the police had said to them, well, look,
there is a bigger story coming. This is all you're
allowed to talk about and off the record. This is
probably what's going on, and once we're happy with the
progress of the investigation, you'll be able to print the rest.
Does that make sense, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Yes, yeah, symbotic parasitic kind of relationship.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I think it's more of a symbotic relationship between the
police and the media. And now, like honestly there's no look,
they're outside of independent journalism and maybe the Guardian, maybe
some of the smaller publications. There is a very very
little investigative journalism that happens today because there's no budget
for it. There's no you know, you look a camera
(15:07):
for example, Camera Times staple newspaper for a long time.
Now they've transitioned over to a website. Tell me in camera, Holly,
where do you think you'd find the journalists? Sydney there
you go, you know, And that's that's the problem, is,
like there's decentralization and remote working, so to actually have
(15:28):
a member of the press go out into the community
is something that is incredibly rare these days. That's not
how it was back in the day. You know, a
journalist would have a network of people. They would know
some politicians, they would know some police, they would low
community leaders, and they would get all of those perspectives
when they were forming their articles. You know. So if
(15:49):
I was you know, had a contact within the police
who said to me, like, you can publish this, but
don't publish this, but there's a bigger story coming and
then you'll be able to activate the rest of your
network to add you know, a bit of social commentary
and things like that. You know you're going to wait.
And there were also many corrupt journalists at the time,
just like they were corrupt police. And those three people,
(16:12):
those three groups, the police, criminals and some of the
journalists were definitely in like a very very profitable symbiotic relationship.
Because you've also got to remember who funds newspapers at
the time. Well, big business there will get to it eventually,
but how much big business was involved in these guys
as well? Spoiler a lot more than none. So there's
(16:37):
a lot of reasons there that they could have shaped
the article in that way. I actually worked in newspapers,
so I get to use some actual acquired knowledge.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
With Leslie Kane missing, presumed dead, Brian kan lost his shit. Well,
Leslie was often claimed to be the psychotic one. When
he lost his temper, Brian became obsessed with settling the
score and he wasn't going to target Bennett's family. He
was going to take the man down himself.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
What's happening here? We can assume that Bennett is preempting
the Canes coming after them because the Caine brothers still
had their nose out of joint over not getting what
they considered their fair share of the booking money from
the previous episode.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
Yeah, and the insults delivered to them afterwards, such as
Brian Kaine now missing part of his ear.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Yeah, so they've suffered a lot of embarrassment. And do
you blame the Bennetts's And that's what I find fascinating
about criminal families going back and forth, Like I feel
like Bennett put everything on the table, organized, everything, had
his plan, And I mean, I guess that's just the
(17:43):
danger of working with psychopaths and psychotics and sociopaths, isn't it.
You know, you need that sort of personality type in
order to pull off a good job. But the problem
is that you then have to deal with those personality.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
Types and the greed that comes along with've seen all
of that money.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
And that's why it's harder to be a criminal. Like honestly,
it's just harder to be a criminal.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
It's easier if you're on your own.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
It is absolutely like if I was if I was
a bank robber, I think I would be very similar
to like the postcard bandit, you know what I mean,
like maybe one or two very close people, like if
I were, if I was to go rob banks, and
it's pretty much impossible now, but if I was to
go out rob banks, the only person I've got beside
(18:28):
me is Holly. She's the only person I trust, and
we both have vested interest in keeping each other alive
and scoring the big score. So that's who I'm working with,
and I'm not bringing anyone else into that. You know,
you only need two people who shotguns to rob a bank,
or at least you did in the nineteen eighties.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
You said scoring this score, and I just heard baby
driver y made.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
You know, So that's what I would do. You know,
you would you keep it within the family, or you
would keep it within you know, you're very very close circle.
