Crime and Investigation Network's blog

Sunday, July 25, at 8.30pm on Crime & Investigation Network

This savage killer struck at least eight times between 1968 and 1985. The victims were shot to death, many stabbed multiple times and the corpses of female victims mutilated. Known simply as Il Mostro (the Monster), this unknown person (or maybe persons) is arguably the world’s most notorious never captured serial killer. With each murder, a composite of a killer emerges – a chilling biography of madness. And rivalling the Monster for centre stage in this terrifying tale is a compelling supporting cast. Overzealous prosecutors have targeted multiple suspects. No less than five people have been arrested and wrongfully charged in connection with these murders (one innocent soul served 16 years). But perhaps the most compelling character is the timeless city of Florence: the bewitching backdrop for this most gripping true crime tale.

Thursday, July 15 at 9.00pm on Crime & Investigation Network

From policing parties and security issues, to keeping the peace at sports events and arresting possible suspects, ride with the Campus PD as they tackle the ongoing challenge of keeping students safe. Depicting university life from the perspective of the law enforcement professionals who police them, this ground- breaking new series presents a real-life account of these modern-day campus heroes. As they gear up for a shift, these courageous cops know they’re in for a few surprises… But, while policing a town of fun-loving college kids isn’t easy, these dedicated officers love their jobs, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Episode Two of the hugely successful new crime series TOUGH NUTS: AUSTRALIA’S HARDEST CRIMINALS premieres on Thursday, July 29 at 7.30pm AEST, delving in to the life of Frederick ‘Chow’ Hayes, arguably Australia’s most feared gangster.

Following on from the hit premiere episode of TOUGH NUTS – which saw the life of Christopher Dale Flannery exposed and his killer named for the very first time – this next episode looks at Chow Hayes, a convicted double murderer who was sentenced to hang in 1952 for the brazen killing of standover man and former boxer, Bobby Lee.

Hayes’ sentence was subsequently reduced to life in prison and he was released from jail in 1978 during the final decade of his life. At the time of his death, Chow had served almost 40 of his 74 years in prison.

Hayes’ criminal career reads like a social history of the Sydney crime world in the 20th century, from the razor gangs of the 1930s, to the post-war booms in sly grogging, brothels and illegal gaming, to the criminal networks founded on drugs.

In his later years, Hayes became a celebrated crime figure: he was the subject of a biography by crime writer David Hickie and also a chilling portrait by artist Bill Leak that was short listed for the Archibald Prize in 1991 – the portrait shows an elderly man who still possessed the eyes of a killer.

TOUGH NUTS charts the course of Chow’s life, beginning with his formative years as the son of a WWI veteran who was broken by his experience of the bloody conflict. Chow was nine years of age when he first set eyes on his father, who was straight-jacketed in an asylum.

Did this episode fuel Chow Hayes’ murderous rage and his complete lack of regard for humanity that saw him the most dreaded figure in Sydney’s underworld?

Featuring never-before-seen interviews with psychologists, police detectives and investigative journalists as well as dramatised scenes of some of the pivotal moments in Hayes’ life, TOUGH NUTS delves deep in to the psyche of Frederick Chow Hayes and offers a remarkable insight in to the boy, the man and the criminal.

Presented by bestselling crime author Tara Moss, TOUGH NUTS is an explosive eight-part series that blows the lid off Australia’s criminal underworld and reveals the real story behind what made and shaped the most notorious figures in Australian criminal history.

The 8 x 1 hour series profiles a different criminal in each episode and features, in order: Christopher Dale Flannery, Chow Hayes, Alphonse Gangitano, Dennis Allen, Russell Cox, Michael Sayers, Raymond Bennett and Lenny McPherson.

TOUGH NUTS is produced by Bryan Cockerill from The Full Box and is exclusive to Crime & Investigation Network.

Sunday, July 11 at 11.30pm on Crime & Investigation Network

The Wanted brings together an elite team with backgrounds in intelligence, unconventional warfare and investigative journalism. The show focuses on real operators, in search of real targets, all in an effort to see individuals brought to justice. The faces of The Wanted include Roger Carstens who is recognised as one of the world’s pre-eminent authorities on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency; former Navy Seal Scott Tyler, an expert in urban reconnaissance and unconventional warfare; David Crane a decorated former US intelligence official and the first American to serve as Chief Prosecutor of an international war crimes tribunal since Justice Robert Jackson at Nuremberg; and Emmy award-winning investigative journalist Adam Ciralsky. Ciralsky also serves as co-executive producer of The Wanted with documentary filmmaker Charlie Ebersol.

Tuesday, July 6 at 7.30pm on Crime & Investigation Network

Forensic Files is the inspiration for the dramatic series CSI. Each episode profiles intriguing crimes where science catches the bad guy. Follow coroners, medical examiners, physicians, law enforcement officials, journalists and legal experts as they put together the pieces of the crime puzzle.

