Fred Krahe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frederick Claude "Fred" Krahe
Born	6 November 1919(1919-11-06)
Died	6 December 1981 (aged 62)
Occupation	police officer

Frederick Claude "Fred" Krahe (November 6, 1919 - December 6, 1981, Sydney, New South Wales) was a New South Wales police officer and detective.

Krahe is widely reputed to have been corrupt and is often referred to as having been one of the most feared New South Wales police officers of his day. He was a close associate of other allegedly corrupt New South Wales police officers, including the notorious detectives Ray "Gunner" Kelly, Don Fergusson and Roger Rogerson and former New South Wales Police Commissioner Fred Hanson, and he is alleged to have had a long-standing corrupt relationship with powerful criminal Lenny McPherson, who was known as the "Mr Big" of Sydney organised crime, also running with a notorious gang called the Toecutters members of the group including Kevin Gore, Wiliam Donnelly, Linus Driscoll, Frank Baldy Blair, Jake Maloney and John Magician Regan.

Among the many rumuours and allegations about him, Krahe is said to have murdered prostitute and whistle-blower Shirley Brifman in 1972 after his corrupt relationship with her was exposed. There have also been allegations that he was involved in the disappearance and presumed murders of both anti-development campaigner Juanita Nielsen in 1975 and Griffith anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay^[1].

Investigative journalists David Hickie and Tony Reeves also name Krahe as the ringleader/organiser of a gang of "heavies" employed by developer Frank Theeman, who intimidated residents and assaulted protestors during the campaign against Theeman's high-rise development in Victoria St, Kings Cross in the early 1970s.

[edit] References

David Hickie: The Prince and the Premier (Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1985)

Tony Reeves: Mr Big: The True Story of Lennie McPherson and His Life of Crime (Allen & Unwin Australia 2005)