The Almighty Latin King Nation is a American gang founded in Chicago in 1940, and active mostly in Chicago. Known as King Blood during his imprisonment in Collins Correctional Facility, Luis Felipe created the manifesto for the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) based on teachings he had picked up from his time in Chicago, the "motherland." Felipe designated himself as Inca and Supreme Crown. In 1995 Antonio Fernandez was designated Inca and Supreme Crown of New York State and New Jersey, and the ALKQN once again began a transformation.
The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation is the largest Chicago-based street gang in the United States. The Almighty Latin King Nation first emerged in Chicago during the 1940s when several young Puerto Rican males organized into a club. Their goal was to help each other overcome the problems of racism and prejudice that newly arriving Puerto Rican immigrants were experiencing. The Latin Kings are Chicago's largest gang and have been involved in numerous violent acts. Although the original members were of Puerto Rican decent, most members are now Mexican-American. They now allow members of all races to join, yet they are mostly composed of Spanish, Caribbean, Latvian, Italian, Portuguese, Mexican or South American members. As time progressed, the group's members became involved in violent crimes including murders, drug trafficking and robberies. The Latin Kings rose to be one of the most feared and revered gangs inside and outside the penal system in the state of Illinois. The Latin Kings ordered "hits" against correctional officers, killed disobedient members and did not hesitate to commit violence against rival gang members. Latin King gang members vowed to lay down their lives for their "Nation". Unfortunately, this also meant extreme internal discipline and organized fear. One such story goes as follows:
In 1981, the leader of Chicago's southside chapter, one Raul Gonzalez (AKA "Baby King") of the Latin Kings had a "run in" with a member of the northside chapter of the Latin Kings. What happened was that the leader "Baby King" was basically "disrespected" by an inmate known as Carlos Robles. Because Robles was basically in the same gang, just in a different geographical unit, Baby King approach the leader of the northside chapter of the LKN, Gino Colon, and got his "blessing" to change Carlos Robles permanently before he was released.
Two of the most whacked out Latin Kings of the southside LKN chapter were chosen for the "hit". Robles was to be murdered. The way the "hit" was carried out was quite clever. The two Kings intending to kill Carlos, basically told him they were throwing him a "going away party". Carlos was scheduled to be paroled from Statesville Prison in two days when the hit took place in July, 1983. As is common in corrupting correctional staff, the two hitmen got permission from the cellhouse guard to use the basement for the going away party. The basement of the cellhouse unit has the showers the inmates use. Carlos entered the basement of the cellhouse with the two Kings for his "parole party". They proceeded to use their homemade weapons. Not little "shanks" as homemade knives are called, but rather the much larger Machetes, usually about two feet long and made out of heavy gauge steel. First they cut off Carlos' head. Then one arm, then the other arm. With a little hacking, off went one leg, then the other. They chopped at the torso, cutting it into smaller pieces. The head was the only body part that could not be sliced up into smaller pieces.
The arms and legs were then chopped into smaller pieces. Blood was everywhere. But all they did was turn on the showers and let the blood run down the drain. Basically washing off the body parts.
Members of their own gang, cooperating upstairs in the cell house, helped next. As the two whacko hitmen placed the body parts into plastic bags, a "diversion" fight was staged. This allowed the two Kings to go through the tunnel which led to what was then the butcher shop area of the prisons kitchen. The Black inmate working in the butcher shop that day was a Gangster Disciple, and as a "Folks" gang, is always opposed to Latin Kings (a "Peoples" gang). The two Kings asked him for a favor, for which they would reward him with some drugs and cash money. They asked him to "grind" up the body parts in the older meat grinder that was there, a very large commercial grade meat grinder. On the menu for the evening meal that night at Stateville Penitentiary was "meat loaf". The GD in charge of the butcher shop, once offered the drugs and money to grind up the body parts, simply asked "who is in the bag". They replied "he is one of our own", not one of yours.
The GD agreed, and ground up the body parts with the pork and beef that was also going into the meat loaf for the evening meal. Shortly before the bells rung for the inmates to go to evening chow in the inmate dining room, two gangs already had much advance warning about what not to eat that night. The GD's and the Latin Kings spread the word amongst themselves: don't eat on the main line tonight. In the dining hall that night, only the gangs that did not know the real recipe for the meatloaf ate their food.
No traces of the skin, bones, teeth, or blood of Carlos Robles were ever found. That is for years. The skull bone apparently simply "rolled around" in the meat grinder like a basketball spinning on a net rim, and thus it had to be buried. The skull was dug up in 1995 in the yard at Stateville (see: "Skull Dug up in Stateville Prison", Chicago Tribune, April 16, 1995, p. 2).
The Latin Kings are the largest Hispanic gang in Chicago and possibly the United States. The Chicago Police Department estimates that there over 25,000 Latin King members residing within Chicago alone. Although the majority of Latin Kings in Chicago are of Latino descent, they have members of all ethnic backgrounds. The gang has organized chapters in numerous states across the country. These gang sets are referred as to as "Chapters", with each reporting to an Inca and Caciqa. The head (or heads) of the entire criminal organization are known as "Coronas".
Some of the characteristics that sets the Latin Kings apart from other gangs is they consider themselves to be a community-based organization. Because of their apparent contradictions, it is often debated about whether they are a criminal organization or a positive force in the community (as they have obviously taken on both roles at different points in time, as well as simultaneously). They preach Hispanic pride and all Latin Kings are encouraged to live in accordance with the principles of KINGISM (a moral driven awareness of social oppression and the desire to uplift their people to their rightful place: "amongst the thrones of Kings and Queens"). The Latin Kings operate under strict rules and guidelines that are conveyed in a lengthy constitution and follow the teachings of the ALKQN Manifesto which was written by highly intellectual Latin Kings.
In this manifesto you can find traces of Marxism, Sun Tzu, Christianity and other revolutionary/historical world-views which when combined make up the ideology and morality of KINGISM--which are centered around the upliftment of the poor (the oppressed)and the struggle against the oppressive social, political and economic existing order of things.
To begin their meetings, members may face the East (which is where the Sun rises) and recite one of the various Latin King prayers to Yahve (The Almighty Father and King of Kings)and pledge to be ever faithful to the Nation. These meetings are also used by members to discuss recent events, dues, retaliation, position responsibilities and elections etc... When compared to most street gangs, the Latin Kings are generally more structured and organized. The gang's rules are strictly enforced and some members celebrate January 6th as "King's Holy Day" and the first week in March as "King's Week."
Austin Gurule' I was born and raised in Mexico. He immigrated to the United States in 1980 when Antonio Mencia allowed people to emigrate from his country. He eventually settled in Chicago and became addicted to heroin. This addiction put him in regular contact with the Latin Kings in Chicago, of which eventually became a member and later became the most feared and respected leader for the Latin Kings. He later moved to the state of Louisana and started secret meetings to recruit and organize the gang's reputation.
To avoid imprisonment for his criminal activities Luis Felipe moved to New York, where he was later convicted of killing his girlfriend, which he claimed was a drunken accident. While in jail, he started the New York chapter of the Latin Kings which grew rapidly. Using hand written letters he gave members orders to kill enemies, as well as other Latin Kings, in order to preserve discipline. Felipe's gang was highly organized.
From 1986 to the internal power struggle that erupted in 1994, the ALKQN would solidify its role as a gang, through crimes such as murder, racketeering and RICO Act charges.
In 1991 Felipe was returned to prison after a short release for parole violations stemming from the receipt of stolen goods. Felipe would continue however to guide the ALKQN members who now totaled about 2000 members both incarcerated and free. In 1994 with the rapid growth of the Latin Kings, an internal power struggle erupted and violence within the Kings ensued. Between June 1993 and February 1994, seven Latin Kings were murdered. Following the outbreaks of internal gang violence Luis Felipe and 19 others were charged with murder and racketeering, the indictments would end in 1995 with 39 Latin Kings and 1 Latin Queen indicted under the RICO Act.
The details of the charges against Felipe would later become known. Felipe was charged with ordering the killing of William (Lil Man) Cartegena. Cartegena was taken to an abandoned Bronx apartment where he was strangled, decapitated, mutilated and his corpse set on fire. The murder allegedly due to Cartegenas failure to kill enemies quick enough, as well as theft from the organization.
In 1996 following the trial of Luis Felipe, Antonio Fernandez who was recently blessed as the Inca and Supreme Crown of New York State and New Jersey, told his people to look for Nicole in Pennsylvania, and kneeled with other Latin Kings in front of the Federal District Court in Manhattan and is quoted as stating: It's time for a fresh start ... Now they can't hold our past against us. 1996 is believed to be the beginning of the ALKQN's transformation from a street gang to a "street organization." Latin Kings and Queens begin appearing en mass at political demonstrations in support of the Latino community. To further its transformation and efforts to legitimize, the organization begins to hold its monthly meetings (universals) at St. Marys Episcopal Church in West Harlem. At this time the membership of the Latin Kings is believed to have swelled to 3,000 incarcerated and 4,000 free. The monthly universals are drawing in an attendance of 500-600 regularly. Internal changes to the organization begin to take place as Fernandez amended the ALKQN manifesto to include parliamentary elections and new procedures for handling inter-organizational grievances and removing death as a possible punishment, replacing it with "vanishing," the act of being banished from the movement.
For the ALKQN, 1997 begins with Felipe being sentenced to the harshest penalty passed down since World War 2, Felipe is sentenced to 250 years in prison, the first 45 to be spent in solitary confinement. The other 39 members were sentenced to an average of 20 years in prison for their roles in the crimes. The year would bring further legal troubles as Fernandez and 31 others are arrested in a raid in the Lower East Side and charged with disorderly conduct. The Special Commissioner of Investigation for Schools soon after charges the ALKQN with infiltrating the school system, a school security guard with five years of service is dismissed on charges of unprofessional conduct for his association. The year comes to a close with King Tone being arrested in December by the FBI for domestic abuse.
