https://mafiainaustralia.wordpress.com/

[AustraliaSteve]

Part 1 of the Woodward Report has been digitised. Cost me $80AUD. Little there beyond the context around Winery Tony and Aussie Bob, but it’s good to finally have it open for everyone.

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/Search ... B=25278695

Vincenzo Crupi’s trial for the murder of Pino Acquaro should be in front of the courts any day now. Last year there was a trial that compared his gait to the suspect viewed on cctv, and there was apparently enough evidence to bring the charge against him. It’s supposed to have continued in August.

Lastly, continuing to examine links between the infamous Brunswick Society meeting in the 1940s with figures in the present. A colleague recently pointed out some very interesting links between members present there and current Melbourne figures. It’s easy to forget there’s only a generation or two between.

Also, Anna Sergi was recently awarded the Early Career Award for her work by the European Society for Criminology. Well deserved.

[calabrianwatch]

Keep us posted about Crupi - I found that difficult to follow from here!

[AustraliaSteve]

Yeah it’s weird with Crupi. The trial examining his gait (the way he walks) was massive, and he was supposed to be back in front of the judge on August 26. But I’ve heard nothing. I’ll keep on top of it though.
Here is a transcript of the first court appearance:
https://www.studocu.com/en-au/document ... y/42264668

[calabrianwatch]

Thank you! Very weird indeed....

[AustraliaSteve]

Not an ‘ndrangheta murder, but most definitely a Calabrian murder. Andrew Rule, lead crime journalist for the Herald Sun, recently dedicated an episode of his show to the murder of Salvatore Rotiroti in September of 1988. This September marks the 35th anniversary of the murder.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6lTqoH ... PKEJv5tb8Q

It’s a tantalising case, where it seems like the perpetrator used the threat of the Calabrian mafia as a means to extort and terrorise the Rotiroti family.
The family unit of Rotiroti, Ianuzzi and Zangari all share a matriarch; three sisters who actually sided with the alleged murderer when the case came to court. 35 years; still unsolved….Vince Zangari did it, by pretending he was an ‘ndranghetisti. That’s my take.

Talk soon brothers (and sister now)

[AustraliaSteve]

There are societies, in Australia, akin to locales, one in Griffith, at least two in Melbourne, at least two in Adelaide, one in Canberra, at least two in Perth and surrounding areas, at least one in Sydney/western suburbs, one in Mildura.

I would presume something like as follows;
Sergi/Barbaro - Griffith yes
Madafferi/Babrbaro and an old guard of Market families (Luppino, Benvenuto, etc) - Melbourne - don't forget Di Pietro, Carbone etc
Perre and Alvaro - Adelaide yes
Barbaro or Nirta for Canberra? Not 100% either way - yes, San Luca people
Perth would be the group Vallelonga headed (I’m assuming the “older”’families ie; Italiano, Madafferi, etc) and the newer ones you reference in your book (which i suspect is Nirta-Strangio) yes
Sydney is the Alvaro/Carbone “New Plati” group yes
Mildura would be Romeo and Medici yes and Cufari!

But the only "real" locale remains that of Griffith and perhaps Mildura.

Mildura is more important than many would think yes and yes to links with Calabria.
[/quote]

Okay, so taking this quote from Anna’s thread, I want to expand on it. State by state, some of the major groups, players,etc.
A “State of the Mafia in Australia” if you will.

I will start with Griffith, when I have time a bit later.
Griffith because I have some fantastic sources for the area, including one who actually knew Donald Mackay personally, and witnessed first hand the anguish his family experienced. While it definitely colours his view of the Griffith ‘ndrina, he still provides some invaluable insight. To quote him, ”The Sergi remain untouchable in Griffith”

Post more later, stay tuned.

[AustraliaSteve]

So.
Building on Griffith, we have the House of Sergi as literal millionaires through their vineyards. My contact identifies them as “gentrified”, as do I. But they’re still maintaining contacts throughout the Riverina, which I will get into shortly.

If you check some of my posts above, you’ll see the 2017 Wine Grape Marketing Report to the NSW Government. Growers are still being “advised” to sell their grapes to Warburn and other associated producers. It’s literal standover tactics that still continued into the late 2010s. Pas Barbaro was supposedly shot over the fallout surrounding alleged debts owed to the Riverina wineries, and who was owed what. Also note that Pas Timothy Barbaro had fallen out with his uncle, Fat Frank Barbaro, who Is himself heavily affiliated with biker clubs and the meth trade. These guys for a time represented some of the links between the Sydney and Griffith drug operations.

