1929: The Bullet Meant for Tomlinson: Frank Green Shoots the Wrong Man in a Sydney Razor Gang War
Frank Green was one of Tilly Devine's top gunmen in the Sydney razor gang wars, and on 9 November 1929 he followed two of Kate Leigh's men, Walter Tomlinson and Bernard Dalton, as they left a Woolloomooloo hotel. Shouting "cop this you bastard", Green opened fire with his revolver, aiming for Tomlinson but fatally wounding Dalton instead.
Tomlinson walked away unharmed, and when police finally caught up with Green five months later, he broke the underworld's unwritten rule of silence by picking him out of a police lineup as Dalton's killer. Riding the prison tram afterwards, Green was overheard muttering, "The bastard picked me today. It's a pity I didn't get him as well as Dalton while I was at it." Tomlinson's testimony alone was not enough to convict him, and Green walked free.