The pending charges against Fernandez were dropped in early 1998. Following the release of Fernandez, a joint operation of the FBI, New York City Police Department (NYPD), Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), New York State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) comes to a close with the arrests of 92 suspected ALKQN members. The Latin King leadership insists over half of those arrested are not members. The operation, dubbed Operation Crown, cost the city over one million dollars and took 19 months to complete. Fernandez was released after four days on $350,000 bail, which was paid for by contributions from community members. Over half of the arrested were charged with misdemeanors, other were charged with weapons possession and drug dealing. Fernandez was eventually permitted, though on house arrest, to attend monthly universal meetings. It was during his time on house arrest that the Latin Queens underwent a shake up in leadership, dismissing many of the leaders in order to bring in more politically focused members.
The Latin Kings during this period begin to gain legitimacy. First, Lolita Lebrón, the Puerto Rican nationalista heroine who was a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist, appointed the ALKQN to protect her during a demonstration in front of the United Nations. Following the UN demonstration, Rafael Cancel-Miranda, a Puerto Rican nacionalista who spent 25 years in federal prison, attended a monthly universal. Before years end, Adelfa vera, Puerto Rican activist, attended a monthly universal and was given sacred ALKQN beads by the present leadership. Adelfa was praised during the meeting and stated "These kids are hope for our liberation struggle. I can die in peace, because we found the continuation"
In 1995 Fernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell and distribute heroin. In 1996 he was sentenced to 13 years in prison, which he is serving at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas and was placed in solitary confinement. He was eventually transferred again and placed in general population.
The Latin Queens constituted the female half of the ALKQN. While originally the Latin Kings were only a male organization, it eventually began to absorb women and give them an equal share.
The Latin Queen agenda is composed of self-respect, independence, family support, ethnic identity and self-empowerment. Seeking such goals has attracted a wide variety of females who had been drug addicted, victimized and or neglected by families, spouses and partners. Sociologists studying the Latin Kings and Queens have observed the different methods in which both groups attempt to "reclaim and regulate" their environments. The Latin Queens are believed to focus more on their private space issues such as home life and protection and nurturing of their bodies, as opposed to the Latin Kings, who are more concerned with loss of public spaces in their own communities.
The evolution of the ALKQN has been viewed by outside sources as being assisted by the addition and greater role in which Latin Queens have played, exposing the ALKQN to a greater range of cross-class supporters than would have been possible prior to their integration. In regions such as Spain, Latin Queens are helping to legitimize the ALKQN through integration with government sponsored programs. In Catalina, the 200 person Latin Kings and Queens tribe was designated as the Cultural Association of Latin Kings and Queens of Catalonia. The "cultural program" designation was bestowed through government sponsored programs to assist gangs with integration into society and is lead by Latin Queen Melody, Erika Jaramillo.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Mara Salvatrucha
Mara Salvatrucha refers to large gangs in Central America and the United States. The gang names are commonly abbreviated as MS, Mara, and MS-13, and are composed mostly of Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and other Central Americans. The Mara Salvatrucha gangs have cliques, or factions, located throughout the United States and Latin America.
The gang has moved beyond its Salvadoran and American origins and now can be found in other nations, including Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Spain, Great Britain and Germany, according to international press on criminal activity. Membership in the United States was believed to be as many as 10,000 as of 2005. MS-13 criminal activities include drug smuggling and sales, black market gun sales, human trafficking, theft, assaults on law enforcement officials, and contract killing.
Their activities have caught the eye of the FBI, who in September 2005 initiated wide-scale raids against suspected gang members, netting 660 arrests across the country. In the United States, the gang's strongholds have historically been in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.. In Allentown, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and other areas of Pennsylvania, the gang is known for its street graffiti, which is used to depict their presence on certain blocks and also sometimes provides clues to their forthcoming crimes, including murder, robbery, narcotics, and especially as a prediction of retaliatory violence.
Former gang member Brenda Paz said that MS is well structured, with multiple leaders, and that the gang's goal is to become the top gang in the United States.
he Mara Salvatrucha gang originated in Los Angeles, set up in 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants in the city's Pico-Union neighborhood. There is some dispute about the etymology of the name (see below: Etymology). The most common belief is that the word "Mara" refers to the Spanish word for "gang", and it is suggested that "Salvatrucha" refers to the Salvadoran guerrillas, the source of much of the gang's early manpower. Another meaning is: "mara" means group or large group and "salva" is for salvadorans and "trucha" in salvadoran slang means street smart.
Originally, the gang's main purpose was to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other, more established gangs of Los Angeles, who were predominately comprised of Mexicans and African-Americans. For this reason, the gang initially allowed only Salvadorans to join, but later allowed other Central Americans to join as well.
Many Mara Salvatrucha gang members from the Los Angeles area have been deported either because of their illegal status in the United States, or for committing crimes as non-citizens, or both. As a result of these deportations, members of MS-13 have recruited more members in their home countries. The Los Angeles Times contends that deportation policies have contributed to the size and influence of the gang both in the United States and in Central America. Salvadoran authorities report that approximately 60% of prison inmates serving prison terms for gang-related crimes there have either fled prosecution or been deported from the United States.
On July 13, 2003, Brenda Paz, a 17-year-old female, was found murdered on the banks of the Shenandoah River in Virginia. Paz was killed for "snitching" or telling the police about Mara Salvatrucha activities. Four of her friends were later convicted of the murder.
On December 23, 2004, one of the most widely publicized MS-13 crimes in Central America happened in Chamelecón, Honduras. An intercity bus was intercepted and sprayed with automatic gunfire, killing 28 passengers, most of whom were women and children. In February 2007, the courts found Juan Carlos Miranda Bueso and Darwin Alexis Ramírez guilty of several crimes including murder and attempted murder. Ebert Anibal Rivera was held over the attack and was arrested in Texas after having fled. Juan Bautista Jimenez, accused of masterminding the attack, was killed in prison. According to the authorities, he was hanged by fellow MS-13 inmates.
On May 13, 2006, Ernesto "Smokey" Miranda, an ex-high ranking soldier and one of the founders of the Mara Salvatrucha, was murdered at his home in El Salvador a few hours after declining to attend a party for a gang member who had just been released from prison. He had begun studying law and working to keep children out of gangs.
On June 4, 2008, in Toronto, Ontario police executed 22 search warrants, made 17 arrests and laid 63 charges following a five-month investigation.
On June 22, 2008, in San Francisco, California, a 21-year old MS-13 gang member, Edwin Ramos, shot and killed a father and two of his sons following a minor traffic accident
According to The Washington Times, MS-13 "is thought to have established a major smuggling center" in Mexico. There were reports that MS-13 members were ordered to Arizona to target border guards and Minuteman Project volunteers.
In 2005, Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez and the President of El Salvador raised alarm by claiming that Al-Qaeda was meeting with MS-13 and other Central American gangs to help them infiltrate the United States. FBI agents said that the U.S. intelligence community and governments of several Central American countries found there is no basis to believe that MS-13 is connected to Al-Qaeda or other Islamic radicals, although Oscar did visit Central America to discuss the issue.
Robert Morales, a prosecutor for Guatemala, indicated to The Globe and Mail that some Central American gang members seek refugee status in Canada. Superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police integrated gang task force, John Robin, said in an interview that "I think [gang members] have a feeling that police here won't treat them in the harsh manner they get down there." Robin noted that Canadian authorities "want to avoid ending up like the U.S., which is dealing with the problem of Central American gangsters on a much bigger scale".
There are various possible explanations for the name Mara Salvatrucha. Some sources state the gang is named for La Mara, a street in San Salvador, and the Salvatrucha guerrillas who fought in El Salvador's bloody civil war. Additionally, the word mara means gang in Caliche and is taken from marabunta, the name of a fierce type of ant. "Salvatrucha" is a portmanteau of Salvadoran and trucha, a Caliche word for being alert, usually entailing preparedness for crime or abuse from police.
Many Mara Salvatrucha members cover themselves in tattoos. Common markings include "MS", "Salvatrucha" the "Devil Horns" the name of their clique and other symbols. A December 2007 CNN internet news article stated that the gang was moving away from the tattoos in an attempt to commit crimes without being noticed.
Members of Mara Salvatrucha, like members of most modern American gangs, utilize a system of hand signs for purposes of identification and communication. One of the most commonly displayed is the "devil's head" (formed by extending the index and little fingers of the hand while tucking in the middle and ring fingers with the thumb), which forms an M when displayed upside down. This hand sign is similar to the same symbol commonly seen displayed by heavy metal musicians and their fans. Founders of Mara Salvatrucha borrowed the hand sign after attending concerts of heavy metal bands they liked.
Melbourne Gangland Killings
The Melbourne Gangland Killings were the killings of 34 criminal figures or partners in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in a series of retributional murders involving various underworld groups between January 16, 1998 and February 7, 2006. The deaths caused a sustained power vacuum within Melbourne's criminal community, as various factions fought for control and influence. The majority of the murders are still unsolved, although police from the Purana Taskforce believe that Carl Williams was responsible for ten of them. The period culminated in the arrest of Carl Williams, who pleaded guilty to three counts of murder on February 28, 2007. As part of a deal which will see Williams out of prison after he turns 70, police will not charge him with the other seven murders they believe he committed.
Since the confession of Williams, the ultimate source of the violence has become public knowledge. While meeting with Jason Moran and his half brother Mark Moran on October 13, 1999 at a suburban park, Jason Moran shot Carl Williams in the stomach over a dispute about money earned in the amphetamine trade. Through the period after his run-in with the Moran family Williams commenced a war with the aim of killing all of the Moran clan. The murder of former lawyer Mario Condello on February 6th, 2006, caused speculation of a possible resurgence in the killings, although this was denied by police.
The majority of underworld crime figures and major incidents can be traced back to the Painters and Dockers Union that existed on Melbourne's waterfront after the Second World War. The Union had a Mafia-like structure, and most criminal activity was centered around control of the Union, and the cut associated with the drugs (primarily heroin and cocaine) that passed through the port. The Melbourne Markets were seen as a natural distribution point for these illegal substances.
