The Great Bookie Robbery was a crime committed in Melbourne, Australia on 21 April 1976. A well-organized gang of six stole what is widely believed to be from $14 to $16 million from bookmakers in the Victoria Club, home of the Australian Jockey Club, which was located on the second floor of a building in Queen Street, Melbourne. The true figure for the amount stolen has never been confirmed, as the AJC quoted the missing figure to police as only $1 million to avoid the attention of the Australian Taxation Office. The men, who included Raymond Chuck-Bennett, Brian and Leslie Kane, Ian Carroll, Laurence Prendergast and Norman Lee, rented an office several floors above and hid the money in that rooms safe before making a getaway in a van loaded with decoy bags. The identity of the robbers was widely known in the underworld and Bennett became the target of standover men and corrupt police demanding part of the proceeds. The Kane brothers were particularly violent and after being told that the Kanes intended to kill him, Bennett, Prendergast and Vincent Mikkleson murdered Leslie Kane on 19 October, 1978 and went into hiding. The three were later arrested for Leslie Kane's murder but as the body was never found the charges were dismissed. With Brian Kane threatening to kill him, Bennett was arrested on an minor charge in 1979. While being escorted by police from the courthouse holding cells to the courtroom, a man stepped out from a group of media and shot Bennett several times in the chest, he tried to flee but collapsed on the courthouse steps and died a short time later. Although Brian Kane was suspected, circumstantial evidence suggested a conspiracy to kill Bennett which included senior members of the Victorian Police. No one has ever been arrested for Bennett’s murder. Wikipedia [ - ]

The Great Bookie Robbery was a crime committed in Melbourne, Australia on 21 April 1976. A... [ + ]