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.