In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand, we explore the case of Gary Lewer — a former Mr. Australia, world bodybuilding champion and long-time Melbourne identity who now finds himself detained in an immigration facility and facing deportation to a country he hasn’t lived in since childhood.

Lewer insists he’s no criminal mastermind but the victim of a vendetta — a web of untested allegations and police dossiers that have never seen the inside of a courtroom. Adam unpacks the evidence, the politics, and the human cost of a system that allows punishment without trial.

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand, we explore the case of Gary Lewer &mdash; a former Mr. Australia, world bodybuilding champion and long-time Melbourne identity who now finds himself detained in an immigration facility and facing deportation to a country he hasn&rsquo;t lived in since childhood.
Lewer insists he&rsquo;s no criminal mastermind but the victim of a vendetta &mdash; a web of untested allegations and police dossiers that have never seen the inside of a courtroom. Adam unpacks the evidence, the politics, and the human cost of a system that allows punishment without trial.

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.

Real Crime with Adam Shand

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them. 

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.&nbsp;

Deported Without Trial: Inside Australia’s Character Test | Gary Lewer

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/47489934-8bdd-4f98-b674-b383017659ee/transcript

In 2016, Adam Shand covered the disappearance of Rigby Fielding in a single radio segment — and then moved on. Ten years later, Rigby's family is still waiting.

Rigby Fielding was 53 years old when he vanished on August 15, 2015, after calling his mother to say he was on his way home from Perth to Rockingham. He never arrived. Now his sister Stephenie joins Adam to walk through a decade of unanswered questions, police indifference, and a trail of leads that were never properly followed.

His bag was recovered in bushland near the Spectacles Wetlands — a known meeting place for gay men. A person of interest was quickly cleared without explanation. CCTV footage from Perth train station, the last confirmed sighting, went missing. Dating app chat logs were never investigated. And all the while, the family knocked on doors, called hospitals, and were told he was 53 — he was allowed to go missing.

Stephenie believes foul play was involved. Adam agrees — and draws a direct line to the Bondi hate crimes of the eighties and nineties, where a pattern of dismissal allowed killers to go free. With only six officers in Western Australia's entire missing persons unit across 2.5 million square kilometres, the system was failing Rigby before the search had even begun.

In 2016, Adam Shand covered the disappearance of Rigby Fielding in a single radio segment &mdash; and then moved on. Ten years later, Rigby's family is still waiting.
Rigby Fielding was 53 years old when he vanished on August 15, 2015, after calling his mother to say he was on his way home from Perth to Rockingham. He never arrived. Now his sister Stephenie joins Adam to walk through a decade of unanswered questions, police indifference, and a trail of leads that were never properly followed.
His bag was recovered in bushland near the Spectacles Wetlands &mdash; a known meeting place for gay men. A person of interest was quickly cleared without explanation. CCTV footage from Perth train station, the last confirmed sighting, went missing. Dating app chat logs were never investigated. And all the while, the family knocked on doors, called hospitals, and were told he was 53 &mdash; he was allowed to go missing.
Stephenie believes foul play was involved. Adam agrees &mdash; and draws a direct line to the Bondi hate crimes of the eighties and nineties, where a pattern of dismissal allowed killers to go free. With only six officers in Western Australia's entire missing persons unit across 2.5 million square kilometres, the system was failing Rigby before the search had even begun.

Where Is Rigby Fielding? | Stephenie Fielding

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/6d53e034-d341-4bf0-81fa-b42b000b93c0/transcript

Adam Shand had a front-row seat to exactly the kind of incident his latest guest spends every day managing. After stepping in when a drunk man harassed women on a Melbourne train — only to watch Victoria Police's Protective Services Officers handle it with quiet, professional authority — Adam sat down with Acting Superintendent Sean Halley from the Transit Safety Division to unpack what's really happening on the network.

From knife operations in Frankston to gang activity at high-risk stations, Sean pulls back the curtain on the work of PSOs — sworn officers with the same powers as police who are the frontline of safety across Melbourne's rail system. He also tackles the big question: should bystanders intervene, or hit the button and let the professionals do their job?

Adam Shand had a front-row seat to exactly the kind of incident his latest guest spends every day managing. After stepping in when a drunk man harassed women on a Melbourne train &mdash; only to watch Victoria Police's Protective Services Officers handle it with quiet, professional authority &mdash; Adam sat down with Acting Superintendent Sean Halley from the Transit Safety Division to unpack what's really happening on the network.
From knife operations in Frankston to gang activity at high-risk stations, Sean pulls back the curtain on the work of PSOs &mdash; sworn officers with the same powers as police who are the frontline of safety across Melbourne's rail system. He also tackles the big question: should bystanders intervene, or hit the button and let the professionals do their job?

On the Beat: Transit Safety | Acting Superintendent Sean Halley

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/d80eff03-49d6-4e12-8c32-b426005d180b/transcript

When three armed intruders broke into  "Michael"'s Melbourne home in the dead of night, they weren't expecting a fight. Armed with machetes and a gun, the men ransacked his home demanding money. What they got instead was a man who refused to back down.

Bloodied but unbeaten, "Michael" held his ground using nothing but a decades-old ornamental sword and the muscle memory of martial arts training he hadn't used in 20 years. No one has been arrested. And "Michael" suspects someone he trusted set him up.

Adam Shand sits down with "Michael" inside the home where it happened — carpets ripped up, locks still being changed — to hear a raw, first-hand account of survival, betrayal and a justice system that's yet to deliver answers.

When three armed intruders broke into &nbsp;"Michael"'s Melbourne home in the dead of night, they weren't expecting a fight. Armed with machetes and a gun, the men ransacked his home demanding money. What they got instead was a man who refused to back down.
Bloodied but unbeaten, "Michael" held his ground using nothing but a decades-old ornamental sword and the muscle memory of martial arts training he hadn't used in 20 years. No one has been arrested. And "Michael" suspects someone he trusted set him up.
Adam Shand sits down with "Michael" inside the home where it happened &mdash; carpets ripped up, locks still being changed &mdash; to hear a raw, first-hand account of survival, betrayal and a justice system that's yet to deliver answers.

Machete at Midnight: They Picked the Wrong House | "Michael"

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/83785b1f-cb7f-47a7-a536-b41e001fa76f/transcript

Deported Without Trial: Inside Australia’s Character Test | Gary Lewer

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