Researching Malcolm Smith

On April 2, 2013, Smith was arrested by the FBI on federal corruption charges. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation alleged that Smith attempted to secure a spot on the Republican ballot in the 2013 New York City mayoral election through bribery of New York City Councilman Dan Halloran and two other Republican officials. In September 2014, Smith's Democratic primary challenger, former New York City Councilman Leroy Comrie, defeated Smith in a landslide. The following year, Smith was convicted of all charges against him and sentenced to seven years in federal prison.

Smith was raised and attended schools in Angaston and Nuriootpa in South Australia. He won Country Scholarship to study Industrial Chemistry at the South Australian School of Mines in Adelaide. His studies were interrupted by World War II, when he was recruited to a laboratory position by the Munitions Department.

After some years working for a public analyst in Adelaide, C.A.Smythe & Co, he was engaged by the Australian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (later renamed the C.S.I.R.O) as a Technical Officer at the Division of Food Preservation and Transport in Sydney. Smith remained in this employment until retiring on 29 February 1984 from the position of Principal Research Scientist at the then named Division of Food Research.

Smith was co-author of a history of his Division, published in 1979. He was awarded degrees of BSc and MSc at the University of New South Wales in 1956 and 1959, and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science by that University in 1980. His discourse discussed his published research into 'Physico-Chemical Studies on Proteins, with Particular Reference to the Structure and Stability of Egg Proteins.'

Smith married Josephine Lucy in Adelaide in 1945, and had two daughters and two sons. He died from diffuse lewy body disease in 2000.

Climbing since 1988, he has developed an impressive list of repeated hard climbs, notably repeating Ben Moon's 1990 testpiece Hubble at Raven Tor aged only 18. Smith is particularly known for his commitment to tough training regimes and for his focus on bouldering. He is one of only a handful of climbers to have repeated the classic Dreamtime at Cresciano, and has also made first ascents of boulder problems up to Font 8B+ such as Monk Life in Northumberland and Pilgrimage at Parisella's Cave in North Wales.

Smith has also competed internationally and is sponsored by Scarpa and Moon Climbing.

In 2014, Smith and The Climbing Academy released a range of climbing holds under the brand Stonesmith Holds.