On a more presentable front, we had Pat Sergi and his legacy as one of the largest political fundraisers and charitable donators in NSW history. His links with former NSW Minister Joe Tripodi, Morris Ieamma and other of the Fairfield groups invested and reaped millions in property development and sweetheart deals.
But Pat Sergi died some years back, and Winery Tony died in 2017. For a time it was Domenico “Little Mick” Sergi, cousin to Winery Tony, who had held a prominent role for decades (refer to the meetings he had in Calabria, and with visiting Calabrians). He died in 2020, after a long illness (his obit. includes a picture: https://www.griffithfunerals.com.au/fu ... ico-sergi/)

So what about the now? According to my contact, Antonio “Young Tony” Sergi is still regarded as a bit of a power player, although he too is now battling illness. It seems a time for less brazen “criminal” ties since Barbaro and Zerilli went down over Operation Inca. My source cites Antonio “Tony Cat” Catanzariti as a current “touchstone” for the Griffith groups. A member of the local Wade Shire Council, he has spent years in local politics and is also well acquainted with Tripodi and Carbone from the Fairfield groups. My contact cites Catanzariti’s role in the Italian Community Association and through that body is able to direct loans and scholarships to locals.
Frank Sergi and Leonardo Gambacorta are still alive, but were only ever equipment men, on the end of the crops.
And we can remember the 2022 arrest of Bruno Sergi, found in possession of a kilo of high-quality weed. Bruno’s uncle was Little Mick, and the arrests indicated that branches of the family are still involved in cultivation.

I feel like this is a bit of a jumble, but it gives a rough outline on who’s who in Griffith atm.
When time permits, i will add to this and also move onto other groups and states.

[AustraliaSteve]

Before I get back to the next post in the series, there’s been an update in the Ric Barbaro murder case. Barbaro’s lawyer has put it to the jurors that one of the key witnesses against Barbaro had motive enough to potentially make him the killer. This is despite a fair amount of the forensic evidence pointing towards Barbaro.

The witness is brothel owner Mark Gray, who gave evidence against Barbaro covering previous incidents of violence and the extortion plot against him he claims was orchestrated by Price and Barbaro. Gray had, in the past, spent a “small fortune” pursuing Price romantically, but she had always spurned his advances.

Kind of seems like a desperate attempt at this late stage of the trial; even putting aside the potentially questionable forensics, Barbaros behaviour after the murder was extremely suspect, and he spent a period on the run. Updates on the case to follow.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story ... ms-murder/
https://www.news.com.au/national/victo ... e64f50afa8

[AustraliaSteve]

Before i I move on to other states, I’d like to touch on the “New Plati” group, based in Fairfield and other Western suburbs of Sydney. While technically their own syndicate, for obvious reasons there has historically been an amount of overlap with the Griffith and Canberra locali’.

I’ve been trying to think of good entry points for this, so I think the historical view might be the best option. When Winery Tony and Aussie Bob were growing and then distributing dope in the 1970s, Aussie Bob would supply the product to a small network of associates that operated out of Western Sydney. These included relatives such as his cousin John Trimboli, “Young Tony” Sergi, a nephew of Winery Tony through Giovanni Sergi, the Velardi brothers Antonio and Domenico, and who would come to be one of the major “New Plati” player, Pasquale “Pat” Sergi.
Pat was in real-estate at the time, and it was his job it was to funnel the money back to Griffith, which he and Trimbole would launder through the buying and selling of property. When this was revealed during the Woodward Commission, you’d think Sergi might have been blacklisted or banned from certain industries. You’d think wrong. (Fwiw, if anyone’s interested in reading the reports, I’ve recently paid to have every volume opened and digitised on the National Archives of Australia site.)

Anyway, Pat Sergi would go on to bigger and better things. Active in the Western Suburbs community groups, by 1997 Sergi had been awarded an Order of Australia medal for his extensive work with local charities. He continued to work in property development and real estate, and by the time of his award was one of the main shareholders and a director of Westside Property Developments, a company which had millions in holdings and was involved in several questionable dealings, including an occasion when six former government properties at Warwick Farms that were bought and sold for a profit on the same day. Enter Joe Tripodi.

Tripodi belongs to a family that has been intertwined with ‘ndrangheta groups in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. It was two of his cousins, brothers Francesco and Salvatore, who were charged with the 1964 murder of Antonio Monaco, alongside Salvatore Trimboli in Victoria (more to get into here at some point, Monaco and his brother Salvatore were known as violent tempered stall holders with charges of murder and mafia affiliation back in Calabria. This murder took place amongst the unrest labelled the Market Murders). At the infamous Brunswick meetings, one the several Tripodi brothers that attended, Rocco, Antonio, Serafino and Vincenzo has tentatively been identified as one of Joes’s uncles.

Anyway, Joe Tripodi was a Member of Parliament representing the Fairfield electorate for periods between 1995 and 2011. He was a shareholder in Westside Property between 1996 and 2000, and it was during this time the Warwick Farm deals were brokered. While he was not a minister at the time, he was a member of a parliamentary committee that oversaw public accounts. During later periods he would serve as Minister for Housing and Energy, Ports and Waterways. During his maiden speech in parliament, Tripodi made a point of thanking Pat Sergi, who had been responsible for several large donations to Tripodi’s political campaign, and Griffith mafia figure Tony Mittiga.
When the Sydney Morning Herald published an article that pointed out Tripodi’s connection to Pat Sergi, Tripodi denied knowing anything about Sergi’s past as a money launderer.

