June 2016, Rogerson and McNamara were found guilty of Gao's murder. On 25 August 2016, Rogerson and McNamara faced a sentencing hearing. The NSW crown prosecutor, Christopher Maxwell sought for the judge to jail Rogerson and McNamara for life, stating there was no distinction between a contract killing and killing for the purpose of financial gain One detective witness told the Daily Telegraph "it was like tracking the stars of Amateur Hour", regarding the killing of Jamie Gao. On 2 September 2016, Justice Geoffrey Bellew sentenced Rogerson and McNamara to life in prison, with the statement "The joint criminal enterprise to which each offender was a party was extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath". Lawyers for both Rogerson and McNamara indicated they would appeal against the sentence. However, neither Rogerson nor McNamara formally lodged appeals, and in July 2019 Rogerson’s last application for an extension of time to do so was refused by the NSW Supreme Court. However, Rogerson then lodged an appeal in 2020. Extortion allegations During legal proceedings surrounding the trial against suspects involved in the 2009 contract murder of Michael McGurk, the Supreme Court heard evidence that, while in the Cooma Correctional Centre in 2014, Rogerson, McNamara, and Fortunato "Lucky" Gattellari attempted to extort Ron Medich, a businessman and suspect for masterminding the murder of McGurk. Involvement in the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub fire investigation Soon after the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub fire on 8 March 1973, Sydney detectives Roger Rogerson and Detective Sergeant Noel Morey were called to Brisbane to assist in the investigation. This was because John Andrew Stuart, accused of lighting the fire, had said criminals from Sydney were behind the nightclub extortion attempts. In 1988 Roger Rogerson told a Bulletin reporter that he and the other lead detectives fabricated evidence. They did so because, although they 'knew' Stuart and Finch were involved, they had insufficient evidence to convict them. The police confirmed Rogerson was the 'mole' during an early 1990s secret investigation called 'Operation Graveyard'. The journalist has refused to discuss the matter. Cultural references Richard Roxburgh portrayed Rogerson in the 1995 TV mini-series Blue Murder and its 2017 sequel Blue Murder: Killer Cop. Bibliography Notes References McNab, D. The Dodger – Inside the world of Roger Rogerson, Pan Macmillan, Sydney 2006, McNab, D. Killing Mr Rent-A-Kill, Pan Macmillan, Sydney 2012, Goodsir, D. Line