Murray Riley

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Murray Stewart Riley (5 October 1925 – 1 April 2020) was an Australian Olympic rower and a former police officer who later became a well-known criminal figure.

Sporting career
Riley joined the New South Wales Police Force in 1943. He was an accomplished rower, competing for Australia in the double sculls at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. In 1952, he teamed with John Rogers but were eliminated in the semi-final stage. In 1956, Riley won a bronze medal in the double sculls, partnered by Merv Wood, who would later become NSW police commissioner. Riley also raced in the Empire Games (now the Commonwealth Games) with Merv Wood, winning double sculls gold for Australia in 1950 Auckland and 1954 Vancouver.

Police career and turning to crime
Riley rose to Detective Sergeant and earned the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct. He left the police in 1962 after disciplinary charges and began a criminal career. He initially worked in the poker machine and club scene, later defrauding licensed clubs. His activities drew him into Australia’s underworld, where he formed ties with senior criminal figures and, over time, with international networks.

Links to international crime
From the mid-1970s, Riley moved in circles connected to the American Mafia and the Nugan Hand Bank, which prosecutors alleged cultivated criminal networks and laundered money. He was implicated in heroin and cannabis trafficking, and Australian authorities linked him to major drug importations, including a 1978 cannabis operation using couriers from a Sydney illegal club.

Legal troubles and imprisonment
Riley faced multiple investigations and trials. He was jailed in the late 1970s for involvement in cannabis trafficking and later faced other drug-related charges. The Woodward and Moffitt royal commissions examined his alleged roles in organized crime and drug trafficking. He served time in prison but earned a reputation for being able to move through the system, aided by political and police connections.

Later life and escapes
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Riley continued to collide with law enforcement. In Britain, he and Jonathan Gould were convicted in 1991 of conspiracy to defraud British Aerospace and sentenced to five years. He escaped from UK prison in 1991 and again in 1993, traveling widely before being recaptured and eventually returning to Australia. In the mid-1990s, he appeared under a new name, Murray Lee Stewart, and obtained an Australian passport.

Death
Riley died on 1 April 2020 at the age of 94 in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.