Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
November 26, 2025
Brother of Underworld Figure Reveals Untold Great Bookie Robbery Story
TLDR
- Readers gain insider knowledge of real underworld tactics from a family member's perspective, offering unique insights into criminal strategies and survival.
- Gregory M. Carroll structures his novel in five parts detailing the 11-minute heist, crew development, aftermath, and final reckoning using personal memories and court records.
- This novel provides a human perspective on crime's devastating impact, showing how greed and betrayal ultimately destroyed everyone involved in the original robbery.
- Discover the untold family story behind Australia's infamous 1976 Great Bookie Robbery from the brother of an actual underworld figure involved in the events.
Impact - Why it Matters
This novel provides unprecedented insight into one of Australia's most infamous unsolved crimes through the eyes of someone who lived within the criminal underworld. For true crime enthusiasts and historical fiction readers, it offers authentic perspective on the human cost of organized crime, the corrupt systems that enabled it, and the personal tragedies that unfolded long after the headlines faded. The book serves as both compelling entertainment and valuable social history, preserving first-hand accounts that might otherwise be lost to time.
Summary
Gregory M. Carroll's debut novel "11 MINUTES" brings a chilling authenticity to the infamous 1976 Great Bookie Robbery through the eyes of someone who lived in its shadow. As the younger brother of Ian "Fingers" Carroll, one of the real figures entangled in Melbourne's violent underworld, Carroll didn't just research this story—he grew up inside it. Drawing from personal memories, court records, and the brutal Waterfront Organized Crime War that claimed dozens of lives, Carroll reconstructs the rapid 11-minute heist that saw masked gunmen storm Melbourne's Victoria Club and vanish with a fortune, only for every man involved to be dead within a decade.
The novel's five-part structure meticulously chronicles the crew's rise through Melbourne's violent docklands, the unforgiving aftermath involving corrupt police and underworld rivals, and the final reckoning where greed, paranoia, and betrayal left no survivors. What sets this work apart is its raw, first-hand family perspective—a narrative never before published that captures the fractured loyalties and brutal human cost of 1970s Melbourne crime. The book merges the sharp tension of a heist thriller with the profound tragedy of a family caught in crime's undertow, offering readers not just entertainment but historical insight.
Available for pre-order through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Booktopia and Dymocks with a global release date of December 1, 2025, "11 MINUTES" represents a significant contribution to Australian noir and true crime literature. Carroll, now retired on the Gold Coast, writes with the clarity of someone who identified his own brother's body, bringing unparalleled authenticity to this dark, uncompromising exploration of one of Australia's most enduring criminal mysteries.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by 24-7 Press Release. Read the original source here, Brother of Underworld Figure Reveals Untold Great Bookie Robbery Story
