'What a story! These guys loved hurting people. Many people died.

This is a ripper of a yarn. ' - Steve Austin, ABC Local RadioHow was a small group of gangsters and corrupt police able to maintain their tight control over major criminal activity across the metropolis well known as 'Sin City'?The waves of unlawful activity in Sydney - a city founded as a colony for criminals - come and go, but never completely disappear.

From horse-racing rackets, illegal gambling dens and prostitution to large-scale theft, drugs and murder, independent-minded criminals were never warmly welcomed by the hard men who made the literal life-and-death decisions which kept them at the top. In this city George Freeman grew up, wanting as a youngster to become not just a criminal but a big-time gangster .

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he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Over time he climbed through the ranks to become one of a triad of criminals who, in collaboration with rogue police, ruled the Sydney underworld for three decades.

Here is the real story about George Freeman, his links to the US Mafia, involvement in drugs, gang wars and even murder. This was no charming celebrity gambling man but a ruthless criminal who managed to stay at arm's length from law enforcement by bribing or blackmailing police, politicians and even members of the judiciary.

In this thoroughly-researched account, award-winning true-crime author Tony Reeves reveals George Freeman as he really was, and exposes more of the miasma of corruption in which this and other criminals were allowed to prosper. `Like all the best true-crime writers, Reeves is obsessive in his attention to detail.

He has scoured police, court and prison records, interviewed people who knew Freeman and carefully drawn conclusions when evidence was absent. ' - Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald.