Dead Man Walking: the murky world of Michael McGurk and Ron Medich

5 September 2009 businessman, Michael McGurk was shot as he arrived home after collecting a take-away meal for the family. His young son was with him. People in Sydney were well aware of the corruption associated with McGurk and his associates but the execution took people by surprise.

Kate McClymont, an investigative journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, with the assistance of Vanda Carson, has compiled a detailed account of the lives of McGurk and Medich, the man accused of ordering the hit on his former business partner. Medich was finally jailed in 2018 for ordering the hit plus other crimes attributed to him.

 In Dead Man Walking, the journalist has compiled a comprehensive account of the business and criminal activities of McGurk and Medich and their numerous associates. This is a story of extremely dodgy business deals, intimidation, arson, fire bombings of properties and many failed businesses, plus drugs and brothels. The activities were not always purely confined to Australia. McGurk and his associates also involved a number of politicians in their activities.

 Dead Man Walking would appeal to those who regularly read true crime novels as the book investigates an unfortunate period in recent Australian history. Readers of crime fiction would, at times, consider that they were reading another crime novel!

This book was one of three books selected as a possible title for discussion by the Monash Alumni Book Club in August-September 2025.

Murder of Michael McGurk - Wikipedia

Ron Medich found guilty - ABC