Leonard Arthur McPherson (born Balmain, New South Wales 19 May 1921; died Cessnock, New South Wales, 28 August 1996) was one of the most notorious and powerful Australian career criminals of the late 20th century. McPherson is believed to have controlled most of Sydney's organised crime activity for several decades, alongside his contemporary Abe Saffron (who was dubbed "Mr Sin") and associate, bookmaker George Freeman.
Reputation Universally feared by adversaries and often referred to as Sydney's "Mr Big" of organised crime, McPherson built up an extensive network of criminal activities that included robbery, theft and extortion rackets, illegal gambling, "sly-grog shops" (illegal alcohol outlets), prostitution and drug dealing, and his influence is also believed to have extended to South East Asia and the United States
McPherson's well-earned reputation for extreme brutality is exemplified by an incident recounted in Tony Reeves' 2005 biography.Reeves, Tony; Mr Big: The True Story of Lenny McPherson and his life of crime (Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2005. .), pp.11–12 McPherson had been estranged from his mother for many years, but on her 70th birthday, he unexpectedly turned up at her flat, carrying a live rabbit. He demanded to know why he had not been invited to her birthday party, and when she admitted that it was because of his criminal activities, the furious McPherson tore the rabbit's head off, threw the still-twitching body at her feet and stormed off. Reeves also states that McPherson savagely brutalised his first wife on numerous occasions—on one occasion, when he accused her of having an affair, he tied one of her legs to a tree and the other to the back of his car, started the car, took up the slack on the ropes and threatened to tear her in half.
McPherson was featured as a character in the Australian crime drama series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities and Underbelly: The Golden Mile, in which he was played by actor John McNeill.
Youth and early criminal career, 1930s–1940s
McPherson was born in the inner-Sydney suburb of Balmain in 1921, the tenth child of metalworker, Duncan McPherson, and his wife, Nellie. He had some schooling at Birchgrove Primary School, but did not go on to secondary school.
McPherson's first brush with the law came at the age of 11 when he was convicted of stealing and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond. Eighteen months later, on 13 June 1934, he faced court on another stealing offence and his bond was extended for a further year. On 18 June he was convicted on two charges of stealing and committed to the Mount Penang Juvenile Justice Centre. According to Reeves, McPherson was frequently bashed and sexually assaulted during this first term of incarceration, a common experience for juvenile detainees at this time.Reeves, 2005, p.14
During World War II McPherson's father found him a position as a driller at the dockyard where he worked, enabling Lenny to avoid conscription, because dock workers were a protected occupation. During this period he racked up a string of traffic fines for minor infringements including speeding, illegal parking and driving an unlicensed vehicle.
In 1940 McPherson married 16-old Dawn Joy Allan at Rozelle.Reeves, 2005, p.17
McPherson's first criminal convictions as an adult were in 1946. In January he was convicted and fined for possession of stolen goods—a conviction that was upheld on appeal—and a month later, on 15 February, he was found guilty of receiving stolen goods and sentenced to 12 months' hard labour at Long Bay Gaol. Soon after, he was convicted on another similar charge and sentenced to 18 months, to be served concurrently.
In June 1946 McPherson was briefly transferred to a low-security prison farm at Glen Innes in northern NSW, but six weeks later he was transferred to the maximum security Grafton Gaol because of his "unsatisfactory" behaviour.Reeves, 2005, p.20 His wife appealed for him to be transferred back to Sydney to serve out his term at Long Bay. Notably, Tom (Thomas) Sheehan, ALP State Member for Cook, also wrote to the Corrective Services Minister on McPherson's behalf, even though McPherson's current home at Gladesville was not in Sheehan's electorate.Reeves, ([Robert Downing was a member of the NSW Legislative Council (1940–1972). Minister of Justice (1941–1960), then NSW Attorney General (1956–1965). Reginald Downing lived in Gladesville and his department authorised the "No Bill" in 1959*) 2005, p.22
Both requests were initially denied, but a few months later McPherson was transferred back to Long Bay to serve out the rest of his sentence. He was paroled on 24 December 1946, having served only 10 months of his 18-month sentence. McPherson had difficulty re-adjusting to life outside prison. He began drinking heavily and soon fell into a pattern of alcohol-fuelled verbal and physical abuse against his long-suffering wife Joy.Reeves, 2005, p.23 His marriage quickly deteriorated, and McPherson took up with other women.
During the 1940s he had associated with the Surry Hills based underworld figure, William 'Joey' Hollebone, but they later fell out. Hollebone committed many underworld murders in Sydney and was a close associate of the notorious hitman, John 'Chow' Hayes.David Hickie. Chow Hayes: Gunman. Angus & Robertson, 1990. (). After Hollebone was arrested for a robbery, he accused McPherson of tipping off the police to his whereabouts and in revenge Hollebone's gang brutally pack-raped McPherson's mistress, who was pregnant to him. Hollebone died in 1960.
