Colin McLaren

Police career

The major phase of McLaren's real life police career took place during the 1980s and 1990s. McLaren rose through the police ranks rapidly and when asked to join an elite covert surveillance unit, he began spying on drug importers and the ringleaders of organised crime, before going undercover and organising covert stings. As a member of some of the most high-profile task forces in Australia, McLaren, as a suit and tie detective, worked on the Walsh Street murders of police constables Steven Tynan and Damian Eyre, the Mr Cruel child rapes and the murder of thirteen-year-old Karmein Chan, and the bombing of the Adelaide NCA police headquarters where he was task force leader. McLaren then went undercover, where for two years he infiltrated Australia's mafia in the guise of a money laundering art dealer, in what is still the largest undercover sting in Australian history. Eleven Mafia bosses received sentences of up to 13 years each for major drug trafficking and racketeering. He also went undercover for another year to gain evidence on the Mafia responsible for the NCA bombing. Six mafia were jailed. He ended his police career as a permanent lecturer at the detective training school, his subject was 'crime scene management' and 'field investigations'.

After leaving police work, he developed his interest in Italian style gourmet food and wine, designing the Italian villa 'Villa Gusto' in the countryside in north-east Victoria, Australia.

Writing career

It was during 2005 that Colin discovered that he could write. He commenced on his first, (best selling) book straight away. He has now penned 5 books to date. McLaren's first book, Infiltration, is the true story of his efforts as a suit and tie detective and the undercover agent who infiltrated the Mafia. McLaren followed this up with On the Run, a novel that details the exploits of Cole Goodwin, McLaren's real-life Mafia alias, which has been adapted to a screenplay. The story picks up with the Mafia sending a hit-man after Cole and his undercover girlfriend, Jude. Cole escapes a hit and goes 'on the run' with the assassin in pursuit; through South America, New York and eventually throughout Italy. The plot follows a massive drug importation as well and culminates with a face-off between the assassin and Cole, in the Mafia-controlled mountains of southern Italy.

McLaren's third book, Sunflower, is a historical work graphically depicting the real life experiences of his own grandfather, one of Australia's longest-serving foot soldiers from the First World War. McLaren is currently working on further manuscripts and screenplays. These include a mini series likened to Deadwood. McLaren co-wrote the fourth Underbelly book with famous Australian authors Andrew Rule and John Silvester, and published his fifth book, JFK: The Smoking Gun, concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy, in November 2013, which was released in conjunction with a 90-minute TV documentary of the same name.

McLaren's police career has been the focus of various television documentaries, and the Underbelly Files: Infiltration telemovie series screened on Channel 9.

McLaren is the owner of Scuttlebutt Media, a company specialising in offering assistance to film projects. He has been a guest speaker at Australian literary events as well as corporate events as a key note speaker. McLaren has been the technical advisor for many TV series and films in the crime genre, among them the Screentime Films trilogy of Tell them Lucifer was Here, The Man that Got Away and Infiltration. Also the TV series Squizzy about Squizzy Taylor, a gangster from the 1920s, for which McLaren wrote storyline material. McLaren also contributed to Killing Time, the television mini-series based on once corrupt lawyer Andrew Fraser's life, produced by FremantleMedia, TV1 and Film Victoria. McLaren was also Producer of a one-hour debate show made in Hollywood titled 'JFK:Inside the Evidence'. He also headed up a panel of experts on the show which was anchored by America's most known anchorman Bill Kurtis. It aired on Reelz TV channel in late 2013 across USA.

JFK: The Smoking Gun

Inspired by Bonar Menninger's Mortal Error, McLaren decided to approach the assassination of Kennedy as a cold case investigation, and treating Howard Donahue's expert testimony as that of just one witness of many. After more than four years of work, made far quicker and easier by the availability of documents such as the Warren Commission report and testimony as searchable files, he published a 90-minute documentary and book, both titled JFK: The Smoking Gun.

JFK: The Smoking Gun (documentary)

The documentary aired on Australian and American television on November 3, 2013.

Written by Steve Lucas and directed by Malcolm Mcdonald, it features re-enactments, archival footage, and also new interviews with Menninger, with Donahue's daughter Colleen, and with witnesses to the shooting. A one-hour abridged version of this documentary aired in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2013, entitled JFK's Secret Killer: The Evidence. In the television special, McClaren extended the work of Donahue and Menniger to argue that the truth was covered-up to hide impropriety on the part of Secret Service agents.

Paul Monk in The Sydney Morning Herald panned the central premise of the documentary and book stating : "The idea that the American president was shot by mistake is complete rubbish." Monk said McLaren "fails to provide an index to his own book at all and boldly advances a perfectly ridiculous and long since discredited theory."

JFK: The Smoking Gun (book)

McLaren's book JFK: The Smoking Gun (2013) is dedicated to Howard Donahue but has a very different focus to both his documentary and to Menninger's book. Donahue's ballistics tests are not here repeated, but are simply cited as evidence, and McLaren then describes going to the scene in Dallas to see with his own eyes whether they seemed convincing in that context.

As an investigator, McLaren focuses on the existing witness testimony, rather than on his own ballistics or similar tests. Rather than just dismiss the ballistics tests carried out for the Warren Commission as inexpert, their testimony to the commission, including their qualifications, is quoted and critiqued, and also any cross-examination.

He quotes many more witnesses than Donahue or Menninger as having believed that shots were fired at ground level, and observes a pattern of concealment of evidence. His conclusion, like those of Reppert and of Menninger, is that Donahue is correct in both the broad theory and the details.

McLaren started his research in January 2009. The book is in print and also available for kindle.

Princess Diana's Death - Mystery Solved

Throughout 2016 McLaren, in conjunction with Bedlam Productions of London, produced the 2-hour documentary 'Princess Diana's Death - Mystery Solved'. The documentary aired throughout America on Reelz TV on 10 July 2016. The documentary relies on forensic evidence gathered by McLaren when he visited the original crime scene in Paris on 31 August, 1997. McLaren had previously been a lecturer at the Australian-based Detective Training School specializing in Crime Scene management and procedures. McLaren's documentary indicates that both the French and English investigations into the death of Diana were flawed. McLaren interviews many of those involved in the investigation, French Police and Paparazzi included, as well as crucial witnesses, and concludes that a cover-up existed.

Publications