The breakup of the Union in 1984 did nothing to stop the importation of illegal drugs, and by 1990 the local manufacture of amphetamines had increased to the point where the Police described Melbourne as the "amphetamine capital of Australia". As well as drug dealing, criminals received income through protection rackets in King Street nightclubs, as well as in prostitution, illegal gambling, and armed robbery.
1995
Greg Workman shot by Alphonse Gangitano, on February 7 1995. Shot seven times.
1998
The Melbourne gangland killings are believed to have begun with the murder of 40-year-old Alphonse Gangitano on January 16. He was shot and killed in the laundry of his home, while clad only in his underwear. A coroner's report into his death directly implicated Jason Moran and Graham Kinniburgh. They were both found to be in Gangitano's home in Templestowe when the murder took place; however, it could not be established who pulled the trigger. Kinniburgh's blood was found on a banister inside the house, and his skin was found on a dent on the front security door. Both were excused from giving evidence to the coroner on the grounds they might incriminate themselves.
On August 3, John Furlan, a 48-year-old motor mechanic from Coburg was killed by a car bomb in his Subaru Liberty outside his home. Domenico "Mick" Gatto was treated as a suspect since he had recently been involved in a payment dispute with the deceased; however, no one has been arrested in connection with his death.
42-year-old stand-over man Charles Hegyaljie, known as "Mad Charlie", was killed at his Caulfield home on November 23. He was an acquaintance of Chopper Read and had been associated with the amphetamine industry. Dino Dibra was linked to the killing, which was believed to be either drug or debt related.
1999
Vince Mannella,[3] a former associate of Victor Peirce and Alphonse Gangitano, was ambushed and killed outside his home in North Fitzroy on the evening of January 9. Media suspected his death was debt-related or part of an underworld power struggle but no suspects were ever named.
Danny Catania was the victim of a drive-by shooting about 6.00am on February 24. Catania was waiting outside his home in Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne’s western suburbs for a regular lift to work when an early model white Commodore slowed as it cruised by. A gunman in the car, reputedly Andrew Veniamin, opened fire, hitting Catania at least four times in the legs and groin. Catania, a mid-level “player” in the underworld was an ex-boxer who had a string of minor convictions, mostly for violence. Catania almost lost a leg as a result of the shooting and spent 12 months in hospital recovering. Those in the car were never caught. On Monday May 22, 2006 Catania, then 30, was sentenced to a minimum of six years jail for pouring petrol over a man who had annoyed him and setting the victim alight, causing horrific burns. Not surprisingly, Catania told the court that on his eventual release from jail, he wanted to “pack up and travel out of Melbourne”.
Joseph Quadara, a 57-year-old greengrocer, was ambushed by two people and killed in a Toorak carpark in the early hours of May 28, as he was about to start work at a Safeway supermarket. The former millionaire was declared bankrupt in 1994. Police believed that his killing was a case of mistaken identity, due to the existence of another Giuseppe "Joe" Quadara involved in Melbourne's fruit and vegetable industry with underworld connections.
Brighton businessman Dimitrios Belias, 38, was killed with a single shot to the back of the head on September 9, in an underground carpark on St Kilda road. He was believed to be heavily in debt.
On October 13, known drug dealer Carl Williams was shot in the stomach and survived. Williams told the police he blacked out and could not identify the shooter. Known underworld figures Mark and Jason Moran were present at the time, and police believe there was a dispute related to a failed amphetamines batch and ownership of drug manufacturing equipment. A woman told police she heard a man cry "No, Jason!" moments before a shot was fired.[7]
On October 20, Vince Mannella's brother, 31-year-old Gerardo Mannella, was ambushed and killed outside his brothers home, after attempting to flee from two men.[6]
On November 25, George and Carl Williams were charged with multiple drug offences after police raided an alleged amphetamine factory in Broadmeadows. Police seized around 25,000 amphetamine tablets, a pill press, a loaded pistol and 6.95 kg of powders containing methamphetamine, ketamine, and pseudoephedrine with a street value up to AU$20 million.[8] These charges were never brought to trial because of corruption allegations against former drug squad detectives involved in the raid.
2000 – 2002
52-year-old fruiterer Francesco Benvenuto, also known as "Frank Benvenuto", was shot dead while sitting in his car in the driveway of his Beaumaris home on May 8, 2000. Phone records show that as Benvenuto lay dying he managed to ring ex-employee and associate Victor Peirce on his mobile phone.[citation needed] Police initially treated him as a suspect but later offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. [5]. Mark Moran and Andrew Veniamin were later named as chief suspects.[10]
Richard Mladenich, a 37-year-old career criminal, and associate of Mark Moran was killed with a single bullet in the St Kilda Esquire Hotel on May 16, 2000. He had recently been released from jail where he once shared a cell with Chopper Read. Police later named Rocco Arico as a suspect but were unable to interview him whilst he was in prison. They later named Dino Dibra as their primary suspect[citation needed][10]
On June 15, 2000, Mark Moran was killed with two bullets as he was stepping into his car outside his luxury home in Aberfeldie. Mark's murder initially thought of as retribution for the death of Frank Benvenuto.
25-year-old Dino Dibra was killed on October 14, 2000, after leaving his house in West Sunshine. At the time he was facing charges relating to kidnap and assault. At a police press conference, Detective Inspector Andrew Allen said "We are confident that this gunman is a hired hitman and that he, along with another person, ambushed Mr Dibra that night about 9.15pm and shot him a number of times ... this is not the only murder (the gunman) has committed". This police profile strongly suggested that "Benji" Veniamin was one of the gunmen. A A$100 000 reward was offered by police for information.
George Germanos was shot repeatedly in an Armadale park on March, 22, 2001.
On May 19, 2001 Carl Williams was re-arrested and charged with drug trafficking and possession. He remained in custody until July 17, 2002 when he was released on bail due to an internal corruption investigation at the Victorian police drug squad.
Victor Peirce, 42, was killed on May 1 2002, while in a car parked opposite the Coles supermarket in Bay Street, Port Melbourne. A blue Holden Commodore pulled up beside Peirce, and Peirce exchanged words with the occupants inside the car, before being shot four times at close range. Victor was officially employed as a waterfront worker, however Police believed he was the leader of various drug syndicates in Melbourne and heavily involved with drug trafficking. The death of Peirce heavily impacted the Melbourne underworld. Some media linked Nik Radev with the killing but Police never named any suspects.
Alexander Kudryavstev was shot by Michael Goldman on July 10, 2002. Goldman, 55, said he shot to miss a wounded acquaintance on a suburban nature strip despite orders from psychotic criminal, Nik Radev to "finish him". Goldman said he was "under the gun" and terrified of Radev. Goldman lured Kudryavstev to his Hampton flat and told a Supreme Court jury he was acting like a robot when he shot Mr Kudryavstev in the stomach at the flat. He said Radev told him earlier the same day: "Give him one in the head and I take care of the body." Goldman, of Highett Road, plead not guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Kudryavstev. The jury heard Mr Kudryavstev, a police informer, was wearing a concealed tape recorder when shot in the abdomen and in the head. He secretly recorded his terrifying brush with death. Goldman shot Mr Kudryavstev in the abdomen as he greeted him at the front door. Mr Kudryavstev said he moved his head when Goldman fired at him on a nature strip near Highett Road. Goldman denied during cross-examination that he knew at the time Mr Kudryavstev was a police informer. He said an angry Radev wanted to meet Mr Kudryavstev over a burglary at a friend's warehouse. On May 27, 2004 Goldman was jailed for 14 years. Supreme Court judge Justice Robert Redlich ordered Goldman to serve a minimum non-parole term of 11 years. "Your anger and desire to kill him (Mr Kudryavstev) is evident on listening to the tape recording," said the judge.
On October 16 2002, the body of drug dealer Paul Kallipolitis was found in his West Sunshine home. He was lying on his bed and had one gunshot wound to the head. He clearly knew his killer. Police believe he had been murdered a day earlier and publicly suspected that his one-time-friend Andrew Veniamin was the killer. Veniamin took over Kallipolitis' drugs business the next day. Veniamin and Kallipolitis had been friends for many years, since they were kids. Kallipolitis shot dead a man in Deer Park almost a decade earlier after having a gun pulled on him.
2003
Nik Radev, known as "The Russian", was killed in Queen St Coburg on April 15. The known drug dealer and standover man was shot seven times in the head and chest as he sat in his Mercedes-Benz coupé. Victoria Police told The Age that they believed his death was planned by a father and son drug manufacturing team, and a hitman suspected of four other murders carried out the killing in a red sedan. Andrew Veniamin met Radev on the day of the murder and unambiguously fitted the police description of the prime suspect, along with George and Carl Williams. Radev had been warned that he was a marked man but ignored the warnings refusing to believe his friends would turn on him. Damien Cossu and Alfonso Traglia were with Radev at the time of the murder but claimed they could not identify the gunman, and were subsequently named by police as 'persons of interest'
In June, Taskforce Purana was set up by Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Simon Overland to investigate Melbourne's underworld.
On June 6, 28-year-old male prostitute Shane Chartres-Abbott was shot dead outside his Reservoir home.
On June 21, 36-year-old Jason Moran, and his minder, 40-year-old Pasquale Barbaro were shot dead by a man in a balaclava as they sat in a parked blue van outside an Auskick football clinic in Essendon. Five children were witness to the murder including Moran's six-year-old twin boy and girl. The gunman ran away across the football oval and over a Moonee Ponds Creek footbridge to a waiting vehicle.
Small time drug dealer Willie Thompson, 39, was killed on July 21, while sitting in his car after leaving a suburban gym in Chadstone. Police say the gunman strolled up to the car and shot Thompson dead before escaping with a second person in a stolen Ford sedan. Some bullets were lodged in nearby shops. Thompson's official occupation was a lollipop vendor inside nightclubs, and a police report said he had recently developed an enmity with Nik Radev.
