George Freeman (bookmaker)
Encyclopedia
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
s into organised crime and had links with American crime figures. Freeman served several prison terms for theft between 1951 and 1968 but was never brought to trial for any of his later alleged crimes, receiving only monetary fines for SP bookmaking
SP bookmaking
Starting price or SP bookmaking literally refers to taking bets at fixed odds, i.e. a fixed starting price, as opposed to the totalisator model of betting...
in the mid-80s. He survived a murder attempt in 1979, was married twice, and died in 1990 of asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
.
Early life
The youngest of three children, Freeman was born in the Sydney suburb of AnnandaleAnnandale, New South Wales
Annandale is a suburb of Inner West Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Annandale is located within 3-5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt. Annandale's northern end lies on Rozelle Bay,...
on 22 January 1935 to William David Freeman and Rita Eileen Freeman (née Cooke). His parents were married at Five Dock, New South Wales
Five Dock, New South Wales
Five Dock is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local Government Area of the City of Canada Bay.-Location:...
in 1931 and were divorced in 1946. After his father abandoned the family and his stepfather died, Freeman turned to crime and was arrested in 1947 for theft. He served two years' probation and left school at 14 to work as a stable hand and earned money hustling
Hustling
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...
. George Freeman stated in his 1988 autobiography, that his boyhood hero was the notorious Australian criminal Darcy Dugan
Darcy Dugan
Darcy Ezekial Dugan was an Australian bank robber and New South Wales' most notorious prison escape artist.Darcy Dugan grew up in the inner suburb of Annandale in Sydney. During his criminal career, he committed numerous armed holdups, robbing banks and even a hospital...
.
In 1951 he began a sentence for various theft offences, serving two years originally at the Mount Penang Training School near Gosford
Gosford, New South Wales
Gosford is a city located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 76 km north of the Sydney central business district...
and later at Tamworth
Tamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
Boys' Home. He also served time in Parramatta Gaol
Parramatta Correctional Centre
Parramatta Correctional Centre is a medium security short term Remand Centre, Transient Centre and Metropolitan Periodic Detention Centre. It houses unsentenced and sentenced B and C classification male inmates, including Drug Court Sanctions and male periodic detainees...
for stealing. On 5 February 1963 he married Marcia Bedford in Sydney.
After time in Fremantle Prison
Fremantle Prison
Fremantle Prison is a former Australian prison located in The Terrace, Fremantle, in Western Australia. The site includes the prison, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, tunnels, and prisoner art...
in 1968, he travelled to the United States on a false passport and met crime figure Joe Testa.
Main career
During the 1970s and 80s, George Freeman was involved in the horse racingHorse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
industry, primarily as a bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
. He was first named in a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
in 1973 in the Moffit Inquiry
Moffitt Royal Commission
The Moffitt Royal Commission was one of the first Australian royal commissions to specifically investigate the extent and activities of organised crime in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Its common title was taken from the name of its chairperson, NSW Supreme Court judge Athol Moffitt...
into organised crime in Sydney's clubs, though Freeman denied involvement. He was later alleged to be part of a plot to bribe State politicians who were planning to set up a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
regulatory board in a bid to curb illegal gambling.
Freeman divorced his wife Marcia in 1977. The following year he was named in State Parliament as an "organised crime" figure and referred to as a "crime boss" in the Woodward Royal Commission
Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking
The Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking or Woodward Royal Commission was a royal commission initiated by the New South Wales Government to investigate drug trafficking in New South Wales, Australia, especially links between the Mafia and New South Wales Police and the disappearance of...
. A police report in 1979 alleged he was involved in illegal bookmaking. On April 25 that year he was shot in the neck by an unknown attacker.
Freeman married 24-year old orthoptist Georgina McLaughlin on 6 August 1981. He was named in two further Royal Commissions during the 1980s, the Stewart Royal Commission
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Drug Trafficking
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Drug Trafficking was also known as the "Stewart Royal Commission". It was headed by Justice Donald Stewart.-See also:* Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking, ,...
and Street Royal Commission into corruption within the New South Wales Rugby League
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
. However, despite accusations of murder, assault, race-fixing, bribery, illegal gambling and involvement in the drug trade, Freeman's only criminal convictions after 1967 were for SP bookmaking
SP bookmaking
Starting price or SP bookmaking literally refers to taking bets at fixed odds, i.e. a fixed starting price, as opposed to the totalisator model of betting...
in 1983 and 1986, resulting in fines of $500 and $5000. His autobiography George Freeman: An Autobiography, was published in 1988.
Death
After several years of poor health, suffering from asthmaAsthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
and pethidine
Pethidine
Pethidine or meperidine Pethidine (INN) or meperidine (USAN) Pethidine (INN) or meperidine (USAN) (commonly referred to as Demerol but also referred to as: isonipecaine; lidol; pethanol; piridosal; Algil; Alodan; Centralgin; Dispadol; Dolantin; Mialgin (in Indonesia); Petidin Dolargan (in Poland);...
addiction, George Freeman died of heart failure due to an asthma attack in Sutherland Hospital
Sutherland Hospital
Sutherland Hospital is part of the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service and is located in Caringbah, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The hospital has a general medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, aged care, rehabilitation...
, Caringbah
Caringbah, New South Wales
Caringbah is a suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Caringbah is located 24 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Sutherland Shire...
on 20 March 1990. He was buried at Waverley Cemetery
Waverley Cemetery
The Waverley Cemetery opened in 1877 and is a cemetery located on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. It is noted for its largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments. The cemetery contains the graves of many significant Australians including the poet Henry Lawson and...
in Bronte
Bronte, New South Wales
Bronte is a beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bronte is located 8 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Waverley Council local government area of the Eastern Suburbs....
, Eastern Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Freeman in popular culture
George Freeman was portrayed by Peter O'Brien in the 2009 Australian television series Underbelly: A Tale of Two CitiesUnderbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred around the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities...
and its sequel Underbelly: The Golden Mile
Underbelly: The Golden Mile
Underbelly: The Golden Mile is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the nightclub scene of the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross. The timeline of the series is the years between 1988 and 1999. it primarily depicts the running of Kings Cross and the...
. The series portrayed Freeman as a playboy crime lord and implied that he was directly involved in the Mr Asia drug syndicate and the unsolved murder of hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
Christopher Flannery
Christopher Dale Flannery
Christopher Dale Flannery, aka Mr. Rent-A-Kill is alleged to have been an Australian hitman. Flannery was born in Brunswick, Victoria.- Juvenile Crime:...
.