June 19, 2026 — 4:00pmMatthew Charles Johnson, the man who bashed to death gangland figure Carl Williams, is considered one of the most dangerous men in Australia.Matthew Johnson.But he also regularly wrote to John Silvester to critique his news stories, in the form of poetry.In one that Johnson titled ‘Convicted’, which Silvester shares on the latest episode of the Naked City podcast, Johnson writes about being “thrown to the wolves” in the trial for Williams’ murder.Another poem mocked the TV show Underbelly for how it portrayed “Fat Boy” Carl Williams eating buckets of fried chicken.“Justice Betty King, who, as a prosecutor and a judge, dealt with all the underworld figures, said ‘only one person ever scared me, and that was Matty Johnson’,” Silvester says on the podcast.“Johnson had 150 offences by the time he was a young man. He was in adult prison at a very young age. To give you an idea – and he was acquitted of this crime – it was alleged that he killed somebody by cutting them open, poured petrol in their body and in their mouth, set it on fire, and this was over a $20 drug debt.”Matthew Johnson in the clothes he has worn most of his adult life.In this special episode of Naked City, hosted by Tammy Mills and available exclusively to subscribers, crime reporter John Silvester answers questions posed by readers and listeners. Several questions were about Silvester’s relationship with Mark Brandon aka Chopper Read.Listen to full conversation by clicking the player below, or read on for another edited extract of the episode.Read was charismatic and a ruthless killer, who became world-famous because of a movie about him, in which he was played by Australian actor Eric Bana.And it was Silvester, and his co-author Andrew Rule, who began Read’s rise to infamy when they turned Read’s prison letters into a series of best-selling books.Crime reporter John Silvester (left) with Chopper Read.Mills: One of the first questions from your listeners and readers came from an Adam Jones. He wanted to know, “Your old mate Chopper went down for the murder of Sidney Collins. Having just read one of Chopper’s books, he protests that he did not do it (it’s unlike a crim to lie!) . Interested to know your view on it.” Silvester: He protested his innocence, but when he was terminally ill, Mark gave his last interview, which was a paid interview, and Mark, ever the value for money, confessed to the murder of Collins purely to give the media outlet a headline.Mills: Nick asks, ‘Did you ever get nervous in developing first name relationships with crims over the course of your career (like Chopper?)’ Where did you draw the line between getting the access necessary to do your job and getting too close for comfort?’”Silvester: “I would try and remind myself, if this phone was tapped and a transcript was produced and I was giving evidence in the Supreme Court, would I be embarrassed? And you have to understand that there are pretty clever people within the underworld who would befriend reporters for a number of reasons.“One is don’t underestimate how people like to have their names in the paper, and there were some crooks who felt the need for their notoriety to be known by the general public.“There are others who see journalists as a resource, so they can’t get information from the police, but they know a particular journalist may know stuff, and so they become adept at talking without saying anything while asking questions about the investigation.“And we know, with phone taps, that there have been some reporters who were actively investigated for conspiracy to pervert. In the phone calls were seen as, you know, let’s just say not professional.”John Silvester is a columnist for The Age. He has covered Melbourne’s crime beat and justice system since the 1970s, winning numerous accolades, including three Walkley Awards and six Melbourne Press Club Quill Awards. He has written or co-authored more than 30 books, including the Underbelly series, which was made into a TV series.Catch up on the seventh season of crime podcast Naked City, where Silvester talks to the cops and the crims. From our partners