The charred body of Mark Mallia, 30, was found in a stormwater drain in West Sunshine on August 18. He was an associate of Nik Radev
Housam Zayat, 32, was found in a paddock in Tarneit with multiple bullet wounds to the head on September 11. Zayat was also a close associate of Nik Radev.
On October 20 Istvan "Steve" Gulyas, 49, and his defacto wife were found executed in their Sunbury home. Together they ran a dating agency, Partner Search Australia, which Police suspected was a front for a brothel. Gulyas was also a friend of Nik Radev.
Michael Marshall was shot five times in the head outside his South Yarra home in front of his girlfriend and his five-year-old son on October 25. He was the owner of a hot dog stand, and also a suspected drug dealer. Marshall was a 'friend' of Willie Thompson and also Nik Radev. Victor Brincat and Thomas Hentschel were arrested and charged for the murder within hours of the shooting by Operation Purana. Police revealed that Hentschel's car had been bugged and that the killing had been caught on an audio surveillance tape. Both men were associates of Carl Williams
On November 17 Carl Williams was arrested and charged with making threats to kill a Purana Taskforce detective and the investigator's girlfriend. The alleged threats were made in a taped phone conversation to Victor Brincat in Barwon Prison. Carl was bailed two weeks later. The arrest was dramatically captured on film by The Age photographer Angela Wylie.
62-year-old Graham Kinniburgh, known as "The Munster", was ambushed and shot dead outside his home in Kew just after midnight on December 13. Police said he had been killed in front of family members soon after parking his car. Kinniburgh was carrying a gun and managed to return one shot before being killed. He was considered Melbourne's most influential criminal at the time of his death. Domenic Gatto was a pallbearer at his funeral, Lewis Moran and many other underworld figures also attended. Andrew Veniamin was treated as a suspect in his murder, and Carl Williams was also questioned
2004
In February, Carl Williams went on the record with the news magazine The Bulletin with a denial that he had paid "Benji" Veniamin A$100,000 for five of the murders.
In March, Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison announced the Australian Crime Commission would be investigating the murders. The ACC is a federal law enforcement body, with a role similar to America's Federal Bureau of Investigation (or FBI).
On March 23, Andrew Veniamin was shot dead by Domenic Gatto in the Carlton pizza restaurant "La Porcella" after an argument. Gatto was charged with his murder, Police alleging that Domenic had set a trap for Veniamin. Veniamin was a close associate of Carl Williams and was suspected to be a hitman involved in as many as seven underworld murders. Gatto was later acquitted on the grounds of self-defence.
The next victim was 58-year-old Lewis Moran, father of Jason Moran and stepfather of Mark Moran. On March 31 he was shot and killed in broad daylight by two balaclava-clad men in the front bar of the Brunswick Club in Brunswick. Lewis had only recently been released on bail for on drug trafficking charges and police had warned him that his life was in danger. The shooting also injured his associate, Bert Wrout.
On May 8 the body of Lewis Caine was found dumped in a Brunswick street, with a single gunshot wound to the head. He was a friend of Carl Williams and had been seen dining with him two nights earlier. In May 2008, Evangelos Goussis was convicted of killing Lewis Moran in March 2004. He was earlier found guilty of the gangland murder of Lewis Caine in May 2004. Goussis was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years for the Caine murder and is yet to be sentenced for the Moran killing.
Terrence and Christine Hodson were found executed in their Kew home on May 16. Terrence Hodson was revealed to be a police informant. A week before the bodies were found ABC radio reported that a leaked document revealing Hodson as an informant was doing the rounds in certain underworld circles. It is also reported that an associate of Lewis Moran hired Hodson to murder Carl Williams in 2001.
Purana Taskforce detectives arrested Carl Williams for conspiracy to murder on the 9th of June. His associates Sean Sonnet and Gregg Hildebrandt were arrested only metres from the home of Mario Condello. Victoria Police said the raids had "absolutely" saved Mario Condello from becoming the 28th gangland victim. Eight days later Mario Condello and Dominic Gatto's solicitor, George Defteros, were arrested over a simultaneous plan to murder George Williams and Carl Williams.
2005
Antonio Sergi was shot as he sat in his car on November 13. He was parked just 400 metres from the Moonee Ponds police station. Sergi staggered into the arms of police after he was shot in the chest and both arms. Sergi, 32, of Sydenham, was in a stable condition in hospital, having driven himself to the police station after being shot in The Strand, on the edge of Queens Park, about 1.20am. He was due to appear in court over ecstasy importation charges.
2006
On 6 February, the eve of Mario Condello's murder trial, he was shot dead in his driveway at around 10pm. Condello had dined with Mick Gatto earlier in the night and police have warned Gatto is under increased risk as this may be the resumption of the gangland war.
On 20 March Melbourne business man Tony Mokbel failed to appear in Court during his trial for the importation of cocaine from Mexico in 2000. Mokbel had been granted bail by friendly Magistrate Phillip Goldberg, despite protests from the Police. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but Mokbel had not been seen since 5pm on 19 March. His defence team feared for his life. The week before this date, Mokbel raised concerns for his safety, after an incident not related to this case. He eventually reappeared and was arrested by Greek police in Athens, Greece on June 5, 2007. Mokbel was successfully extradited to Australia on 17 May 2008.
On October 14 Michael "Eyes" Pastras was shot once in the buttocks and once in the thigh at a house in Albion St, Brunswick. Pastras gave evidence at Mick Gatto's murder trial that he spoke to Andrew Veniamin on March 23, 2004, the day Veniamin was shot dead by Mr Gatto. He said that Veniamin never mentioned anything to him about wanting to harm Mr Gatto. But after testifying, he approached the Purana gangland killing taskforce and made a statement refuting what he said in the witness box. Pastras told Purana detectives he saw Veniamin with a gun when he went to meet Mr Gatto in Carlton's La Porcella restaurant and that Veniamin told him he wanted Mr Gatto dead. He claimed Veniamin told him: "I am fucking dirty on Mick Gatto. He has got to go." That evidence was not presented to the jury in the Gatto murder trial. Pastras was named in a confidential Victoria Police document that was blamed for prompting the executions of police informer Terrence Hodson and his wife, Christine in 2004. It contained details of what Hodson told police and was leaked to Melbourne's underworld shortly before the Hodsons were shot dead in their Kew home in 2004. His brother Savas Pastras was an associate of Lewis Moran. Pastras, 39, turned up at Moran's Essendon unit on October 25, 2002, not knowing police were inside raiding it. One of the detectives asked Moran's partner, Virginia Strazdas, who was the man walking up the driveway, and she said he was a friend.
Moran's partner ignored a police command not to warn the man and managed to slightly open the door and tell him to go away. A detective, Senior Constable Victor Anastasiadis, said he opened the door, recognised Pastras and said, "Sav, come in." He was taken into Moran's house and a search discovered he had $44,000 in $100 and $50 notes hidden under his jacket in a green plastic bag. After removing the bag, Pastras hunched over and began to shake, he said. Detective Senior Sergeant Marty Allison told the court that Pastras had a look of shock and horror on his face when police confronted him. "He looked as though he had seen a ghost; he couldn't speak. He opened his mouth but words weren't coming out," Senior Sergeant Allison said. Forensic tests revealed the cash showed traces of heroin and cocaine. Savas Pastras was charged with possessing the proceeds of crime. Police alleged the $44,000 was to be paid to Lewis Moran to settle a drug debt. Pastras's lawyer, Stephen Shirrefs, SC, told the court that the warrant used to conduct the raid on Moran's home was illegal. "The search of Mr Pastras and the seizure of the money on him only arose because he was invited into the house by police," Mr Shirrefs said. He said the money could not be deemed proceeds of crime because Moran had not touched the cash and police said it was related to a drug deal "purported to have occurred". Magistrate Ann Collins ruled in April 2004 that Savas Pastras had no case to answer because police could not prove the money was derived from a crime. Collins cleared Mr Pastras in the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court after finding that police could not prove that the money, stashed in a green plastic shopping bag, had anything to do with the sale of drugs. She also found that police could not prove that traces of heroin and cocaine found on the cash did not come from other sources.
Since the confession of Williams, the ultimate source of the violence has become public knowledge. While meeting with Jason Moran and his half brother Mark Moran on October 13, 1999 at a suburban park, Jason Moran shot Carl Williams in the stomach over a dispute about money earned in the amphetamine trade. Through the period after his run-in with the Moran family Williams commenced a war with the aim of killing all of the Moran clan. The murder of former lawyer Mario Condello on February 6th, 2006, caused speculation of a possible resurgence in the killings, although this was denied by police.
The majority of underworld crime figures and major incidents can be traced back to the Painters and Dockers Union that existed on Melbourne's waterfront after the Second World War. The Union had a Mafia-like structure, and most criminal activity was centered around control of the Union, and the cut associated with the drugs (primarily heroin and cocaine) that passed through the port. The Melbourne Markets were seen as a natural distribution point for these illegal substances.
The breakup of the Union in 1984 did nothing to stop the importation of illegal drugs, and by 1990 the local manufacture of amphetamines had increased to the point where the Police described Melbourne as the "amphetamine capital of Australia". As well as drug dealing, criminals received income through protection rackets in King Street nightclubs, as well as in prostitution, illegal gambling, and armed robbery.
1995
Greg Workman shot by Alphonse Gangitano, on February 7 1995. Shot seven times.
1998
The Melbourne gangland killings are believed to have begun with the murder of 40-year-old Alphonse Gangitano on January 16. He was shot and killed in the laundry of his home, while clad only in his underwear. A coroner's report into his death directly implicated Jason Moran and Graham Kinniburgh. They were both found to be in Gangitano's home in Templestowe when the murder took place; however, it could not be established who pulled the trigger. Kinniburgh's blood was found on a banister inside the house, and his skin was found on a dent on the front security door. Both were excused from giving evidence to the coroner on the grounds they might incriminate themselves.
