The Gangster's Ghost

Johnny ‘The Magician’ Regan was a murderer, pimp and psychopath, gunned down by three assassins in a grimy back lane in 1974. He was 29. Matthew Condon investigates gangland’s last great murder mystery. Find out why police didn’t lift a finger for five decades.

Hear his voice from beyond the grave for the first time, in secret recordings brought to life by AI and our audio experts. And meet the family still haunted by his crimes.

Follow on

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Episode 6: Heat

In this episode, Regan’s de facto partner Marg reveals the truth behind life with a man who was transforming from scallywag to a full-blown criminal. He introduces her to some of the top gangsters of the day. Meanwhile, Regan becomes a suspect in a gangland killing and comes under almost permanent police scrutiny. Matt and Kelly track down Regan’s longstanding solicitor hoping for a goldmine of information about The Magician but things don’t go to plan. Meanwhile, Regan, pursues whistleblowing v...

Jun 19, 2025•1 hr 8 min

Episode 5: Into The Underworld

In this episode, Stewart John Regan’s transition from troubled youth, tow truck driver and nightclub bouncer goes to another level. While courting his girlfriend Marg, he announces himself as a force to be reckoned with in Sydney’s notorious Kings Cross, muscling in on other criminals’ territory and developing a reputation as a man with a lethal temper. As his list of enemies grows, he is caught up in a Wild West-style shootout in a public street. In the late 1960s, he is also charged with vario...

Jun 12, 2025•51 min

Episode 4: Real Wild Child

In this episode Regan, fresh from a boys’ correctional home, steps out into the wild streets of Sydney noir. He quickly makes his mark in notorious Kings Cross as a teenage brothel lord. Regan also cements his reputation as a violent enforcer with a hair-trigger temper, willing to eliminate anyone who gets in the way of his ambition to be the most powerful gangster not just in Sydney, but Australia. Then he meets Margaret, the love of his life. But it’s his complicated relationship with his moth...

Jun 05, 2025•1 hr 3 min

Episode 3: Holystoning

In this episode, Regan and his mother, Clare – The Colonel – suddenly leave rural Young for the big smoke of Sydney. Clare turns up in the city’s notorious red-light district of Darlinghurst, while Regan mysteriously disappears into the institutional nightmare of a Gosford boys’ home. There, he will befriend other wayward children who will ultimately emerge as the biggest and most lethal gangsters of their era. And Regan, schooled as an apprentice criminal in the boys’ home, will enter the viole...

May 29, 2025•1 hr 9 min

Episode 2: The Colonel

Johnny Regan's early years were completely dominated by his obsessive mother, Clare, nicknamed "The Colonel", who frowned upon his friendships, didn’t allow him to play sports, and publicly horsewhipped her young son. She was married to Alf Regan, the town drunk, the pair having met at The Australian Hotel where Clare worked as a barmaid. With the marriage over by the mid-1950s, Clare took her son to Sydney, starting a new life in the mean streets of Darlinghurst, where the gangster takes shape....

May 22, 2025•52 min

Episode 1: Dead Man Talking

The five-decade mystery of who killed psychopathic pimp and murderer Stewart John ‘The Magician’ Regan at the age of 29. One of Australia’s most notorious gangsters, Regan was gunned down by three assassins in a Marrickville laneway in 1974. Introducing The Gangster’s Ghost podcast investigation, in which Matthew Condon explores just how bad this man was and reveals the secret recordings Regan made of himself and criminal associates. Subscribers to The Australian hear episodes of The Gangster's ...

May 22, 2025•44 min

Introducing: The Gangster's Ghost

Johnny 'The Magician' Regan was a murderer, pimp and psychopath, gunned down by three assassins in a grimy back lane in 1974. He was 29. Matthew Condon investigates gangland’s last great murder mystery. Subscribers to The Australian and registered users hear episodes of 'The Gangster's Ghost' first at gangstersghost.com.au . Plus you can read more about this case, see exclusive stories, photos, videos and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

May 02, 2025•2 min

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android

Open in Metacast