Naked City

For our final episode of season seven, John Silvester answers your questions about crooks, cops and crime.
In this episode, Sly talks about his relationship with Chopper Read, for whom he and fellow journalist Andrew Rule ghost-wrote a series of books based on Read's prison letters.
Sly talks about Melbourne's gangland war and its related characters, such as feared prisoner – and as we discover, aspiring poet – Matthew Charles Johnson. Johnson, of course, is best known as the man who killed Carl Williams in Barwon Prison.
The episode, guest-hosted by producer and former crime reporter Tammy Mills, also traverses some of the cold cases that have haunted Melbourne, including the disappearance of Boronia schoolgirl Bung Siriboon, and the suspected murder of Cuckoo restaurant owner Willi Koeppen, widely regarded as Australia's first celebrity chef.
Oh, and Sly also talks about the time he was accused of a violent crime.
We'll see you next season.
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We're coming to the end of season seven of this humble podcast, and as a thank-you (or alternatively, as a punishment), we wanted to open the floor to you. So if there's a question you've always wanted to ask John Silvester about a case, a crime, a cop, a crook, or his career, now is your chance.
Send your question directly to us by emailing podcasts@fairfaxmedia.com.au and Sly will select a few for a special mailbag episode.
Thank you for your support, comments and criticisms this season, and as we say, "There's a touch of evil in all of us."
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One of the underworld's old guard passed away quietly this year.Charlie Wootton didn’t need to be well known to be well respected in shadows occupied by hard men, controlling Melbourne’s illegal gaming industry long before the glittering behemoth of Crown casino.Though he posted death notices paying tribute to notorious crooks killed in the gangland war, Wootton was determined to keep a low profile, never mentioning the names of the celebrities and politicians who would attend his illegal gaming dens.Today, his son Robert Wootton talks to John Silvester in an unusual episode of Naked City. Unusual because decades ago, those same gaming houses run by Charlie Wootton were the target of Sly’s father, a respected gaming detective by the name of Fred Silvester.
Further reading/listening
The singing detective, Naked City, season one.
John Silvester's latest story – 'Greed and hubris: The inside story of a legal scandal.'
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On April 21, 1976, six bandits raided the Victoria Club where Melbourne’s biggest bookies were settling their accounts with cash. No one knows the exact figure, but the take was supposed to be in the vicinity of $15 million.Just after the armed robbery, and a few kilometres away at a pub in the suburb of Windsor, Greg Carroll was meeting his brother, Ian Revell Carroll.Greg remembers the smirk on his brother’s face when news of the robbery broke while they tucked into lunch.What he didn’t know was that his brother was one of the six bandits behind one of Australia’s most notorious, and successful, heists.Today, Greg speaks to John Silvester about the genius of the stick-up and then, the curse of the Great Bookie Robbery.
For more:
Gregory M Carroll's book '11 Minutes'
A tour of the Naked City: Melbourne's crime secrets revealed by John Silvester.
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A couple of months ago we held a night for subscribers to The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, a conversation with John Silvester, hosted by crime and justice reporter Erin Pearson.
We recorded the whole thing and so for today’s episode, we bring you this special episode with Sly.
In the conversation, Sly shared how he became a journalist and then all the highlights from his long career – from the gangland war in Melbourne and his dealings with Carl Williams, how a Christmas card from Mark "Chopper" Read sparked a long relationship, and what was so different about Erin Patterson, who was convicted - and since appealed - of the notorious mushroom murder case.
You too can have access to nights like this by becoming a subscriber.
Background reading, watching and listening:
Sly’s latest column – ‘You’re gunna get it’: How police stared down a double-murderer and prevented further carnage
A tour of the Naked City: Melbourne's crime secrets revealed by John Silvester
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