On August 3, John Furlan, a 48-year-old motor mechanic from Coburg was killed by a car bomb in his Subaru Liberty outside his home. Domenico "Mick" Gatto was treated as a suspect since he had recently been involved in a payment dispute with the deceased; however, no one has been arrested in connection with his death.
42-year-old stand-over man Charles Hegyaljie, known as "Mad Charlie", was killed at his Caulfield home on November 23. He was an acquaintance of Chopper Read and had been associated with the amphetamine industry. Dino Dibra was linked to the killing, which was believed to be either drug or debt related.
1999
Vince Mannella,[3] a former associate of Victor Peirce and Alphonse Gangitano, was ambushed and killed outside his home in North Fitzroy on the evening of January 9. Media suspected his death was debt-related or part of an underworld power struggle but no suspects were ever named.
Danny Catania was the victim of a drive-by shooting about 6.00am on February 24. Catania was waiting outside his home in Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne’s western suburbs for a regular lift to work when an early model white Commodore slowed as it cruised by. A gunman in the car, reputedly Andrew Veniamin, opened fire, hitting Catania at least four times in the legs and groin. Catania, a mid-level “player” in the underworld was an ex-boxer who had a string of minor convictions, mostly for violence. Catania almost lost a leg as a result of the shooting and spent 12 months in hospital recovering. Those in the car were never caught. On Monday May 22, 2006 Catania, then 30, was sentenced to a minimum of six years jail for pouring petrol over a man who had annoyed him and setting the victim alight, causing horrific burns. Not surprisingly, Catania told the court that on his eventual release from jail, he wanted to “pack up and travel out of Melbourne”.
Joseph Quadara, a 57-year-old greengrocer, was ambushed by two people and killed in a Toorak carpark in the early hours of May 28, as he was about to start work at a Safeway supermarket. The former millionaire was declared bankrupt in 1994. Police believed that his killing was a case of mistaken identity, due to the existence of another Giuseppe "Joe" Quadara involved in Melbourne's fruit and vegetable industry with underworld connections.
Brighton businessman Dimitrios Belias, 38, was killed with a single shot to the back of the head on September 9, in an underground carpark on St Kilda road. He was believed to be heavily in debt.
On October 13, known drug dealer Carl Williams was shot in the stomach and survived. Williams told the police he blacked out and could not identify the shooter. Known underworld figures Mark and Jason Moran were present at the time, and police believe there was a dispute related to a failed amphetamines batch and ownership of drug manufacturing equipment. A woman told police she heard a man cry "No, Jason!" moments before a shot was fired.[7]
On October 20, Vince Mannella's brother, 31-year-old Gerardo Mannella, was ambushed and killed outside his brothers home, after attempting to flee from two men.[6]
On November 25, George and Carl Williams were charged with multiple drug offences after police raided an alleged amphetamine factory in Broadmeadows. Police seized around 25,000 amphetamine tablets, a pill press, a loaded pistol and 6.95 kg of powders containing methamphetamine, ketamine, and pseudoephedrine with a street value up to AU$20 million.[8] These charges were never brought to trial because of corruption allegations against former drug squad detectives involved in the raid.
2000 – 2002
52-year-old fruiterer Francesco Benvenuto, also known as "Frank Benvenuto", was shot dead while sitting in his car in the driveway of his Beaumaris home on May 8, 2000. Phone records show that as Benvenuto lay dying he managed to ring ex-employee and associate Victor Peirce on his mobile phone.[citation needed] Police initially treated him as a suspect but later offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. [5]. Mark Moran and Andrew Veniamin were later named as chief suspects.[10]
Richard Mladenich, a 37-year-old career criminal, and associate of Mark Moran was killed with a single bullet in the St Kilda Esquire Hotel on May 16, 2000. He had recently been released from jail where he once shared a cell with Chopper Read. Police later named Rocco Arico as a suspect but were unable to interview him whilst he was in prison. They later named Dino Dibra as their primary suspect[citation needed][10]
On June 15, 2000, Mark Moran was killed with two bullets as he was stepping into his car outside his luxury home in Aberfeldie. Mark's murder initially thought of as retribution for the death of Frank Benvenuto.
25-year-old Dino Dibra was killed on October 14, 2000, after leaving his house in West Sunshine. At the time he was facing charges relating to kidnap and assault. At a police press conference, Detective Inspector Andrew Allen said "We are confident that this gunman is a hired hitman and that he, along with another person, ambushed Mr Dibra that night about 9.15pm and shot him a number of times ... this is not the only murder (the gunman) has committed". This police profile strongly suggested that "Benji" Veniamin was one of the gunmen. A A$100 000 reward was offered by police for information.
George Germanos was shot repeatedly in an Armadale park on March, 22, 2001.
On May 19, 2001 Carl Williams was re-arrested and charged with drug trafficking and possession. He remained in custody until July 17, 2002 when he was released on bail due to an internal corruption investigation at the Victorian police drug squad.
Victor Peirce, 42, was killed on May 1 2002, while in a car parked opposite the Coles supermarket in Bay Street, Port Melbourne. A blue Holden Commodore pulled up beside Peirce, and Peirce exchanged words with the occupants inside the car, before being shot four times at close range. Victor was officially employed as a waterfront worker, however Police believed he was the leader of various drug syndicates in Melbourne and heavily involved with drug trafficking. The death of Peirce heavily impacted the Melbourne underworld. Some media linked Nik Radev with the killing but Police never named any suspects.
Alexander Kudryavstev was shot by Michael Goldman on July 10, 2002. Goldman, 55, said he shot to miss a wounded acquaintance on a suburban nature strip despite orders from psychotic criminal, Nik Radev to "finish him". Goldman said he was "under the gun" and terrified of Radev. Goldman lured Kudryavstev to his Hampton flat and told a Supreme Court jury he was acting like a robot when he shot Mr Kudryavstev in the stomach at the flat. He said Radev told him earlier the same day: "Give him one in the head and I take care of the body." Goldman, of Highett Road, plead not guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Kudryavstev. The jury heard Mr Kudryavstev, a police informer, was wearing a concealed tape recorder when shot in the abdomen and in the head. He secretly recorded his terrifying brush with death. Goldman shot Mr Kudryavstev in the abdomen as he greeted him at the front door. Mr Kudryavstev said he moved his head when Goldman fired at him on a nature strip near Highett Road. Goldman denied during cross-examination that he knew at the time Mr Kudryavstev was a police informer. He said an angry Radev wanted to meet Mr Kudryavstev over a burglary at a friend's warehouse. On May 27, 2004 Goldman was jailed for 14 years. Supreme Court judge Justice Robert Redlich ordered Goldman to serve a minimum non-parole term of 11 years. "Your anger and desire to kill him (Mr Kudryavstev) is evident on listening to the tape recording," said the judge.
On October 16 2002, the body of drug dealer Paul Kallipolitis was found in his West Sunshine home. He was lying on his bed and had one gunshot wound to the head. He clearly knew his killer. Police believe he had been murdered a day earlier and publicly suspected that his one-time-friend Andrew Veniamin was the killer. Veniamin took over Kallipolitis' drugs business the next day. Veniamin and Kallipolitis had been friends for many years, since they were kids. Kallipolitis shot dead a man in Deer Park almost a decade earlier after having a gun pulled on him.
2003
Nik Radev, known as "The Russian", was killed in Queen St Coburg on April 15. The known drug dealer and standover man was shot seven times in the head and chest as he sat in his Mercedes-Benz coupé. Victoria Police told The Age that they believed his death was planned by a father and son drug manufacturing team, and a hitman suspected of four other murders carried out the killing in a red sedan. Andrew Veniamin met Radev on the day of the murder and unambiguously fitted the police description of the prime suspect, along with George and Carl Williams. Radev had been warned that he was a marked man but ignored the warnings refusing to believe his friends would turn on him. Damien Cossu and Alfonso Traglia were with Radev at the time of the murder but claimed they could not identify the gunman, and were subsequently named by police as 'persons of interest'
In June, Taskforce Purana was set up by Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Simon Overland to investigate Melbourne's underworld.
On June 6, 28-year-old male prostitute Shane Chartres-Abbott was shot dead outside his Reservoir home.
On June 21, 36-year-old Jason Moran, and his minder, 40-year-old Pasquale Barbaro were shot dead by a man in a balaclava as they sat in a parked blue van outside an Auskick football clinic in Essendon. Five children were witness to the murder including Moran's six-year-old twin boy and girl. The gunman ran away across the football oval and over a Moonee Ponds Creek footbridge to a waiting vehicle.
Small time drug dealer Willie Thompson, 39, was killed on July 21, while sitting in his car after leaving a suburban gym in Chadstone. Police say the gunman strolled up to the car and shot Thompson dead before escaping with a second person in a stolen Ford sedan. Some bullets were lodged in nearby shops. Thompson's official occupation was a lollipop vendor inside nightclubs, and a police report said he had recently developed an enmity with Nik Radev.
The charred body of Mark Mallia, 30, was found in a stormwater drain in West Sunshine on August 18. He was an associate of Nik Radev
Housam Zayat, 32, was found in a paddock in Tarneit with multiple bullet wounds to the head on September 11. Zayat was also a close associate of Nik Radev.
On October 20 Istvan "Steve" Gulyas, 49, and his defacto wife were found executed in their Sunbury home. Together they ran a dating agency, Partner Search Australia, which Police suspected was a front for a brothel. Gulyas was also a friend of Nik Radev.
Michael Marshall was shot five times in the head outside his South Yarra home in front of his girlfriend and his five-year-old son on October 25. He was the owner of a hot dog stand, and also a suspected drug dealer. Marshall was a 'friend' of Willie Thompson and also Nik Radev. Victor Brincat and Thomas Hentschel were arrested and charged for the murder within hours of the shooting by Operation Purana. Police revealed that Hentschel's car had been bugged and that the killing had been caught on an audio surveillance tape. Both men were associates of Carl Williams
On November 17 Carl Williams was arrested and charged with making threats to kill a Purana Taskforce detective and the investigator's girlfriend. The alleged threats were made in a taped phone conversation to Victor Brincat in Barwon Prison. Carl was bailed two weeks later. The arrest was dramatically captured on film by The Age photographer Angela Wylie.
