George David Freeman was a controversial figure in Australian horse racing history. He was a gambler and racing commission agent born to a builders' assistant in Annandale, Sydney on 22nd January 1935. His father, William David Freeman left the family when George was young while his mother remarried a criminal. However, it was a brief one since his step-father died soon after. A struggling childhood in a two-bedroom slum forced George into a life of crime, with his first incarceration as a 12 year old for stealing.
At the age of 14, he became a stable boy while his criminal ways continued with separate convictions for car theft and a smash-and-grab raid. For this he was remanded to the Mount Penang Training School, Gosford, and then on to the Tamworth Boys' Home due to constant misbehaviour. After his release in January 1953, Freeman was back in the Parramatta jail for stealing once again in 1954, where he met his childhood hero, Darcy Dugan, a notorious prison escapee. Several jail terms followed for petty theft. The last time Freeman saw prison guards was in 1968, in Fremantle, Western Australia. In between, he married a divorcee, Marcia Bedford in 1963 in Sydney. His criminal associations spread to the US, which he visited on a false passport as a guest of Joe Testa, a member of a crime syndicate with interests in Australia. Their association continued during Testa's visits to Sydney in 1969 and 1971.
From 1971, Freeman turned to horse racing as a commission agent and illegal activities as an off-course SP betting operator. Organized crime was said to thrive under his rule in the state, during a period where corruption was rampant among police and politicians. Among his major involvements in illegal betting was his involvement of a syndicate that won the Canberra Totalisator Agency Board jackpot of $500,000. However, Freeman continued to deny any knowledge about the crime.
Freeman was also notorious for hatching a plot to bribe politicians in order to gain control of the Gaming Board in June 1976, which came to be known as the 'Taiping conspiracy'. The plan was allegedly created at Taiping Restaurant, Elizabeth Street, Sydney, on 22 June 1976, where gaming operators were asked to bribe politicians and the authorities.
Freeman's wife divorced him in 1977.
His notoriety made him an 'excludable person' in the United States where he was detained in 1978. The same year he was also identified as a member of organized-crime gangs by the New South Wales parliament. That did not stop Freeman from showing off his wealth, acquiring a huge waterfront mansion at Yowie Bay, Port Hacking, complete with security systems and guard dogs.
Police intelligence continued to trail Freeman, finally tabling a report of his illegal off-course betting activities in parliament in 1979. The P. M. Woodward's royal commission on drug matters recognised Freeman and was named as the kingpin. He survived gunshot wounds in the neck by an unknown attacker in April 1979. Freeman went on to remarry a 24-year-old orthoptist and former actress, Georgina McLoughlin.
While running illegal gaming houses, accusations of murder, and assault were common with Freeman. One of his most famous scandals in horse racing was the 'Mr. Digby affair' at Canterbury in 1981 where he landed a huge plunge. Owned by Freeman, Mr. Digby produced a remarkable form reversal to romp home by seven lengths despite having run well back only two days earlier. However, his only convictions for illegal betting came in 1983 with a $500 fine, and $5000 fine in 1986. Britain imposed an entry ban on Freeman and his wife in 1985 due to his notoriety.
For the most part, Freeman was a suave man, smart dresser, who ruled Sydney's underworld. He published his autobiography on his life, George Freeman: An Autobiography, with candid accounts of his crime-related life. Freeman died due to ill health caused by asthma and kidney disease at Caringbah, and was buried at Waverly cemetery on 20 March 1990.
To read more about Australian Horse Racing, Jockeys Premiership, Horse Racing Tips Australia, Bookmakers, Racecourses and more, go to Pro Group Racing and receive your free E-Book on How to Win at Horse Racing. ==>View here all the Australian Bookmakers
No comments:
Post a Comment