Speaker 5 (18:57):
And then you still worry about them stubbing you in
the back.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Yeah, absolutely, because that happens as well. And it's about
you know, once you have to expand out into much
bigger operations where you require six people with shotguns, that's
generally when this sort of shit kicks off. But yeah,
you would assume at this time everyone is guessing that
it was the Bennetts that pulled off the hit, the abduction,
(19:20):
in the murder. Though Leslie Kane has never been found, no,
not even today, so technically speaking, still dis missing. He
is just a missing person. He is absolutely fucking dead.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Bullet was seventy eight, so that's what fifty fifty two
years fifty three.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Oh, he was killed. He was killed and disposed of.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
Yeah, he'd be in his eighties even if he was alive,
which we know he wasn't.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
The three suspects of the Leslie Kane murder, Fraemon Bennett,
Vincent Michelson, and Lawrence Pendigas, were eventually charged with murder
after vigorous investigations.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Mister Vincent William Francis Mickelson thirty two, formerly of broad Meadows, Victoria,
appeared in Karetha police call in the Far North of
Carata Police Court in the Far North of Western Australia,
Changs with having murdered mister Caine on or about October nineteen.
Mister Kaine's body has not been found. Mister Michelson was
arrested at Caratha after an extensive inquiries by detectives of
(20:15):
the Melbourne, Perth and Caratha Criminal Investigation Branches. Quote from
The Camera Times, Tuesday, nineteenth of nineteenth of January nineteen
seventy nine, page seven quarter reports Court reports you.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
Should have used your old timey voice sept seventies.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
So currently not I mean in the seventies the voice
would be more like't It wouldn't be yuppy yet, but
it would be that conversion from hippie sixty language to
yuppy language. It's just around that time.
Speaker 5 (20:47):
Unfortunately, the case against the men became a larger issue
when one considered, as the judge did, that there was
no real crime scene, no evidence, no witness is willing
to come forward and most importantly nobody.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
I mean on all accounts, He's right right.
Speaker 5 (21:02):
Judy would have cleaned up the house. So there goes
your crime scene. There's no witnesses willing to tell because
Judy doesn't want to say, and there's nobody.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
So effectively she has just said, my husband's missing. I
don't know where he is. Pretty much what are the
circumstances of his disappearance? He was here then he wasn't.
Can we investigate your house?
Speaker 5 (21:20):
No, don't come in my house. Okay, well we can't
do anything.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
So as far as the judge's concerned, and who's to
say that judges were not on the take as well?
Speaker 5 (21:30):
This one's illegally, this one's illegally sound Russian elbow.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
So well, you can't argue with it because as far
as and I've always said that too, like there's a
difference between justice and the law. Right. Law is legal
proceedings with rules. Justice is a more calmic effect. Let's
say so that those two things are very different, and
the judge is right, what can you do when you
(21:55):
have no information?
Speaker 5 (21:57):
All the prosecution had was a missing and a few
people with the motivation to do him in.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
A warrant of apprehension was issued for mister Raymond Chuck,
also known as mister Raymond Bennett. Mister Mason found that
mister Kane, thirty three of died on October nineteen last
year from the effects of gunshot wounds feloniously, unlawfully and
maliciously infinflicted by mister Michelson, mister Pendergast and mister Bennett.
Please if not guilty were entered by mister Pentdegast and
(22:24):
mister Michelson. Quote from the Camera Times, Friday, the fifteenth
of June nineteen seventy nine, page three. Docer's death too
for trial. I'm shocked that they took to trial.
Speaker 5 (22:34):
Well, they were trying to get them on anything even
grown up to court date. They were trying to find
evidence in new charges to put on them.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
How did they get that before the court?
Speaker 5 (22:44):
It's the seventies, and like you said, there's probably a
few judges on the take. But there's also this this
overall social thing. If we've got to do something about
the mafia and the gun crews and the robbers and
everyone who's targeting Melbourne at this point, So anyone we
can get hold of for any reason is a good idea.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Because if I was a prosecutor looking to take that case,
I'd be fucking terrified.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Yeah, there's no way I win. The ast I can
do is tie them up in jail for another three months.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Yeah, well, I mean, what can you say, Oh, well,
these criminals all associated with each other and we think
there was bad blood. Therefore they killed them because you know,
they had shitty all like, they probably had alibis. Like
whether they were shitty or not, but they probably had
alibis as well.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
Hey, everyone on their crew would have been like, no,
they were with me that night.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
And you have no physical evidence to put well, not
only their crew, but their friends and family often would
vouch for them, So you can't put them there. So
why bother.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
It's again, tie them up in jail for another three months,
keep them off the street for another three months.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
And just like you suggested, Holly, just demonstrate to the
public that hey, we're doing some trying. We're trying. Yeah,
that's interesting.