62-year-old Graham Kinniburgh, known as "The Munster", was ambushed and shot dead outside his home in Kew just after midnight on December 13. Police said he had been killed in front of family members soon after parking his car. Kinniburgh was carrying a gun and managed to return one shot before being killed. He was considered Melbourne's most influential criminal at the time of his death. Domenic Gatto was a pallbearer at his funeral, Lewis Moran and many other underworld figures also attended. Andrew Veniamin was treated as a suspect in his murder, and Carl Williams was also questioned
2004
In February, Carl Williams went on the record with the news magazine The Bulletin with a denial that he had paid "Benji" Veniamin A$100,000 for five of the murders.
In March, Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison announced the Australian Crime Commission would be investigating the murders. The ACC is a federal law enforcement body, with a role similar to America's Federal Bureau of Investigation (or FBI).
On March 23, Andrew Veniamin was shot dead by Domenic Gatto in the Carlton pizza restaurant "La Porcella" after an argument. Gatto was charged with his murder, Police alleging that Domenic had set a trap for Veniamin. Veniamin was a close associate of Carl Williams and was suspected to be a hitman involved in as many as seven underworld murders. Gatto was later acquitted on the grounds of self-defence.
The next victim was 58-year-old Lewis Moran, father of Jason Moran and stepfather of Mark Moran. On March 31 he was shot and killed in broad daylight by two balaclava-clad men in the front bar of the Brunswick Club in Brunswick. Lewis had only recently been released on bail for on drug trafficking charges and police had warned him that his life was in danger. The shooting also injured his associate, Bert Wrout.
On May 8 the body of Lewis Caine was found dumped in a Brunswick street, with a single gunshot wound to the head. He was a friend of Carl Williams and had been seen dining with him two nights earlier. In May 2008, Evangelos Goussis was convicted of killing Lewis Moran in March 2004. He was earlier found guilty of the gangland murder of Lewis Caine in May 2004. Goussis was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years for the Caine murder and is yet to be sentenced for the Moran killing.
Terrence and Christine Hodson were found executed in their Kew home on May 16. Terrence Hodson was revealed to be a police informant. A week before the bodies were found ABC radio reported that a leaked document revealing Hodson as an informant was doing the rounds in certain underworld circles. It is also reported that an associate of Lewis Moran hired Hodson to murder Carl Williams in 2001.
Purana Taskforce detectives arrested Carl Williams for conspiracy to murder on the 9th of June. His associates Sean Sonnet and Gregg Hildebrandt were arrested only metres from the home of Mario Condello. Victoria Police said the raids had "absolutely" saved Mario Condello from becoming the 28th gangland victim. Eight days later Mario Condello and Dominic Gatto's solicitor, George Defteros, were arrested over a simultaneous plan to murder George Williams and Carl Williams.
2005
Antonio Sergi was shot as he sat in his car on November 13. He was parked just 400 metres from the Moonee Ponds police station. Sergi staggered into the arms of police after he was shot in the chest and both arms. Sergi, 32, of Sydenham, was in a stable condition in hospital, having driven himself to the police station after being shot in The Strand, on the edge of Queens Park, about 1.20am. He was due to appear in court over ecstasy importation charges.
2006
On 6 February, the eve of Mario Condello's murder trial, he was shot dead in his driveway at around 10pm. Condello had dined with Mick Gatto earlier in the night and police have warned Gatto is under increased risk as this may be the resumption of the gangland war.
On 20 March Melbourne business man Tony Mokbel failed to appear in Court during his trial for the importation of cocaine from Mexico in 2000. Mokbel had been granted bail by friendly Magistrate Phillip Goldberg, despite protests from the Police. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but Mokbel had not been seen since 5pm on 19 March. His defence team feared for his life. The week before this date, Mokbel raised concerns for his safety, after an incident not related to this case. He eventually reappeared and was arrested by Greek police in Athens, Greece on June 5, 2007. Mokbel was successfully extradited to Australia on 17 May 2008.
On October 14 Michael "Eyes" Pastras was shot once in the buttocks and once in the thigh at a house in Albion St, Brunswick. Pastras gave evidence at Mick Gatto's murder trial that he spoke to Andrew Veniamin on March 23, 2004, the day Veniamin was shot dead by Mr Gatto. He said that Veniamin never mentioned anything to him about wanting to harm Mr Gatto. But after testifying, he approached the Purana gangland killing taskforce and made a statement refuting what he said in the witness box. Pastras told Purana detectives he saw Veniamin with a gun when he went to meet Mr Gatto in Carlton's La Porcella restaurant and that Veniamin told him he wanted Mr Gatto dead. He claimed Veniamin told him: "I am fucking dirty on Mick Gatto. He has got to go." That evidence was not presented to the jury in the Gatto murder trial. Pastras was named in a confidential Victoria Police document that was blamed for prompting the executions of police informer Terrence Hodson and his wife, Christine in 2004. It contained details of what Hodson told police and was leaked to Melbourne's underworld shortly before the Hodsons were shot dead in their Kew home in 2004. His brother Savas Pastras was an associate of Lewis Moran. Pastras, 39, turned up at Moran's Essendon unit on October 25, 2002, not knowing police were inside raiding it. One of the detectives asked Moran's partner, Virginia Strazdas, who was the man walking up the driveway, and she said he was a friend.
Moran's partner ignored a police command not to warn the man and managed to slightly open the door and tell him to go away. A detective, Senior Constable Victor Anastasiadis, said he opened the door, recognised Pastras and said, "Sav, come in." He was taken into Moran's house and a search discovered he had $44,000 in $100 and $50 notes hidden under his jacket in a green plastic bag. After removing the bag, Pastras hunched over and began to shake, he said. Detective Senior Sergeant Marty Allison told the court that Pastras had a look of shock and horror on his face when police confronted him. "He looked as though he had seen a ghost; he couldn't speak. He opened his mouth but words weren't coming out," Senior Sergeant Allison said. Forensic tests revealed the cash showed traces of heroin and cocaine. Savas Pastras was charged with possessing the proceeds of crime. Police alleged the $44,000 was to be paid to Lewis Moran to settle a drug debt. Pastras's lawyer, Stephen Shirrefs, SC, told the court that the warrant used to conduct the raid on Moran's home was illegal. "The search of Mr Pastras and the seizure of the money on him only arose because he was invited into the house by police," Mr Shirrefs said. He said the money could not be deemed proceeds of crime because Moran had not touched the cash and police said it was related to a drug deal "purported to have occurred". Magistrate Ann Collins ruled in April 2004 that Savas Pastras had no case to answer because police could not prove the money was derived from a crime. Collins cleared Mr Pastras in the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court after finding that police could not prove that the money, stashed in a green plastic shopping bag, had anything to do with the sale of drugs. She also found that police could not prove that traces of heroin and cocaine found on the cash did not come from other sources.
Saint Valentine's Day massacre
On the morning of Thursday, February 14, 1929 St. Valentine's Day, four members of George 'Bugs' Moran's gang (some researchers believe five), a gang "follower", and a mechanic who happened to be at the scene were lined up against the rear inside wall of the garage of the SMC Cartage Company in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago's North Side. They were then shot and killed by the men, possibly members of Capone's gang, possibly "outside talent", most likely a combination of both. Two of the men were dressed as Chicago police officers, and the others were dressed in long trenchcoats, according to witnesses who saw the "police" leading the other men at gunpoint out of the garage (part of the plan). When one of the dying men, Frank Gusenberg, was asked who shot him, he replied, "I'm not gonna talk - nobody shot me." Capone himself had arranged to be on vacation in Florida at the time.
The St. Valentine's Massacre resulted from a plan devised by a member or members of the Capone gang to eliminate Bugs Moran, the boss of the North Side Gang. Jack McGurn is the person most frequently cited by researchers as a suspected planner. The massacre was planned by the Capone mob for a number of reasons; in retaliation for an unsuccessful attempt by Frank and his brother Peter Gusenberg to murder Jack McGurn earlier in the year; the North Side Gang's complicity in the murder of Pasqualino "Patsy" Lolordo as well as Antonio "The Scourge" Lombardo, and Bugs Moran muscling in on a Capone-run dog track in the Chicago suburbs. Also, the rivalry between Moran and Capone for control of the lucrative Chicago bootlegging business led Capone to plan Moran's demise.
The plan was to lure Moran and his men to the SMC Cartage warehouse on North Clark Street. It is assumed usually that the North Side Gang was lured to the garage with the promise of a cut-rate shipment of bootleg whiskey, supplied by Detroit's Purple Gang. However, some recent studies dispute this. All seven victims (with the exception of John May) were dressed in their best clothes, hardly suitable for unloading a large shipment of whiskey crates and driving it away. The real reason for the North Siders gathering in the garage may never be known for certain.
A four-man team would then enter the building, two disguised as police officers, and kill Moran and his men. Before Moran and his men arrived, Capone stationed lookouts in the apartments across the street from the warehouse. Wishing to keep the lookouts inconspicuous, Capone had hired two unrecognizable thugs to stand watch in rented rooms across the street from the garage.
At around 10:30 a.m. on St. Valentine's day, four men arrived at the warehouse in two cars: a Cadillac sedan and a Peerless, both outfitted to look like detective sedans. Two men were dressed in police uniforms and two in street clothes. The Moran Gang had already arrived at the warehouse. However, Moran himself was not inside. One account states that Moran was supposedly approaching the warehouse, spotted the police car, and fled the scene. Another account was that Moran was simply late getting there.
