Sledgehammer Beck shines the light into the murky corridors of one of the darkest periods in Australian law enforcement history. Max Beck was born to be an extraordinary policeman and from the outset he proved his mettle. But he was never more severely tested him with closing the illegal casinos and bookmakers which were the lifeblood of Sydney's burgeoning organised crime syndicates. Sledgehammer Beck provides startling insights into many of the mysteries and scandals that have beset New South Wales since the mid-1970s, up to and including the contemporary crises over money laundering in poker machines and plush, billion-dollar casinos.