Speaker 5 (23:48):
The men were acquitted in September nineteen seventy nine. What
a shock, Owing to the lack of evidence and no
proof that Leslie Kane was dead. Chuck pikershrew face like
Ryan kin knew who the men were who killed his brother,
and he was determined to avenge Leslie. One way or another.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Bryan became obsessed with a payback. He saw Michaelson's barristera
at a nightclub after the acquittal and told him he
was going and cut your client's head off, and then
I'm going to leave it on your front doorstep. And see,
these people are associate with each other. That's what I
was talking about. You know, whether you're the lawyer or
the judge or the cops, more often than not you
could find all four in the same clubs.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
Having a drink at the same table.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Yeah. Another time, when he found the lawyer in a bar,
see what I mean, he pulled a gun on him,
and as a reminder that not all was forgiven, one
of Kin's best friends, Graham the Munster Kinnenberg, knocked the
gun out of his hand. Quote from Killer Caine by
John Silvers by John Sylvester and Andrew Rule, October twenty third,
two thousand and nine at Sydney Morning Herald. I couldn't
(24:50):
think of anything more stupid and unhinged to do. It's
a fucking lawyer and you've got witnesses.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
Yeah, in a public place, dude.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
And you've now threatened them. Twice. Wonder if that lawyer
was reconsidering his number one where he goes to have
a drink and number two his career as a as
a lawyer for criminals events.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
If it was me, I would be reconsidering living in
the fucking state.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yeah, consletely absolutely.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
Kinneber later aligned himself with our fones Gagatino, who was
engaged in a violent rivalry with Mark Chopper Reid. Kinneber
was supposedly out of the house when Gangatino was killed,
further leaking him to some of the most violent events
in Melbourne's criminal timeline. And we'll talk about that one
next week.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
And if you want more on Reid, we did like
three parts or two parts, two parts on Reid, so
that we've covered Chopper read so if you want to
go back and listen to that.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
The episode numbers are in the in the episode notes.
I went through and I pulled out all of our
Gangland episodes.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Now, whether he did that or not, I don't know.
He used to take credit for a lot of shit,
whether he did it or not, So maybe he did,
maybe he didn't, we don't know. And we have a
quote here Brian who once told colorful detective Brian Skull Murphy,
it'd have liked to be a policeman and his own
investigation while ducking around Melbourne to stay ahead of the
(26:15):
killers he was aiming to kill first. He even offered
to pay police for help in tracking down the enemy.
In the end, Bennett thought it would be safer in
custody so did not apply for bail on a relatively
minor charge. But that decision gave the Cane camp a
chance because they knew Bennett would have to appear in court.
The brutal lives of the Caine brothers, Andrew Rule and
Mark Butler.
Speaker 5 (26:36):
Once the notice of Bennett's pending court date was finalized,
Cain's ideas were pulled into place, accomplices were contacted, and
the plan was assembled.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
It's like the stupid Avengers of the Stupid eighteen. When
you said it like that, I just imaginally dick heads
with a cigarette hanging out of the well, or that
the eighteen played in my head, and they're like assembling
a shit player.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
Because Power Ranger's Ord's coming together.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
We watch a lot of team based pop culture, don't
we We do? Yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
On November nineteen, nineteen eighty Brian Kin made good on
his threats. Bennett was a major target for law enforcement
and rival criminals alike. It would not be easy to
get to.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I mean he stole a bunch of booking money from
the mob. Yeah, like fuck.
Speaker 5 (27:22):
He was facing five charges, three of which were for
armed robbery and would thus be under a moderate amount
of guard. But this was Melbourne in the years leading
very quickly to the Wall Street shooting. Corrupt police were
really easy to find.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
And we did an episode on that, as I mentioned earlier,
if you'd like a little bit more info.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
At about ten fifteen am, Bennett was escorted from the
City Court to Courtroom ten. When the three detectives reached
the bottom of the stairs to the courtroom, Senior Detective
Noel Anderson went into the courtroom. Senior Detective Phil Glare
climbed to the top of the stairs to peek into
the room and make sure all the witnesses were attending.
Senior Detective John McGavin and Bennett remained at the bottom
(28:00):
of the stairs. Blair called for Bennett to be brought up.
