In this episode Regan is already public enemy number one with both the underworld and police after the disappearance and presumed murder of his girlfriend’s toddler son, Karlos Scott-Huie. For some, Regan had signed his own death warrant despite his denials that he ever harmed the child. Then in August 1974, one of Regan’s close associates and his alleged partner in organising the Whiskey Au Go nightclub mass murder in Brisbane the previous year, the criminal John “Ratty” Clarke, is shot dead in a pub in Sydney’s inner-west. Regan is immediately blamed for that murder, too. Then, after a pleasant September afternoon picnic with his young daughter Helen, Regan heads off to a prearranged mystery meeting in Marrickville. He arrives in Chapel Street relaxed and unarmed. Soon after at least three shooters appear out of nowhere and gun down Regan. In just a matter of moments Sydney’s most feared gangster is dead, bleeding out in front of a local primary school. Who killed Regan and why? The answers to those questions have remained unanswered for half a century. Until now. Read more about this case and see photographs, videos, timelines and more at gangstersghost.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-------- Â
1:22:28
--------
1:22:28
Episode 9: Karlos
Matthew Condon and Kelly Slater Regan visit the site of the former Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, where 15 innocent people lost their lives more than half a century ago. Condon uncovers a document that suggests the private detective who investigated the horrific attack feared for his life if his findings – that the men convicted of the crime did not act alone – were ever made public. And the Regan family finally confronts an allegation that's haunted them for half a century: did Stewart John Regan murder three-year-old Karlos Scott-Huie? Read more about this case and see photographs, videos, timelines and more at gangstersghost.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-------- Â
59:03
--------
59:03
Episode 8: Collateral Damage
In this episode Regan is a suspect following the suspicious death of brothel madam and whistleblower Shirley Brifman in Brisbane where the gangster is using his muscle to expand his various business ventures. Regan hooks up with the shady Clockwork Orange Gang and rocks the Queensland capital with a series of nightclub fires as he tries to set up a lucrative extortion racket which culminates in the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub firebombing that leaves 15 innocent people dead and becomes the largest mass murder in Australian criminal history. For the first time Regan’s relationship with the Whiskey tragedy is exposed. And it may just have pulled the trigger on a plot not just to silence him but to get rid of him for good. Read more about this case and see photographs, videos, timelines and more at gangstersghost.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-------- Â
59:23
--------
59:23
Episode 7: Travelling North
In this episode Stewart John Regan expands his business empire into Queensland, bringing all his street-smart Sydney savvy to what he thinks are the genteel provinces. But he walks into a landscape with its own well-established underworld supported by some of the most corrupt and dangerous police anywhere in Australia. Regan hooks up with the eccentric former judge’s associate, John Edward Milligan, who will go on to become one of the country’s earliest large-scale drug dealers. Regan wheels and deals in property and gets to know the local criminal heavies. As usual, though, he causes nothing but chaos and destruction. Read more about this case and see photographs, videos, timelines and more at gangstersghost.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-------- Â
1:06:04
--------
1:06:04
Episode 6: Heat
In this episode, Regan’s de facto partner Marg reveals the truth behind life with a man who was transforming from scallywag to a full-blown criminal. He introduces her to some of the top gangsters of the day. Meanwhile, Regan becomes a suspect in a gangland killing and comes under almost permanent police scrutiny. Matt and Kelly track down Regan’s longstanding solicitor hoping for a goldmine of information about The Magician but things don’t go to plan. Meanwhile, Regan, pursues whistleblowing vice queen Shirley Brifman who flees Sydney for Brisbane in fear for her life, and senses some big business opportunities in the Sunshine State. Read more about this case and see photographs, videos, timelines and more at gangstersghost.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Johnny ‘The Magician’ Regan was a murderer, pimp and psychopath, gunned down by three assassins in a grimy back lane in 1974. He was 29. Matthew Condon investigates gangland’s last great murder mystery. Find out why police didn’t lift a finger for five decades.
Hear his voice from beyond the grave for the first time, in secret recordings brought to life by AI and our audio experts. And meet the family still haunted by his crimes.
UK