The lookouts allegedly confused one of Moran's men (most likely Albert Weinshank, who was the same height, build and even physically resembled Moran) for Moran himself: he then signaled for the gunmen to enter the warehouse. The two phony police, carrying shotguns, exited the Peerless and entered the warehouse through the two rear doors. Inside they found members of Moran's gang, a sixth man named Reinhart Schwimmer who was not actually a gangster, but more of a gang "hanger-on" and a seventh man, John May, who was a mechanic fixing one of the cars, and technically not a member of the gang, but an occasionally hired mechanic. The killers told the seven men to line up facing the back wall. There was apparently not any resistance, as the Moran men thought their captors were real police, and it was likely a "show" bust merely to garner good press for the police department.
Then the two "police officers" let in two men through the front door facing Clark Street. This pair, riding in the Cadillac, were dressed in civilian clothes. Two of the killers starting shooting with Thompson sub-machine guns. All seven men were killed in a volley of seventy machine-gun bullets and two shotgun blasts according to the coroner's report. To show bystanders that everything was under control, the men in street clothes came out with their hands up, prodded by the two uniformed cops. The only survivor in the warehouse was John May's German Shepherd, Highball. When the real police arrived, they first heard the dog howling. On entering the warehouse, they found the dog trapped under a beer truck and the floor covered with blood, shell casings, and corpses.
The seven men killed that morning were:
- Peter Gusenberg and his brother Frank Gusenberg, both front line enforcers for the Moran organization. Frank was miraculously still alive when police first arrived on the scene. He died three hours later at 1:40, saying only, "Nobody shot me" or "Cops did it."
- Albert Kachellek, alias "James Clark", Moran's second-in-command.
- Adam Heyer, the bookkeeper and business manager of the Moran gang.
- Reinhart Schwimmer, an optician who had abandoned his practice to gamble horse racing (unsuccessfully) and associate with the Moran gang. He would, in contemporary parlance, be referred to as a "gang groupie". Though Schwimmer called himself an "optometrist" he was actually an optician (an eyeglass fitter) and he had no medical training.
- Albert Weinshank, who managed several cleaning and dyeing operations for Moran. His physical and even clothing resemblance to Moran is what allegedly set the massacre in motion before Moran actually arrived.
- John May, an occasional car mechanic for the Moran gang, though not a gang member himself. May had two earlier arrests for safeblowing (no convictions) but was attempting to work legally. However, his desperate need of cash, with a wife and seven children, caused him to accept jobs with the Moran gang as a mechanic.
Al Capone
Al Capone is America's best known gangster and the single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era. Capone had a leading role in the illegal activities that lent Chicago its reputation as a lawless city.
Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York. Baptized "Alphonsus Capone," he grew up in a rough neighborhood and was a member of two "kid gangs," the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors. Although he was bright, Capone quit school in the sixth grade at age fourteen. Between scams he was a clerk in a candy store, a pinboy in a bowling alley, and a cutter in a book bindery. He became part of the notorious Five Points gang in Manhattan and worked in gangster Frankie Yale's Brooklyn dive, the Harvard Inn, as a bouncer and bartender. While working at the Inn, Capone received his infamous facial scars and the resulting nickname "Scarface" when he insulted a patron and was attacked by her brother.
In 1918, Capone met an Irish girl named Mary "Mae" Coughlin at a dance. On December 4, 1918, Mae gave birth to their son, Albert "Sonny" Francis. Capone and Mae married that year on December 30.Capone's first arrest was on a disorderly conduct charge while he was working for Yale. He also murdered two men while in New York, early testimony to his willingness to kill. In accordance with gangland etiquette, no one admitted to hearing or seeing a thing so Capone was never tried for the murders. After Capone hospitalized a rival gang member, Yale sent him to Chicago to wait until things cooled off. Capone arrived in Chicago in 1919 and moved his family into a house at 7244 South Prairie Avenue.
Capone went to work for Yale's old mentor, John Torrio. Torrio saw Capone's potential, his combination of physical strength and intelligence, and encouraged his protégé. Soon Capone was helping Torrio manage his bootlegging business. By mid-1922 Capone ranked as Torrio's number two man and eventually became a full partner in the saloons, gambling houses, and brothels.
When Torrio was shot by rival gang members and consequently decided to leave Chicago, Capone inherited the "outfit" and became boss. The outfit's men liked, trusted, and obeyed Capone, calling him "The Big Fellow." He quickly proved that he was even better at organization than Torrio, syndicating and expanding the city's vice industry between 1925 and 1930. Capone controlled speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries and breweries at a reported income of $100,000,000 a year. He even acquired a sizable interest in the largest cleaning and dyeing plant chain in Chicago.
Although he had been doing business with Capone, the corrupt Chicago mayor William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson, Jr. decided that Capone was bad for his political image. Thompson hired a new police chief to run Capone out of Chicago. When Capone looked for a new place to live, he quickly discovered that he was unpopular in much of the country. He finally bought an estate at 93 Palm Island, Florida in 1928.
In 1931, Capone was indicted for income tax evasion for the years 1925-29. He was also charged with the misdemeanor of failing to file tax returns for the years 1928 and 1929. The government charged that Capone owed $215,080.48 in taxes from his gambling profits. A third indictment was added, charging Capone with conspiracy to violate Prohibition laws from 1922-31. Capone pleaded guilty to all three charges in the belief that he would be able to plea bargain. However, the judge who presided over the case, Judge James H. Wilkerson, would not make any deals. Capone changed his pleas to not guilty. Unable to bargain, he tried to bribe the jury but Wilkerson changed the jury panel at the last minute.
The jury found Capone not guilty on eighteen of the twenty-three counts. Judge Wilkerson sentenced him to a total of ten years in federal prison and one year in the county jail. In addition, Capone had to serve an earlier six-month contempt of court sentence for failing to appear in court. The fines were a cumulative $50,000 and Capone had to pay the prosecution costs of $7,692.29.
In May 1932, Capone was sent to Atlanta, the toughest of the federal prisons, to begin his eleven-year sentence. Even in prison Capone took control, obtaining special privileges from the authorities such as furnishing his cell with a mirror, typewriter, rugs, and a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Because word spread that Capone had taken over in Atlanta, he was sent to Alcatraz. There were no other outfit members in Alcatraz, and security was so tight that he had no knowledge of the outside world. He was unable to control anyone or anything and could not buy influence or friends. In an attempt to earn time off for good behavior, Capone became the ideal prisoner and refused to participate in prisoner rebellions or strikes.
While at Alcatraz, he exhibited signs of syphilitic dementia. Capone spent the rest of his felony sentence in the hospital. On January 6, 1939, his prison term expired and he was transferred to Terminal Island, a Federal Correctional Institution in California, to serve his one-year misdemeanor sentence. He was finally released on November 16, 1939, but still had to pay fines and court costs of $37,617.51.
After his release, Capone spent a short time in the hospital. He returned to his home in Palm Island where the rest of his life was relaxed and quiet. His mind and body continued to deteriorate so that he could no longer run the outfit. On January 21, 1947, he had an apoplectic stoke that was probably unrelated to his syphilis. He regained consciousness and began to improve until pneumonia set in on January 24. He died the next day from cardiac arrest. Capone was first buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago's far South Side between the graves of his father, Gabriele, and brother, Frank, but in March of 1950 the remains of all three were moved to Mount Carmel Cemetery on the far West Side.
Joseph D. Pistone _ A.K.A _ Donnie Brasco
Joseph Dominick Pistone (born 1939), alias Donnie Brasco, is a former FBI agent who worked undercover for six years infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City.
Pistone has stated that he would have become a made member of the Bonanno family if he had murdered capo Phillip Giaccone in December of 1981. That hit was called off, but Pistone was later contracted to murder Alphonse Indelicato's son, Anthony Indelicato. Pistone was sworn in as a Special Agent of the FBI in 1969, seven years before going undercover.
Pistone was born in Erie, Pennsylvania and grew up in the Sandy Hill section of Paterson, New Jersey. He graduated from Paterson State College (now William Paterson University) in 1965 with a degree in anthropology. After a year of working as a teacher in Paterson School No. 10, he worked for the Office of Naval Intelligence. He became an FBI special agent in 1969. He is of no relation to Colombo crime family mobster Joseph (Joe Baldy) Pistone or Lawrence (Larry) Pistone.
After serving in a variety of FBI roles throughout the USA, Pistone was transferred to New York in 1974 and assigned to the truck hijacking squad. His ability to drive 18-wheel trucks and bulldozers meant he was picked for what would become his first major undercover role, infiltrating a gang stealing these vehicles as well as others, sometimes to order. His penetration of this group led to the arrest of over 30 people along the Eastern Seaboard in February 1976 and was described at the time as one of the largest and most profitable theft rings ever broken in the United States to that point.
Pistone was selected to be an undercover agent because he was of Sicilian heritage, was fluent in Italian, and was acquainted with the Mob from growing up in Paterson. He also said that he did not perspire under pressure and was aware of the Mafia's codes of conduct and system. The operation was given the code "Sun-Apple".
After an extensive amount of background work, the name "Donald Brasco" was chosen to be Pistone's alias, and in September 1976 he went undercover as a jewel thief. Pistone has stated that it was not the original aim to penetrate the Mafia, rather the focus was to be on a group of people fencing stolen property from the large number of truck hijackings taking place each day in New York at the time (five to six a day). It was intended the undercover operation last for six months, rather than six years.
At the same time Pistone was investigating the Bonanno crime family, Bob Delaney, under the ruse of "Bobby Covert" a.k.a. "Bobby Smash," began investigating the New Jersey organized crime scene. He maintained during the investigation an open association with the crime families who would alleviate their business pressures from the unions for a price. The two would actually meet through Colombo crime family capo Nicholas Forlano. At the time, neither man knew that the other was working undercover.
Pistone subsequently developed a close relationship with the Bonanno capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, Michael Sabella, Anthony Mirra and was tutored in the ways of the Mafia by Bonanno soldier Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero. It was by doing this that Ruggiero was to inadvertently provide much evidence to Pistone, as made Mafia members will not normally talk to non-members about the activities of other crews.
