Lenny McPherson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leonard (Lenny) Arthur McPherson (born Balmain, Sydney, NSW, 19 May 1921; d. 1996) is generally acknowledged to have been one of Australia's most notorious and powerful career criminals.
Universally feared by his adversaries and generally known as Sydney's "Mr Big" of organised crime, McPherson built up an extensive network of organised crime activities that included robbery, theft and extortion rackets, illegal gambling, "sly grog shops" (illegal alcohol outlets), prostitution and drug dealing.
After a bloody "gang war" in the late 1960s, during which McPherson coordinated (and occasionally took part in) the murder of several rivals including infamous brothel owner Joe Borg, Lenny became the preeminent crime figure in the city. Thanks to corrupt police and politicians on his payroll, McPherson was able to conduct his criminal activities with almost total impunity.
McPherson is also believed to have facilitated the establishment of close contact between himself and other leading Australian criminals and members of the American Mafia in the late 1960s -- most notably through his infamous meeting in 1969 with Mafia hit-man Joseph Dan Testa -- and McPherson is thought to have been a significant figure in the development of the illegal heroin trade in South-East Asia in the early 1970s.
He was eventually arrested, tried and jailed in the 1990s after ordering the bashing of a business rival. He died of a heart attack in Cessnock Gaol in 1996, aged 75.
