Mark Brandon Read

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Chopper Read, real name Mark Brandon Read is an Australian criminal and author. Convicted of many crimes including armed robbery, firearm offences, assault and kidnapping, Read spent a mere 13 months outside prison between the ages of 20 and 38, then went on to become a successful author of crime novels, selling in excess of 500,000 copies of his works.

Read is currently touring Australia performing a series of shows with Mark 'Jacko' Jackson [1].

Early life

Read grew up in the Melbourne suburbs of Collingwood, Fitzroy and Preston and began his criminal career robbing drug dealers.

Described variously as witty, charismatic, sadistic, and frightening, Read admits to the killing of 19 people and a further 11 attempts. Many of his associates in the underworld claim that Read is prone to making up numbers to increase his own notoriety and the sales of his books.

Author

Read wrote his first book Chopper: From the Inside while incarcerated in Melbourne's Pentridge Prison. it contains tales and anecdotes of his criminal and prison exploits in 1991. Attempts were made to ban a children's book written by Read titled "Hooky the Cripple".

Read married Australian Taxation Office employee Mary-Ann Hodge in 1995 while imprisoned in Risdon Prison in Tasmania for the shooting of his friend Sidney Collins. The marriage produced one child, Charlie. They later divorced in 2001.

In 2001, Read featured in an advertisement on behalf of the Pedestrian Council of Australia promoting the dangers of drink driving. Read is seated at a kitchen table and undoes his shirt, and while pointing to the numerous scars and injuries on his body, says;

When I was in prison…I got slashed in the face…my ears cut off… a butcher’s knife here, an ice-pick here, etc., etc … If you drink and drive and you're unfortunate enough to hit somebody, you ought to pray to God that you don't go to prison’.

Public comment

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Front Cover ofThe Bulletin, Feb 24 2004

Read has made public comment about a number of criminal cases, including the Ivan Milat backpacker murder and the Port Arthur Massacre. He has frequently appeared on radio and television talk shows to promote his books and discuss his views on many issues. His success in selling tales of his criminal past, and a number of recent attempts by other criminals to do likewise, has prompted widespread calls to amend the Federal Proceeds of Crime Bill (2001) — which confiscates the proceeds of drug deals and robberies — to also apply to indirect proceeds of crime, including book sales, TV appearances, and the like.

Political views

Read has described his political beliefs as "to the right of Genghis Khan". In his book Chopper 2, he lists American conservative G Gordon Liddy, of Watergate fame, and Bruce Ruxton, a critic of Australia's immigration policies and leader of the Victorian RSL, as his political heroes. He also remarks that he makes a certain Neo-Nazi acquaintance look like a "gay commie." He believes in capital punishment for child sex offenders.

Notable quotes

"I haven't shot anybody since 1992, and even then I didn't do it"

"I am in a league alone, working in a specialised area of crime that the ordinary type of criminal only comes into contact with in his worst nightmares..."

"To the human filth I have bashed, belted, iron barred, axed, shot, stabbed, knee capped, set on fire and driven to their graves...I regret nothing."

"Never plead guilty"

"I know most of you out there hate my guts, I'm not a very popular person, but you drink and you drive you're the same as me, you're a murdering maggot just the same as I am."

(ref: [2])

Bibliography

Cover of Chopper: From the Inside

(ref: [3])

External links