When they reached the top of the stairs, a bearded
man stood up off a seat. He walked it within
a meter of Bennett and shot him three times, twice
in the chest and once in the hand. The Govin
tried to grab the gunman, but the weapon was turned
on him. The gunman ordered glare as they put and
as they were unarmed, they had no way to stop
the gun toting man as he fled through a side
(28:22):
door and down a different set of stairs.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Now, just before I read this quote here, Holly, the
way you sort of set that up, you implicated the
police officers at the time, or you were just suggesting
that overall corruption allowed for this man with this gun
to be in caught at that time.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
The running theory is that there were cops involved, whether
it was these specific three, but there were definitely cops.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Involved, Yeah, because you know, how do you put someone
with a gun in the middle of the court to
them be able to get up see the dude chewed
him and then get out really quickly. And of course
this person knew the layout to escape.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Yeah, which means he's been in court at least once.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
At least once, so yeah, there is the implication there
that there was some sort of corrupt police involvement. And
now we have this quote Raymond Patrick Bennett was ushered
from the holding cells through the old City Court in
Russell Street to go to an upstairs court Russell Street.
Obviously we'll have some history later on check out the
Russell Street bombings. See this is why we did all
those episodes before doing these.
Speaker 5 (29:21):
We have context and it was being held in old
Melbourne jail. We did two episodes on this, yes.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
And we've covered a lot of a strain history we have.
Speaker 5 (29:28):
It's a lot of episodes.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Before he was led through the dock, he passed the
cell with a message scrawled on the wall, a Chuck,
you will get yours in due course, you fucking dog.
A minute or so after he was esqutted upstairs, there
were three shots and the sound of running feet. A
man looking like a solicitor in a dark suit with
spectacles and a beard jumped up as two wary detectives
led Chuck past him, snarled cop this motherfucker and shot
(29:54):
him with a subnose at thirty eight pistol. Quote from
The Brutal Lives that the king brothers Andrew Brall and
Mark Butler.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
The killer was described as being bearded, but not much
more than that. Sixty eight minutes after it was shot,
and it died at Saint Vincent's Hospital while undergoing emergency surgery.
The shooter fled down a pre arranged escape route, at
the end of which was a corrugated iron wall, behind
which was the magistrate's parking area. One of the panels
had already been pre removed for an easier escape.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
It's a corrupt legal system, no matter which way you
look at it, isn't it. Yeah. You know, whether it's
the stenographer, the police, or the judge who removed that panel,
someone within the legal system is acting with the criminals.
So you know, I think you're one hundred percent right.
There is corruption somewhere there. Cops don't get paid.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
That much, y, No, they don't, especially back in the seventy.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
And out of all the I'm sort of thinking through
it's like, you know, it's either the clerks, stenographer or
a cop, well.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
The court security guard who's like, I don't get paid
anywhere near enough of this shit.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:55):
The identity of the shooter has never been officially revealed,
but it's theorized that the shooter was Brian Kan and
the driver of the guinaway car was his brother Raymond Kane.
They reportedly drove to the airport and hooked it to
Perth for a bit.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Raymond Patrick Bennett, thirty one, was shot three times in
the chest as he was being escorted between courtrooms by
four detectives. Police believed that a fifty thousand dollars contract
had been put out on Bennett. The bearded gunman threatened
the detectives with a snubnose thirty three revolver before shooting
Bennett and fleeing from a side entrance at the courthouse
for waning maroon colored holden. Police said. Quote from the
(31:31):
Pampa New Guinea in Post Curia, Tuesday, the thirteenth of
November nineteen seventy nine, at page seven, the world and
I would argue that in this day and age, you
really couldn't get away with that. With artificial intelligence and
facial regnition technology.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
Well just a shit ton of cameras that are hanging
around stuff.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
It's really interesting how quickly Australia became civilized in the nineties,
isn't it.
Speaker 5 (31:54):
It's amazing how quickly it became surveiled.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
Well, I mean yes and no, it was always probably
the goal eventually, but you know, this year I was
called for jury duty. So I went, and unfortunately I
was dismissed. Because I wanted to see how the process worked.
I thought it would have been great to have that
context for future podcast episode. So I was pretty keen
to go through the whole experience. I know most people
don't want to do jury duty, and I understand that completely.
