Roger Rogerson's wife breaks her silence as Australia's most notorious crooked cop has his life support switched off after suffering a brain aneurysm in jail

Corrupt cop suffered medical episodeHe was once a decorated police officer READ MORE: Roger Rogerson is moved to prison hospital

Australia’s most notorious corrupt police officer Roger Rogerson is about to die, after suffering a brain aneurysm in jail and having his life support turned off.

The disgraced former detective, who is serving a life sentence for murder, is understood to have been found unresponsive in his cell in Long Bay jail on Thursday night.

The 83-year-old was taken to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick, in Sydney’s east, just before midnight.

His life support was turned off on Friday morning and he is receiving end of life care.

Rogerson’s wife Anne Melocco told Daily Mail Australia his family was only alerted to his deteriorating condition on Friday.

‘We were only notified of his condition this MORNING,’ she said in a text message.

Australia’s most corrupt cop Roger Rogerson (pictured) is about to die in jail after having a brain aneurysm, with his life support turned off

Rogerson’s wife Anne Melocco (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia his family was only alerted to his deteriorating condition on Friday morning

Rogerson was once a decorated detective in the NSW police force, receiving several bravery awards but became the subject of serious corruption allegations and was ultimately expelled from the force.

Rogerson was jailed in 2016 for the murder of 20-year-old student and drug dealer Jamie Gao in 2014.

Gao’s body was found wrapped in a tarpaulin floating off Cronulla in Sydney’s south after he was shot dead in a $3million drug deal gone wrong.

Rogerson lost his last bid for freedom in March 2023 when the high court refused to grant him leave to appeal against his conviction and life sentence for murder.

Rogerson was a high-profile detective and fostered close relationships with many of Sydney’s most notorious criminal figures of the 1970s and 1980s

Rogerson was a feared and infamous figure in Sydney’s gangland scene from the 1960s through the 1980s.

His close relationship with crime kingpins Arthur ‘Neddy’ Smith and Chris Flannery was at the centre of the acclaimed TV drama Blue Murder.

That program portrayed his pre-arranged fatal shooting of young drug dealer Warren Lanfranchi in an inner Sydney laneway in 1981.

Rogerson was charged over the shooting but was cleared of wrongdoing after an inquest found he was acting in the line of duty as a police officer.

Lanfranchi’s lover Sallie-Anne Huckstepp was also later found murdered in Sydney’s Centennial Park in 1986.

Smith was accused but was later acquitted of Ms Huckstepp’s murder.

Rogerson’s (pictured) life support was turned off on Friday morning

Rogerson also shot dead armed robber Phillip Western at Avoca on the Central Coast in 1976.

He also shot Lawrence ‘Butchy’ Burns who tried to rob a payroll at the South Sydney Juniors club in Kingsford in Sydney’s east in 1977.

After rising through the ranks during the 70s and 80s, Rogerson was handed more than a dozen awards for bravery while he was in the force.

He was also involved in several gangland activities and had ties to members of the underworld.

In 1984, Rogerson was accused of conspiring to murder detective Michael Drury, who was shot through his kitchen window at Chatswood on Sydney’s north shore but survived.

Rogerson, hitman Chris Flannery and Melbourne heroin dealer Alan Williams were alleged to have conspired over the attempt on Drury’s life.

The detective was suspended from the NSW Police Force but acquitted of conspiring to murder Drury, who it was alleged he had attempted to bribe on Williams’ behalf.

Rogerson was dismissed from the force in 1986 and did two stints in jail – in 1990 for perverting the course of justice, and in 2005 for lying under oath to the Police Integrity Commission.

Rogerson (pitured) shot dead armed robber Phillip Western and Lawrence ‘Butchy’ Burns in the late 70s earning him a notorious reputation in the force