Jun 18, 2026 · 51 min · 13 segments
For our final episode of season seven, John Silvester answers your questions about crooks, cops and crime. In this episode, Sly talks about his relationship with Chopper Read, for whom he and fellow…
John SilvesterHost
Tammy MillsHostNo entities detected.
So firstly, there were several questions about Mark Brandon, AKA Chopper Read, charismatic, a killer, and thanks to you, he became an author.
Yes, um, Andrew Rule and myself, we were the ones who ghosted his books after I'd had some interaction with him in prison, and he started writing letters, his, his, uh, purported to be his life story.
So the first one was, uh, From the Inside because they were written from within Pentridge.
When he was finally released, he moved to Tasmania, uh, initially at Launceston.
And, uh, we were writing the book From the Outside when he sort of went off the rails.
And he was in the back of Mark's car, which was sort of pretty damning evidence because I think they found the bullet in the, in the, in the backseat.
And as the story goes, uh, Mark, um, took Collins to the Launceston Hospital and dropped him off, and Collins survived.
Mark was charged, and he came up with what he thought was a, a clever legal tactic, which was to say, "I'm a professional hitman.
I do not take my victims to hospital." Seemed clever, but by doing so, he opened up his criminal past, which as you know, Tammy, usually can't be used in a trial.
So, okay, you're a professional criminal, so they were able to read into evidence much of what he'd written in the first book, embellished or not.
And of course he was convicted, but because of his history, he was declared a dangerous criminal and given an indefinite sentence.
And, um, Mark didn't hold a grudge because he eventually, when he bought a greyhound and raced a, a greyhound, he called it the Bugster in honor of the bloke who'd sent him to prison, so.
And that goes to our first question, right? Because, um, uh, Ad- Adam, his name's Adam Jones, he sent this question.
He said, "Your old, old mate Chopper went down for the murder of Sidney, Sidney Collins.
Having just read one of Chopper's books where he, he protests that he did not do it, it's unlike a crim to lie.
He was charged with the shooting of Sid Collins because Collins didn't, uh, straighten up after being shot in the, in the guts in 1992.
And in 2002, he went missing, uh, up in New South Wales, and, um, his body was never found.
So firstly, there were several questions about Mark Brandon, AKA Chopper Read, charismatic, a killer, and thanks to you, he became an author.
Yes, um, Andrew Rule and myself, we were the ones who ghosted his books after I'd had some interaction with him in prison, and he started writing letters, his, his, uh, purported to be his life story.
So the first one was, uh, From the Inside because they were written from within Pentridge.
When he was finally released, he moved to Tasmania, uh, initially at Launceston.
And, uh, we were writing the book From the Outside when he sort of went off the rails.
And he was in the back of Mark's car, which was sort of pretty damning evidence because I think they found the bullet in the, in the, in the backseat.
And as the story goes, uh, Mark, um, took Collins to the Launceston Hospital and dropped him off, and Collins survived.
Mark was charged, and he came up with what he thought was a, a clever legal tactic, which was to say, "I'm a professional hitman.
I do not take my victims to hospital." Seemed clever, but by doing so, he opened up his criminal past, which as you know, Tammy, usually can't be used in a trial.
So, okay, you're a professional criminal, so they were able to read into evidence much of what he'd written in the first book, embellished or not.
And of course he was convicted, but because of his history, he was declared a dangerous criminal and given an indefinite sentence.
And, um, Mark didn't hold a grudge because he eventually, when he bought a greyhound and raced a, a greyhound, he called it the Bugster in honor of the bloke who'd sent him to prison, so.
And that goes to our first question, right? Because, um, uh, Ad- Adam, his name's Adam Jones, he sent this question.
He said, "Your old, old mate Chopper went down for the murder of Sidney, Sidney Collins.
Having just read one of Chopper's books where he, he protests that he did not do it, it's unlike a crim to lie.
He was charged with the shooting of Sid Collins because Collins didn't, uh, straighten up after being shot in the, in the guts in 1992.
And in 2002, he went missing, uh, up in New South Wales, and, um, his body was never found.
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