The Great Mint Swindle
Two innocent men become inadvertently embroiled in a crime they didn't commit and fight to clear there names.
Zinc Finger Films
Cordell Jigsaw
Synopsis
The Great Mint Swindle is an extraordinary tale about the most famous gold heist in Australia’s history – a major crime that remains unsolved to this day.
The 20-year saga is a mysterious tale of greed, rat cunning and the allure of gold. It’s about the selling of souls, police corruption, the desperate need for redemption and the pursuit of justice.
The story begins with an elaborate sting at The Perth Mint. It ends two decades later with a chilling car bomb assassination and a wretched suicide. At the centre of this historic tale is a bitter war between two brotherhoods.
On one side is Ray Mickelberg, a decorated SAS Vietnam veteran with a reputation after manufacturing a huge fake nugget. His off-sider is larrikin brother Peter Mickelberg, 14-years his junior.
On the other side is senior Detective Donald Leslie Hancock – “The Silver Fox”. Some say he was a fearless champion of justice, others a sinister and rogue cop. His loyal number two was Detective Tony “Lewi” Lewandowski – an easily lead thug who, in the end, is left holding the scales of justice and alone must decide which brotherhood will prevail.
Was Detective Hancock’s approach a case of ‘noble cause’ corruption? Many still believe the Mickelbergs did the Mint job.
Or was it something more sinister?
Photo credit Tony McDonough
Filmed and Post Produced in Western Australia
on the Traditional Country of the Yamatji Badimia, Yamatji Nanda & Noongar Whadjuk peoples
Watch the trailer
Production Information
Writers
Reg Cribb
Paul Bennett
Director
Geoff Bennett
Producers
Michael Cordell
Paul Bennett
Russell Vines
Line Producer
Richard Clendinnen
Post Producer
Josephine Tankard
Executive Producers
Nick Murray
Jo Rooney
Andy Ryan
Key Cast
Grant Bowler
Todd Lasance
Shane Bourne
John Batchelor
Phil Bennett
Adam Booth
Troy Coward
Jenny Davis
Abby Earl
Andrew Hale
Les Hill
Talei Howell-Price
Rhonda Lopez
Caroline McKenzie
Josh Quong Tart
Maya Strange
Key Locations
Perth
Editor
Antonio Mestres
Director of Photography
Bruce Young
Composer
Jim Mogine
Production Designer
Herbert Pinter
Casting
Maura Fay and Associates
Ann Fay
Leigh Pickford
Sound Recordist
Dean Ryan
First Assistant Director
Brad Holyoake
Second Assistant Director
Claire Blake
Third Assistant Director
Kiran Wilson
Costume Designer
Wendy Cork
Hair and Makeup Supervisor
Peta Hastings
Music Facility
Oceanic Studio
Broadcaster
Nine Network Australia
Filming in Perth
“Perth’s a beautiful place to shoot”
“Its incredibly picturesque and the weather is fantastic. Everyone in Perth has been welcoming and very forthcoming in their opinion of the Mickelbergs… everybody. The city is quite divided in its opinions on the case.”
– Grant Bowler, Actor (Ray Mickelberg)
Photo credit Tony McDonough
Photo credit Tony McDonoughCommunity Support
“I knew very little of the events of the Swindle,”
So when the script came I didnt know if it was a true story or not. It seemed like such an imaginative tale. I was blown away to meet Ray and Peter and that made the subject even more real to us. With real characters you have an obligation to get it right, or as close as you possibly can.
– Josh Quong Tart, Actor (Brian Mickelberg)
Production Gallery
Tony McDonough
Tony McDonough