Fred Krahe
| Fred Krahe | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Frederick Claude Krahe 6 November 1919 |
| Died | 6 December 1981 (aged 62) Sydney, New South Wales |
| Occupation | Police officer, detective sergeant |
Frederick Claude "Fred" Krahe (6 November 1919 – 6 December 1981 in Sydney, New South Wales) was an Australian New South Wales police officer and detective.
Krahe is widely reputed to have been corrupt, and is often referred to as having been one of the most feared New South Wales police officers of his day. He was a close associate of other allegedly corrupt New South Wales police officers, including the notorious detectives Roger Rogerson, Donald Fergusson, Ray Kelly, and former New South Wales Police Commissioner Frederick Hanson. He also mentored detective Murray Riley who became a notorious drug smuggler. Krahe is alleged to have had a long-standing corrupt relationship with powerful criminal Lenny McPherson, who was known as the "Mr Big" of Sydney organised crime, also running with a notorious gang called the Toecutters. Members of the group included Kevin Gore, William Donnelly, Linus Driscoll, Frank "Baldy" Blair , Jake Maloney, and John "Magician" Regan. Krahe joined the force in 1940, and served until retirement at the rank of detective sergeant in 1972.
Among the many rumours and allegations about him, Krahe is alleged to have murdered prostitute and police informant Shirley Brifman in 1972, after his corrupt relationship with her was exposed. It is believed that Brifman's whistle-blowing was the true cause for Krahe's retirement from police work later the same year; the official reason given was that Krahe was "medically unfit".
Journalist David Hickie and others have also alleged that when they were both on the New South Wales force, Krahe and Ray "Gunner" Kelly were involved in the protection rackets that fed on Sydney's notorious illegal abortion industry.
Detective Superintendent Donald Fergusson, Krahe's protege and one-time partner, was killed by a bullet from his own service revolver in the lavatory of his office at Sydney's Police Administration Center in Campbell Street. Fergusson was under pressure from a prostitution investigation, and was rumoured to have been interested in talking to investigators. It was widely rumoured that Furgusson was in fact murdered by Krahe.
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