Sunday, July 4 at 6.30pm on Crime & Investigation Network

Everyone who drives knows what it’s like to see the flashing lights in the rear view mirror, or be stopped by a cop on the roadside. This long-running series follows the work of various traffic units as they try to enforce the rules and laws of the road and catch criminals on wheels. Traffic Cops is a character-led police docu-soap, with lots of high octane action. Humour is high on the agenda as the Traffic Cops go after people who think they can drive without obeying the law. Adrenalin and drama are the mainstays.

Saturday, July 3 at 5.30pm on Crime & Investigation Network

Marked travels to the most remote places around the globe and introduces us to some of the world’s most
secretive societies. The audience will be fully immersed into the culture and customs, experiencing the rites of
passage that must be embraced in order to earn the “mark” or tattoo – the ultimate symbol of acceptance in a
closed society. In the series, we’ll get unprecedented access to unknown societies like the ultra-secretive
Japanese Yakuza, a 600 year old group that banded together because of their shared markings. Other possible
episodes will feature the underground Cuban tattooing community, where inking is done is back alleys and
basements and groups of people who communicate through the markings on their bodies. It will take perseverance
and ingenuity to get “Marked,” but as the Samoans say, “Short is the pain, long is the ornament.”

Thursday, July 1, at 9.30pm on Crime & Investigation Network

Randy’s a happy man. He has two wives. His church leader is happier, he has eight. As self-appointed prophet
and religious leader of the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days, Jim Harmston claims
that by keeping eight wives he increases his, and their, chances of getting to heaven.
Visit Manti, Utah, the heartland of Mormon country, and delve into the lives of the 450 families actively practising
plural marriage. But what of the women required to share their husbands? Amazingly, the film manages to remain
non-judgmental.
As one sharing wife succinctly puts it “I would rather be the 30th wife of a good man than the only wife of someone
who does not have the qualifications.”

Monday, June 28, at 7.30pm on Crime & Investigation Network

Scared of spiders and snakes? These are the more common types of phobias that some of us may suffer,
however, this programme reveals the absurd and irrational phobias of three people and why they have developed.
Sue is one of the contributors who have developed a fear of knees – she no longer touches her own. She hates
the sight of them and repulses at the sound of the words ‘knee cap’. Sue invites our therapist into her home to help
her overcome this fear and allow her to live a life that does not concentrate solely on the next knee cap around the
corner. This documentary will astonish viewers with the power of the mind by revealing some of the most irrational
fears that we are capable of developing and just how many people are out there that are afraid.

Last night on TOUGH NUTS: Australia’s Hardest Criminals, which aired at 7.30pm AEST, the man who killed hitman Christopher Dale Flannery was revealed for the very first time to be Stanley ‘Stan the Man’ Smith.

ONE of Sydney’s criminal heavyweights for three decades, Stanley John ‘Stan the Man’ Smith was an associate of George Freeman and Lenny McPherson and had been an assassin working for the McPherson group, known as ‘The Team’ for more  than four decades.

Smith died on January 13 of this year, aged 73.

Christopher Dale Flannery disappeared on May 9, 1985. His body was never found and his disappearance has remained a mystery. A coronial inquest lasting five years took evidence from over 400 witnesses but could only conclude that Flannery was murdered by a person or persons unknown on or the date of his disappearance.

Just who did it remained a mystery – until yesterday.

During the filming of TOUGH NUTS, significant players in the Christopher Flannery story revealed to the producers that Flannery was murdered in or near George Freeman’s home the day he disappeared – and that his killer was Stan Smith.

In a TOUGH NUTS exclusive, Flannery’s killer was named by host Tara Moss at the conclusion of episode one last night.

TOUGH NUTS is an eight-part documentary series that blows the lid off Australia’s criminal underworld and reveals the real story behind what made and shaped the most notorious figures in Australian criminal history over the past century.

The 8 x 1 hour series profiles a different criminal in each episode and features: Christopher Dale Flannery, Chow Hayes, Alphonse Gangitano, Dennis Allen, Russell Cox, Michael Sayers, Raymond Bennett and Lenny McPherson.

Episode two, airing on Thursday, July 29 at 7.30pm, will profile Australian gangster Frederick ‘Chow’ Hayes, who was sentenced to hang in 1952 for the brazen killing of standover man and former boxer Bobby Lee.

TOUGH NUTS is produced by Bryan Cockerill from The Full Box and is exclusive to Crime & Investigation Network.

Tough Nuts: Australia’s Hardest Criminals is an 8-part series airing on the last Thursday of every month. Episode 2 will premiere on Thursday, July 29 at 7.30pm AEST