Mark Brandon `` Chopper '' Read ( born November 17 , 1954 ) was an Australian mobster who during his career in the Melbourne mafia scene , was convicted of many crimes , for example ; armed robbery , assault and kidnapping . Read retired from the life of crime and wrote a series of fiction books based on his life as a criminal . Mark Brandon `` Chopper '' Read ( born 17 November 1954 ) is an Australian ex-criminal , who wrote a series of successful semi-autobiographical and fictional crime novels .