‘s most notorious disgraced cop Roger Rogerson, jailed for a cold-blooded execution, has died in a Sydney hospital.
Rogerson, 83, suffered a brain aneurysm in his prison cell in Sydney’s Long Bay jail on Thursday and was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital in the city’s inner-east.
The crooked cop, known as ‘The Dodger’, died in hospital at 11pm on Sunday night, after his life support was switched off at about 11:30am on Friday.
Rogerson’s wife Anne Melocco told Daily Mail his family was only alerted to his deteriorating condition just days before he died.
‘We were only notified of his condition this MORNING,’ she said in a text message.
Both hero and villain during a 28-year career with the NSW Police, Rogerson was at one time considered one of their most decorated officers.
The former detective was serving a life sentence for the execution-style slaying of Sydney drug dealer Jamie Gao in 2014 when he died on Sunday.
Disgraced former cop Roger Rogerson (pictured) spent his final six months in prison in a hospital cell, unable to get out of bed on his own
‘s most notorious disgraced cop Roger Rogerson, jailed for a cold-blooded execution, has died in a Sydney hospital (the former cop is pictured in July 2004_
Drug dealer Jamie Gao (pictured) was shot dead by detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara in 2014
Gao’s body (pictured) was dumped at sea and found floating off the coast of Cronulla
Rogerson had always argued his innocence, claiming he was unaware of fellow crooked former detective Glen McNamara’s plans to murder the 20-year-old.
Mr Gao was lured to a darkened storage shed in Padstow, in the city’s south, and shot dead before the former police officers attempted to cover their tracks by dumping his body in the ocean.
His body was later found floating off the coast of Cronulla.
Rogerson and McNamara, who were jailed for life in 2016, both claimed innocence and blamed each other for Gao’s murder.
When Gao’s body was taken out to sea the morning after he was murdered, McNamara claims Rogerson was with him the whole time on the boat, threatening him with a gun. But Rogerson claimed he stayed on dry land.
The sentencing judge said although gunshot residue found on Rogerson’s clothing pointed to the possibility he was the triggerman, he couldn’t be sure who fired the fatal shots.
The pair was also jailed for stealing 2.78 kilograms of methamphetamine with a street value of up to $19 million from the 20-year-old university student.
In March 2023, the High Court rejected an appeal by Rogerson to have his murder conviction overturned, stamping out any hope he had of being released.
The culmination of Rogerson’s recognition in the force was to receive the coveted Peter Mitchell Award for outstanding police work in 1980 but within six years, his career had unravelled spectacularly.
In 1981 he was controversially found responsible for the fatal shooting of another young drug dealer, Warren Lanfranchi, but deemed to have acted in the line of duty.
‘s most corrupt cop Roger Rogerson (pictured) died in a Sydney hospital on Sunday
Rogerson had always argued his innocence, claiming he was unaware of fellow crooked former detective Glen McNamara’s plans to murder Joshua Gao (pictured)
Inside the Padstow storage shed where Jamie Gao spent his final moments in May 2014
However Lanfranchi’s girlfriend, sex worker Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, soon after alleged Rogerson deliberately killed him as revenge for robbing a heroin dealer who had been under police protection at the time.
Huckstepp’s body was found in Centennial Park in 1986 with a Coroner ruling five years later there wasn’t enough evidence to charge anyone.
In the same year, Rogerson was dismissed from the police force for depositing $110,000 in bank accounts under a false name.
At the peak of Rogerson’s demise, he was also implicated in the attempted execution of NSW undercover operative Michael Drury.
The similarly decorated drug squad detective had refused to accept a bribe in exchange for evidence tampering in a heroin trafficking trial.
Drury was shot twice through his kitchen window at his home in Chatswood in Sydney’s north shore in 1989 but survived the attack.
NSW detective Roger Rogerson speaks to media at Police Headquarters in June 1985
Disgraced detectives Roger Rogerson (left) and Glen McNamara (right) were sentenced to life over the murder of Sydney drug dealer Joshua Gao
Anne Melocco, wife of Rogerson, told Daily Mail his family was only notified of his condition just days before he died on Sunday night (she is pictured in 2004)
Rogerson, hitman Chris Flannery and Melbourne heroin dealer Alan Williams were alleged to have conspired over the attempt on Drury’s life.
The detective was suspended from the force but acquitted of conspiring to murder Drury, who it was alleged he had attempted to bribe on Williams’ behalf.
In 1999, the former detective was sentenced to 12 months behind bars for lying to the Police Integrity Commission.
Rogerson appeared briefly in shows telling tall tales about his times on the beat, one was titled The Wild Colonial Psychos which also featured notorious career criminal Mark ‘Chopper’ Read.
Richard Roxburgh portrayed Rogerson in the 1995 mini-series Blue Murder and its 2017 sequel Blue Murder: Killer Cop which explored his close relationship with crime kingpins Arthur ‘Neddy’ Smith and Chris Flannery.