The Real George Freeman

Tony Reeves

Penguin Group Australia, May 25, 2011 - True Crime - 240 pages

Sin City, 1970's. Crooked cops take the cream off the top of crime profits. Judges frequent illegal gambling dens. The winners of races are known before the horses have run. Heroin floods the streets, and the fight for the control of the trade sees men being gunned down left and right.

This is the world of George Freeman – often portrayed as a charming celebrity gangster, he was in fact a calculated criminal motivated by greed and a lust for power and influence. One of Sydney's most notorious and unforgiving hard men, Freeman preferred others to do his dirty work. He dominated that city's underworld alongside Lennie McPherson, controlling a vast illegal gambling empire while keeping top cops, judges and politicians in his pocket. Here, at last, we hear the truth about Freeman's links to the Mafia and drug trafficking, his secret addiction and the accusations of murder.

In this compelling and unsettling account, award-winning writer Tony Reeves reveals George Freeman without the gloss.

About the author

Tony Reeves is an investigative reporter of many years standing and winner of the Ned Kelly Award for True Crime for his book Mr Big: the true story of Lennie McPherson and his life in crime. Tony has worked as a journalist with the ABC, Nation Review, the Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Australian, all the time peeling away deep layers of untruth to expose the real workings of Australia's underworld. His reporting helped bring about the Moffitt Royal Commission into organised crime. He now enjoys a quieter life in Brisbane.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Real George Freeman
• Author: Tony Reeves
• Publisher: Penguin Group Australia, 2011
• ISBN: 1742533485, 9781742533483
• Length: 240 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / General; True Crime / General