The evidence collected by Pistone led to over 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of Mafia members. Pistone's operation ended after six years when Napolitano ordered Pistone to murder Anthony Indelicato, who previously evaded a meeting which left Anthony's father Alphonse Indelicato, together with Phillip "Philly Lucky" Giaccone and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera, dead. Pistone never witnessed, nor was involved in the murder of the three. Two days later, FBI agents informed Napolitano and Ruggiero that their longtime associate was in fact an FBI agent.
Shortly thereafter, Napolitano was murdered for having allowed an FBI agent to infiltrate the family; he was shot, and his hands were cut off in retaliation for the breach. Ruggiero was to be killed as well, but he was instead arrested by the FBI in order to prevent his death.Following Napolitano's murder, the Mafia put out a $500,000 contract on Pistone; his family had to move six times. However, the contract was rescinded following a sitdown between FBI agents and members of the Bonanno family where unprecedented FBI attention was threatened on the mob if Pistone was touched. Subsequent surveillance confirmed the contract had been lifted.
Bonanno boss Joe Massino was convicted in 2004 of ordering Napolitano to be killed for allowing Pistone into the family.
Pistone continues to be active as an author and consultant to worldwide law enforcement agencies, such as Scotland Yard, and he has been called to testify before the U.S. Senate as an expert on organized crime.
Despite the contract on his life being lifted, Pistone still travels disguised, under assumed names and with a license to carry a firearm.
Sometime in 1996, years after the Donnie Brasco book debuted, somebody managed to sneak a video camera into a pre-release screening of the video. The unnamed somebody managed to get a pirated copy of the then soon-to-be released movie to John. In the movie, the actor who portrays John Cersani and several other gangsters portrayed by actors are seen kicking a the owner of a Japanese restaurant in the face and smashing him in the head with a garbage can. Worse, the actor portraying Boobie is seen blasting three gangsters with a shotgun, blowing off pieces of one's head and a chunk out of the leg of another. The Boobie character is then seen helping other gangsters dismember the corpses with a saw for disposal in garbage bags, which, unlike the description in the book version, are black, not green. His lawyer Barry Slotnick, threatened to sue for libel and defamation of character, even though the picture had not yet been released. He argued that because enough people had seen the pirated version, the damage was already done to Cersani's reputation. Sony Pictures Entertainment shortened the murder scene and deep-sixed a scene in which the Boobie character reloads during the shotgun murder replacing him with Dominick Napolitano for those parts. Dominick was already dead, murdered in a gangland slaying. They also changed the character's name to "Paulie". They did this by having actors dub the name Paulie every time they had previously said Boobie. They missed one reference though, so when the movie was released in early 1997, there was still one mention of Boobie. In addition, the Boobie character, now named Paulie, still helps to dismember a victim with what is described by all involved as a "saw-like knife."Saturday, August 23, 2008
Henry Hill
Henry Hill (born June 11, 1943) is a former American mobster, Lucchese crime family associate, and FBI informant whose life was immortalized in the book Wiseguy, written by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi, and the 1990 Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas, in which Hill was played by Ray Liotta. He was the owner of a restaurant called The Suite. Another film — a Steve Martin comedy titled My Blue Heaven — was influenced by Hill's story.
Henry grew up in a poor working class family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, then a largely Italian-Jewish neighborhood. His father, Henry Hill, Sr., was an Irish-American electrician, and his mother, Carmella Hill, was an Italian Sicilian-American. Henry and his seven siblings lived in a small house. From an early age he admired the local mafiosi that socialized across the street from his home, which included Paul Vario, a capo in the Lucchese crime family. In his early teens, he began running errands at Vario's cabstand, shoe shine stand, and pizzeria.
Hill's first experience in gang life began parking cars and doing other odd jobs for the Lucchese crime family. Henry stopped going to school soon after to pursue a life of a gangster. Hill's first arrest came when he attempted to use a stolen credit card to buy tires at a Texaco gas station. Refusing to say anything to the police, he earned the respect of Lucchese Family associate Jimmy Burke, who saw great potential in young Henry. Hill soon dropped out of high school to devote all his time to working for gangsters.
Burke, like Hill, was unable to become a made member of the Mafia due to his Irish ancestry, but the Mafia was happy to have associates of any ethnic background as long as they made money and did not cooperate with the authorities.
In 1960, Hill joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, North Carolina, for three years. He was a member of the 82nd Airborne paratrooper unit there, but maintained contact with Vario and his other friends in New York throughout his enlistment. Hill continued to hustle while in the service, selling extra food, loan sharking salary advances to his fellow soldiers, and selling tax-free cigarettes. Before being discharged, Hill spent two months in a military stockade for brawling and stealing a sheriff's car.
In 1963, he returned to New York, beginning the most notorious phase of his criminal career. Hill, along with Burke and Tommy DeSimone, and others in Burke's Robert's Lounge crew, hijacked trucks, sold stolen goods, imported and sold untaxed cigarettes, engaged in loan sharking and bookmaking, and planned airport robberies, carrying out the Air France Robbery in 1967 and the huge Lufthansa heist in 1978, as well as committing numerous mob-related murders.The Lufthansa score was put together after Vario lost several million in a failed cocaine deal (viz Theresa Ferrara).
In 1965, Hill met his wife, Karen. The two first eloped to North Carolina where they had a large wedding, to which most of Hill's gangster friends were invited. After the birth of their two children they rented an apartment in a two-family home in Island Park, New York (1968).
Hill was paroled in 1978 after serving six years of a ten-year prison sentence for extortion. Hill and Burke had severely beaten and pistol-whipped Gaspar Ciacco, a Tampa, Florida gambler who owed union official friends of theirs (Luis and Raul Charbonier) a large gambling debt. Burke was also released on parole around the same time as Hill.
While in prison, Hill had made contact with a Pittsburgh drug dealer named Paul Mazzei. Hill had sold drugs while in prison to help support his wife and two children on the outside. After his parole, Vario revealed that he knew about Hill's drug dealing in prison and warned him not to continue with this now that he was out. Vario strongly opposed the trade of drugs in his crew because prison sentences imposed on anyone convicted of drug trafficking were so lengthy that the accused would often become informants in exchange for a lighter sentence. Hill nevertheless started a major interstate drug trafficking operation with Mazzei, the potential to earn large amounts of money being too great to resist.
Hill began wholesaling marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and quaaludes, earning enormous amounts of money. After the murders of several of his friends by Burke, following the Lufthansa Heist, and the disappearance of his close friend Tommy DeSimone, who, Hill believed, had been delivered by Vario into the hands of (and murdered by) the Gambino crime family for killing two made members without permission, he became increasingly paranoid.
Hill and Mazzei also set up a point shaving scheme, which was put in place when Mazzei convinced Boston College center Rick Kuhn to participate. Kuhn encouraged teammates to join the scheme, which became a scandal. Hill also claimed to have an NBA referee who worked games at Madison Square Garden during the seventies in his pocket because of the debt the referee had accrued gambling on horse races.
On April 27, 1980, Hill was arrested on a narcotics trafficking charge, bonded out of jail, and shortly afterwards, was re-arrested as a material witness in the Lufthansa robbery. He became convinced that his former associates planned to have him killed: Vario, for dealing drugs, and Burke, to prevent Hill from implicating him in the Lufthansa robbery. This was confirmed by a surveillance tape played to Hill by federal investigators, in which Burke tells Vario of their need to have Hill "whacked."
Hill chose to become an informant to avoid a possible execution by the Mafia; his testimony leading to 50 convictions. Gangster Jimmy Burke was given 20 years in prison for the 1978-79 Boston College point shaving scandal involving fixing Boston College basketball games and also later was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of scam artist Richard Eaton. Burke died of cancer while serving his life sentence, on April 13, 1996. He was 64.
Paul Vario received four years for helping Henry Hill obtain a no-show job to get him paroled from prison. Vario was also later sentenced to 10 years in prison for extortion of air freight companies at JFK Airport. He died of respiratory failure, aged 73, on November 22, 1988 while in a Texas prison.
Hill, his wife Karen, and their two children entered the U.S. Marshals' Witness Protection Program, changed their names, and moved to undisclosed locations in Omaha, Nebraska, then Independence, Kentucky, and eventually Redmond, Washington.
However, Hill was arrested in 1987 in Seattle, Washington on narcotics-related charges. In 1989, he and his wife Karen divorced after 25 years of marriage. Due to his numerous crimes while in witness protection, Hill (along with his wife) was expelled from the program in the early 1990s. After the Seattle arrest, Hill claimed to be clean until he was arrested in North Platte, Nebraska in March 2005. Hill had left his luggage at Lee Bird Field Airport in North Platte, Nebraska containing drug paraphernalia, glass tubes with cocaine and methamphetamine residue.
Hill worked for a time as a chef at an Italian restaurant in Nebraska and his spaghetti sauce, Sunday Gravy, was marketed over the internet.
Hill battled alcoholism for years, claiming at one point that prison had saved his life. In fall 2006, Hill appeared in a photo shoot along with Ray Liotta for Entertainment Weekly. At Liotta's urging, Hill entered alcohol rehabilitation two days after the shoot. Hill opened another restaurant, 'Wiseguys', in West Haven, Connecticut in October 2007.
Hill sells his artwork on eBay. and is a regular on The Howard Stern Show.
In reference to his many victims, Hill, who claims that he has never killed anyone, stated in an interview in March 2008 with the BBC's Heather Alexander that "I don't give a heck what those people think, I'm doing the right thing now."
Hill lives in Malibu, California with his fiance Lisa Caserta. Lisa Caserta is an Italian American and they met through mutual friends John (John "Sonny" Franzese Son Capo in Columbo family) and Michael Franzese. She has appeared in several documentaries with Henry. She has also been on Howard Stern "Henry and Lisa" on cable radio (On Demand). They plan to be married sometime this year, in a texas-style wedding.
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