According to Tony Reeves, McPherson had frequently "fizzed" (informed) on fellow inmates while in prison to gain small privileges and ingratiate himself with prison officers. This habit continued after his release, as McPherson began cultivating selected police officers by informing against rivals or those who offended or annoyed him. One contemporary recalled that the young McPherson was widely known at the time as "Lenny The Pig" and "Lenny the Squealer".Reeves, 2005, p.25
On 24 June 1947 McPherson faced a minor charge of using indecent language and was fined £2.
1950s
By the time of his 30th birthday in 1951, McPherson had developed a fascination with the notorious American gangster Al Capone, reading everything he could find about Capone and trying to emulate him—although, clearly, he had no interest in adopting the Mafia code of silence, omerta and soon developed a close relationship with police, selectively acting as an informant in cases where this suited his purposes.Reeves, 2005, p.27
He made a trip to the United States in August 1951, using a forged passport and travelling under his brother's name; Tony Reeves states that it was on this visit that McPherson made his first contacts with members of the Chicago Outfit. However, his faked passport was detected and he and an accomplice, Martin Goode, were charged with forging and uttering. Although the maximum penalty was 10 years' jail, McPherson and Goode were fined only £100 and placed on a three-year good behaviour bond.Reeves, 2005, p.28
Just five months later, McPherson was again before the courts, charged with consorting with known criminals, but he again escaped imprisonment—his conviction was recorded but no sentence was imposed. McPherson was less fortunate with his next offence: in late 1953 he and an accomplice were arrested while trying to break into an office in central Sydney; in November he was found guilty of breaking and entering with intent to steal and being in possession of housebreaking implements (including explosives) and sentenced to three and a half years in prison.Reeves, 2005, p.29
His term was marked by a number of notable incidents: he was disciplined for attempting to pass a clandestine letter out of the gaol, he was charged with having contraband in his possession, and in mid-1955, while still serving his burglary sentence, he was found guilty on three charges of possessing an unlicensed pistol and sentenced to 12 months on each charge, to be served concurrently with his other term.
McPherson was paroled in October 1955. He needed legitimate employment to satisfy his parole conditions, and it was at this time that he established his infamous "motel". Built by McPherson with his brother, it was, in fact, a group of tiny rooms built on the roof of a private car park in Balmain, which McPherson had created as a safe house for criminal associates who needed to lie low. McPherson placed himself on the payroll at a salary of £20 per week, and for the next 20 years he was able to cover his criminal activities by claiming that the motel was his only source of income.
Rise to power in the 1960s
From the end of the 1950s, McPherson worked assiduously to secure and increase his power and influence and by the late 1960s he had established an extensive network of organised crime operations which were allegedly supported and protected by corrupt police and public officials. He gained pre-eminence in the tough Sydney underworld through the systematic intimidation and assassination of criminal rivals, and by cultivating relationships with corrupt police officers such as Detective Inspector Ray "Gunner" Kelly and the notorious Detective Seargent Fred Krahe. These relationships quickly developed into a mutually beneficial arrangements—corrupt police exploited McPherson as an informant and 'enforcer', while they in turn were used by him to neutralise enemies and to protect his organisation.
Tony Reeves cites the 1959 killing of criminal Joseph Hackett as a pivotal event in McPherson's criminal career. He argues that the case was "fixed" by corrupt police and prison guards, who conspired with McPherson and enabled him to avoid prosecution. From this point on, McPherson's influence over police, prison guards, lawyers, magistrates and politicians allowed him to literally get away with murder on numerous occasions.
Murder of Joseph Hackett, 1959 The bullet-riddled body of Joseph George Hackett was found in a laneway in the Inner West suburb of Leichhardt late at night on 27 July 1959. McPherson and his longtime bodyguard, "Snowy" Rayner (alias Lewis William Hunt) were charged with the murder, but according to Tony Reeves, before they could face a trial the case was dropped on the orders of the Attorney General of New South Wales, Reg Downing.
Hackett was led into an ambush by Hilton Mervyn Clayton, another of McPherson's criminal associates. Clayton was arrested only hours after the shooting—although police never revealed how he was picked up so quickly—and after a 14-hour interrogation he allegedly made a "verbal" admission identifying McPherson and Rayner as the killers. Police also located at least two other material witnesses whose evidence could have incriminated McPherson and Rayner. ("Verballing" was a technique resorted to by the New South Wales Police Force in the late 1960s and '70s. A policeman or detective would write a "confession" out and produce it in court unsigned by the defendant.)
Acting on Clayton's admission, detectives Fred Krahe and Les Chowne picked up McPherson and Rayner the next day and questioned them both at length. Significantly, during this first interview, Det. Krahe reportedly revealed to McPherson that it was Clayton who had informed on them.Reeves, 2005, p.41 McPherson at first claimed that he had been visiting his mother in hospital when the murder took place, but neither man's alibi stood up, and they were both charged with murder and remanded to Long Bay Gaol.