(32:21):
But you know, you walk through metal detectors and there
are two police officers, proper police officers, because the police
station is attached, and there are two police officers there
fully armed. As you're going through as you would expect,
you know, then you're let into another room, and there
are so many locked doors and so much of the
courthouse can be sectioned off that this sort of thing
(32:44):
I think would be nearly impossible in this day and.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Age, not without severe corruption.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah, exactly, you would need a lot of help be
able to pull this off today.
Speaker 5 (32:52):
That fifty thousand dollar contract way back then is now
worth two hundred and forty thousand dollars. It's not really
that much true human life, even a criminal one late that.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Yeah, but do you think they really give human life
a lot of value? These people they wanted revenge, and
there was probably someone there who was willing to do
it as well. If it was one of the King brothers.
They obviously didn't claim their own contract anyway, did they
n Because they would have been the ones who put
it out.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
It would have been like, all right, first person, you're
getting wins?
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Yeah, yeah, you can't. You can't put a contract on
someone for fifty grand, kill that person and then take
the money off yourself, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
Well you could if you use a credit card. Hey, yeah,
I'm fifty thousand dollars. Event there were persistant rumors that
certain police helped set up the hit, as well as
a few other points in the plan being pre arranged
and pre organized.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
There is the miner mystery of the gardener seen in
them car park behind the City Court the day before
the hit on Les Kane, where the hole appeared in
the Court's garage wall. Quote from the Brutal Lives of
the King Brothers Rule d Butler.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
In return for avenging his brother, Brian became a marked man,
especially by Bennett friends. One such man was hit man
Russell Cox.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Brian Kane had the covert support of some crime squad
detectives because the story went they thought he was the
lesser of two evils. The decision to murder Les Kane
in his own home in front of his wife and
children was a step too far, they said, old time
crooks like the Canes. When it's stooped to that. Then again,
perhaps wrote police wanted the same thing. The Canes had
(34:24):
a slice of the great Bookie Robbery loot. The Bookie
robbery cursed almost everyone who had anything to do with it.
Quote from the brutal Lives of the Cane brothers, Andrew
Rule and Mark Butler.
Speaker 5 (34:36):
With Bennett dead, Brian briefly went into hiding, knowing that
retaliation was inevitable. However, he did not remain in the
shadows for long. On November twenty sixth, nineteen eighty two,
Brian met his female acquaintance, Sarah Walsh, at a coffee
shop on Lyden Street in Melbourne. It was also known
as Little Italy. I wonder if you can guess why.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
A Matthew, Probably because of all of the Italian restaurants.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
It's the home base for the U Itali in the
Cambrian Mafia.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
But I bet you there was a bunch of Italian
restaurants there too.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
Quite possible. He arranged for a friend to borrow Walsh's
V twelve Jaguar and instructed them to bring it to
the Quarry Hotel At eight pm that afternoon, he and
Walsh left the coffee shop to run errands, including getting
a haircut. At nine pm, Bryan arrived at the Quarry
Hotel in Leigan Street, where he began socializing and buying drinks.
He was well aware of the danger surrounding him, but
(35:27):
carried himself with the same confidence that he had defined
that had defined his criminal career. As he took a seat,
two masked gunmen stormed into the hotel and fired multiple
shots from thirty eight snubnosed revolvers, which seemed to be
his favorite among all these people, the same kind of
weapon that Kine had allegedly used to kill Bennett. The
assassins shot him in the chest and head at point
(35:47):
blank range. He was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital
for Bryan succumbed to his injuries on the operating table.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Father Brosnan's best boxing student, dined again. He was fighting okay, right,
so that's a boxing term. Died game. He shoved his
female companion out of harm's way, then up ended the
table to try and foil the two master assassins. The
shooters have never been officially identified, although Russell Cox's name
(36:15):
is often mentioned with that of a murderous reptile named
Rodney Collins, who did the world a favor.
Speaker 5 (36:20):
By ty let us know how you really feel.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
Jesus ruling Butler chill a fuck ass. Ray Cain lived
longer than his better known brothers, but did not live better.
