Kelly Slater (left) with Johnny Regan’s de facto wife Margaret Yates and journalist Matthew Condon. Photo: Supplied by Kelly Slater.
In the small farming settlement of Thuddungra near the NSW town of Young, Kelly Slater has become an unlikely public figure.
Her quiet life on the land is on hold as national media spotlight the investigation she launched into her cousin Stewart John Regan – better known as Johnny Regan – one of the most feared figures in Sydney’s criminal underworld during the 1970s.
Nicknamed “The Magician” for making enemies disappear, Regan controlled illegal gambling, brothels and protection rackets with cold efficiency.
He was a suspect in multiple murders, including possible links to the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub firebombing in Brisbane that killed 15 people.
In 1974, Regan was shot dead in Marrickville. The killing remains unsolved, and at the time, few mourned him – he’d terrified even his own associates.
His dark legacy cast a long shadow over the family. As a former NSW Police officer, Kelly faced suspicion during her recruitment purely because of her connection to him.
To her, Johnny Regan was both blood and mystery. She couldn’t understand how someone raised in the same town had been erased from family conversations. What had her relatives known? And what kind of man had he truly been?
These questions drove a personal investigation that took her from the streets of Sydney to the corridors of the National Archives in Canberra.
“I wasn’t trying to excuse him,” Kelly said, “I just wanted to understand how someone in my own family could end up like that and why the rest of us never talked about it.”
Convinced it was a story worth telling, she reached out to veteran journalist Matthew Condon – well known for exposing police corruption – after months of immersing herself in true crime podcasts.
The result is The Gangster’s Ghost, a 10-part podcast series exploring Regan’s violent rise, his abusive childhood and the circumstances surrounding his death.
But this isn’t just another true crime podcast.
“We’ve got tapes,” she told Matt during their first call.
Regan had a habit of carrying a tape recorder in his pocket, secretly capturing conversations with crooks, cops, and anyone who crossed his path.
Even police consorting reports flagged him as “known to carry a tape recorder”.
Those recordings, found years later in a hatbox in his mother’s attic in Strathfield, became a centrepiece of the podcast.
Using AI audio restoration, Regan’s voice is now heard narrating parts of his own story, bringing an eerie intimacy to a 50-year-old mystery.
“You’re kind of on the inside,” Kelly said. “You’re hearing what he never would have wanted anyone to hear.”
She believes those tapes may have cost him his life.
When police arrived at the scene of Regan’s murder, they didn’t secure the area – instead, they sent officers to track down his associates.
“They weren’t looking for a weapon,” Kelly said. “They were looking for a tape that may have killed him.”
While the recordings are a powerful thread, Kelly’s team relied on traditional investigative methods too: interviewing friends and relatives, digging through media reports, court records, police files and historic documents to piece together a long-buried story.
Official records, however, were trickier. It took 18 months – and petitions to the NSW Police minister and attorney-general – before key documents were released.
An enhanced image of notorious gangster Johnny Regan, who was born and bred in Young but would eventually become one of the most feared figures in Sydney’s criminal underworld during the 1970s. Image: The Australian
Even then, the truth was murky.
“The transcript – I know it’s false,” Kelly said of the coronial inquiry into Regan’s death. “Key exhibits were missing. Witness statements were sparse or contradictory.”
The research also led to new lines of inquiry around major crimes and fresh theories about who may have killed him.
Kelly also uncovered how outlandish stories about her cousin took root.
Disgraced former detective Fred Krahe appeared to be a key source, feeding journalists dramatic claims that painted Regan as a child killer and unhinged madman.
Even within her own family, knowledge of Regan was fragmented.
Her father, who grew up in the same town, hadn’t even known Regan existed until a stranger mentioned him at the local pool.
“This guy came up and said, ‘Johnny Regan’s back in town’; Dad said, ‘Who’s that?’” Kelly said.
Kelly and Matt were able to trace Regan’s formative years, including time at Mount Penang Training School for Boys — a place notorious for brutality. Records and interviews suggest those experiences may have helped shape his violent trajectory.
But the more they uncovered, the more contradictions emerged.
Through surviving friends, Kelly found a different side of Regan.
“None of them speak badly of him,” she said. “When he was young, he used to protect the little kids. He’d stop the big kids from stealing their lollies.”
One story had Regan intervening as a man kicked a dog.
“Apparently he flogged the guy and told him never to touch the dog again,” Kelly said. “So the story about him driving a pitchfork into a live possum suddenly becomes highly doubtful.”
The revelations were especially profound for Regan’s daughter, Helen.
“She didn’t know there were four shooters the day he was murdered,” Kelly said. “She knew her grandmother was nasty – but not the extent of her cruelty.”
One of the podcast’s most powerful moments came from a secret recording in which Regan, unaware he was being taped, said, “I’ve never killed anyone in my life.”
“That’s pretty compelling,” Kelly said.
The journey hasn’t been easy. Some family members have kept their distance. Others have quietly supported her efforts.
One nephew told her, “Kelly, very few people could get this done.”
She doesn’t pretend to have solved the mystery – but she’s at peace with what she’s uncovered.
“This wasn’t about rewriting history or polishing someone’s legacy,” she said. “It was about cutting through the noise to finally understand what really happened.
“I’m comfortable I’ve turned over every rock,” Kelly added, “but I know there are still people out there who know more.”
The Gangster’s Ghost is available via Omny, Apple and most other podcast streaming platforms.