It was a standover man and thief and eventually was
jailed for murdering his ex girlfriend, who served his time
and died of natural causes a few years ago. Only
a few old time Richmond identities were still around for
his funeral. It was, in some ways the end of
(36:45):
an era. Quote from the Brutal Wives of Caine brothers
Rule and Butler. So that's it, that's the end of
the came brothers and everything was fine and everyone was avenged.
Speaker 5 (36:56):
Yeah, there's absolutely no way that one of the kids
is going to end up melding do a different family
or anything.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
You know. And that's this thing. It's like this just
this escalation of violence and it's not like obviously the
public gets caught up in this all the time, you know,
especially during the Gangland Wars, members of the public were
inevertently killed. But generally speaking, it's just idiots going back
and forth.
Speaker 5 (37:19):
Your tat orna.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
You slighted me, I'm going to slight you. You slided
me back, I'm going to slight you. And it's just
back and forth and back and forth.
Speaker 5 (37:28):
The only difference between them and a kindergarten having a slap.
Fighters effected the Gangland killers have guns.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
Yeah, well, they're just a dog with a fucking bone,
aren't they. That's all they're doing.
Speaker 5 (37:38):
The murder of Brian Kan sent another ripple through Melbourne's underworld,
reinforcing the relentless cycle of retribution that defined the era.
Police were met with blank stairs and silence as they
attempted to investigate, encountering the same code of silence that
had hindered their inquiries into Leslie Kane's murder years earlier.
The primary suspects in Brian's murder included Michelson, friend of gar,
(38:00):
an unnamed hitman, and Russell Cox, all of whom had
strong motives for eliminating him. The disappearance of Prendegast in
August nineteen eighty five only added to the speculation and
secrecy surrounding these violent events.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
Not long before Brian Kin met his end in nineteen
eighty two, Brian Murphy saw him in the street late
at night, obviously drunk or drugged or both. But Murphy
asked why he was in such a state. Kine said,
I've got nothing to live for. He was shot a
week later. The brutal lives of the Caine brothers Rule
and Butler.
Speaker 5 (38:33):
While this was the end of the Kin brothers themselves,
their extended family was still in deep with the crime
Word of Melbourne. Dezanne Kan, Leslie's daughter, was later charged
as an accessory after the fact in the murder of
Desmond Moran in Ascot Vale in June two thousand and
nine in connection to Judy Moran, the matriarch of the
Moran family at the time. Dizann Kane was sentenced in
(38:53):
February two, twenty eleven, to two years in jail, though
her sentence was suspended for two years. The Kane brothers
connections to Keith figures in organized crime, including the Marine Family,
Gangatino and Kinnerbra place some at the heart of one
of the most turbulent periods in austraaing criminal history. Their
stories were later depicted in various media, including the Underbelly series,
(39:16):
which brought their exploits to a broader audience. The cycle
of violence, revenge and power struggles that define their lives
continued to shape Melbourne's criminal landscape long after their deaths,
and with.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
The death of the Kine Brothers, that wraps up the
Melbourne gang Land Wars, we had done out of here
finished ha.
Speaker 5 (39:34):
Ha oh, No, we have another. I think it's like
forty eight murders to go looking.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
This shit has only thus started, So do a little
bit of homework. We've got the Chopper Reid series, which
if you'd like a bit more contact on Chopper Reid,
because we are going to bring him up again, you
can go check out those two episodes. And we also
did I think it was two episodes on the Wall
Street Shooting. Yep, those great primers for like, they were
(40:02):
a sort of a microcosm of what the Gangland Wars became.
So go check that out. And as I said in
the previous episode, please don't watch the under Belly TV
series until you've listened to this so you have proper context.
You can see where that added their dramatic elements as well.
Because the Underbelly series is not at documentary no, it
is not no, it's fictionalized drama television, so you have
(40:23):
to keep that in mind based on true events. So
that brings us to the conclusion of the King Brothers.
If you'd like to reach out to us, you can
do so via social media. You can just type in
Weekrap and Austrainer into the search bar of your social
media of choice and shoot us a DM. You can
also shoot us a good old fashioned email through Weekrap
and Austraia at gmail dot com and if you ever
(40:44):
have anything you'd like to send us through the post,
our post office box is listed on the Facebook page.
You can also help support the show in a couple
of different ways, first and foremost being Vitreon friendly five
dollars a month. You get uncut episodes early as well
as bonus minisodes that are only there for our Patreon supporters.
Big thank you, of course for all for our Patreon supporters.
(41:05):
You can also grab yourself a week Crap in Australia
T shirt from our Red Bubble and Tee public stores.
Just typing we Crapping Austraya into the search engine and
you can also grab yourself our book series We Crap
in Austraia out Volume one two five are available now
our great mates over at Impactcomics dot com dot Au. Now,
Mal just did send us a message to say he
was out of stock on book one and book five
(41:27):
and book five. So that's our latest book. So thank
you very much for selling us out on our first run,
because he ordered quite a few this year for the
first run, didn't he h Yeah, it was quite a
few books. So thank you very much for selling us out.
We really really appreciate that, honestly, from the bottom of
our hearts. Thank you. You're helping us. You're helping a
small business. You're helping an independent operation. It's just me
(41:49):
and Holly. We're not associated with any big business, so
big thanks to you. So Volume five should be back
in stock, Holly, have a date when it should be there.
Speaker 5 (42:00):
About two weeks time.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
Usually it takes right, So today is the as A
twenty fourth, twenty fourth so forwards the end of March. Yeah,
those should be back in stock for you guys at
Impact Comics dot Com. What are you if you are
missing out on volume five, and it's always great to
see the volume one runs out because that means that
there are people taking it up for the very first time,
(42:22):
So thank you for that. That is pretty much all
the things that I have to sprook above before we
let you go. Our little tradition here is to give
Holly the final words. And for the Gangland series, she's
finding Reddit stories from everyday people who encounter Gangland. Figures,
what have you got for us this way? Collie?
Speaker 5 (42:39):
I have a little story from Nikki DM. He used
to work in a club and was asked every Saturday
night to keep an eye out for a small group
of guys. They would hang around my spot next to
a particular bar, and I'd make sure that they didn't
get too rowdy. Sometimes i'd intervene if it looked like
there was going to be tension with other punters. So
after many months of spending every Saturday night with these guys,
(43:01):
we were on good terms. One of them was a
chair of faced guy called Carl standing on my box
looking over the crowd. Al was standing next to me.
We'd often have a chat.
Speaker 3 (43:10):
I know who this Carl is.
Speaker 5 (43:13):
He told me to look down. He had a small
nine millimeter gun pointed at my leg and was grinning
from ear to ear. I told him off for having
it and got stroppy with him. He became very sheepish,
apologized and said he'd never bring it to the club again.
He scurried off and returned without it an hour later. Anyhow,
he ended up getting killed in prison. Ah Williams never
had any idea.
Speaker 3 (43:34):
If you have ever wondered why Carl Williams picked up
the reputation of dopey shithead, it's because of crap like that. Yeah,
that's why. Because like, think about it from this perspective,
very very quickly, because I know we're trying to finish
the episode very very quickly. Look at it from this perspective.
He thought he was being clever or smart, or intimidating
(43:56):
or impressive, right, So he wanted an ego boost. So
he thought the best way to do that was to
point a nine millimeter gun at a person who's been
nice to him. This young lady turns around and admonishes him,
and he accept the admonishment like a child deservedly. So
runs away, comes back an hour later and tells her,
(44:18):
I put my gun back at home. I'm sorry. And
people wonder, and he himself wondered why he was depicted
as a dopey shithead in Underbelly because he did dope shit,
Because he did dopey shit like that. That's a fantastic story.
Thank you for another good one, Holly Well. That said
for us from the Weak Crap in Australia Podcast, Thank
you so much. Please be kind to each other out there,
(44:40):
stay safe and we will see you next week for
more week Crap in Australia till then bye for now.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
By a strange, spiraling white light was spotted in the
early morning sky over Sydney, with even skeptical witnesses wondering
if it was a UFO.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
They were last seen on the beach with a tall
man and that's the best description police have ever had.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
A bit more than seventeen years after Harold Holt disappeared
into raging surf at Chevy a Beach, his widow has
finally revealed his last romantic words.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Docky, terrifying, mesmerizing.
Speaker 1 (45:11):
That's the way a number of Australians have described their
alleged encounter with the Yowe. It's time The Weed Crap
In Australia podcast
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