There were still several business deals in the following years that would earn millions for the Fairfield groups, and the group would also become deeply invested in the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party through the political donation system (it should be mentioned that at various times in Australia it has come out that mafia figures have donated large amounts to both the Labor and the Liberal parties at various times, but for now I want to focus on Fairfield).

Continuing on the dynamics of local Fairfield politics, we see the Carbone brothers get their entree’ into the game. Frank and Pasquale ran a successful jewellery business in Canley Heights for some years, and in 2008, Frank took a run for Mayor of Fairfield and was preselected for the Labor Party ticket. A change in legislation that changed sitting parliamentarians from being allowed to serve on councils saw former Mayor Nick Lalich step down to focus on his seat of Cabramatta and Frank Carbone was put into the role in 2012. He won election six months later with over 70% of the popular vote. By this time he and his brother Pasquale had moved into property development in their personal business dealings, and as mayor Carbone oversaw several major developments around the Western Suburbs. By 2016, he came under pressure from party colleagues claiming his personal business in property conflicted with his civic duties, and he was dumped as mayor and ran as an independent, winning his seat as the first independent mayor in Fairfield’s history, and he remains in this position to this day.

Here’s where some of the scandals and questionable behaviours begin to occur. When his colleagues began to question whether his property interests constituted an ethical concern, Carbone was reportedly “furious” and contented that he hadn’t been involved in property development in nearly a decade. However, he held shares in a family concern run by his brother, Pasquale, which had around that time advertised land on sale for development in Canley Vale. Ultimately, nothing came of this because after being dis-endorsed by his party, Carbone won office as an independent. But by 2016, the reasons behind the internal disputes began to become more public and the intertwined loyalties and splits can now be examined a little more

In 2016, local council member for the Liberal Party Joe Molluso “stormed out” of a council meeting and accidentally left behind some papers; included in these was an email from Joe Tripodi. It showed that Tripodi had crossed party lines and had been the source of information that had been leaked to the opposition, and uncovered a web of disparate loyalties that centred around personal rather than party lines. Tripodi was accused of being the “puppet master” behind Fairfield politics, and he made the claim that he had organised and paid for Carbone’s campaign. Tripodi would contend that the email was stolen, and was actually related to incidents of email hacks that had plagued the Fairfield branches of both parties.
Eventually there were several accusations levelled that included allegations of corruption, bribery and “shonky” property deals that culminated in several referrals to the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) and the most significant, in 2022 former Labor Party ministers Eddie Obeid, Tony Kelly and Joe Tripodi facing criminal charges following an ICAC investigation (Operation Credo) that looked into a sweetheart deal passed through by Tripodi that benefited the Obeid family.

Moving past all these machinations, the fact remains that at some point, Tripodi was trying to oust Carbone from local governance, which suggests there were different factions involved in Western Sydney at the time. If Tripodi is recognised as representing the Griffith linked faction, then Carbone could be linked to opposing interests. Rather than drone on about the political machinations of Fairfield (because that could be endless), I will touch on what I have on the Carbone family and then cover some of the other groups active in Sydney in my next post.

[calabrianwatch]

The whole thing with tripodi was a mess, whenever I try to read about it...whether he was or not the puppet master clearly this was more about politics than actual ndrangheta to me - especially looking at what you say about the Carbone brothers - a bunch of powerful men manipulating politics.

[AustraliaSteve]

Exactly. The thing is though, the links can’t be ignored. Whatever political machinations they had going on between them, seperate from that is the illicit funds that are funnelled to property developers, which is used to build properties that are sold for profit, with the laundered funds going back to their origin after the relevant pay-offs are deducted.
Besides the examples of Pat Sergi and Griffith in the 70s, don’t have solid proof for this occurring currently beyond information I’ve received from sources, but that’s where the ‘ndrangheta part comes in. Illicit funds are used to develop properties that have received favourable consideration from power players in the area. It’s murky as hell, but Pasquale Bevilacqua has some links to Carbone that have not been publicly disclosed. Again, this is coming from a source, so take it with a grain of salt.

Anyway, my next post on Sydney/NSW will focus on other families, like the Sinopoli groups like the Alvaro and the Cannistra and a few others.

[AustraliaSteve]

Before I post my next part on Sydney and NSW ‘ndrina, I have to cover this because it is repeatedly getting shoved down my throat.

Yeezy’s new wife/Kardashian clone Bianca Censori comes from a notorious Melbourne/Perth Italian crime family. The Censori family are NOT ‘ndranghetisti, but they are Italo-Australian crims that have been on the periphery of major events, while maintaining their own rackets and activities.

Bianca’s father is Elia “Leo” Censori. His brother, her uncle, is Eris Censori, aka “The Al Capone of Melbourne”. Here’s a quick link, everything else is behind a paywall but here’s a quick rundown, there are some inaccuracies but it paints the right picture.
https://nybreaking.com/exclusive-famil ... apone/amp/

Eris’s brother Leo was convicted in a heroin importation scheme in 1983, and was actually sentenced to hang until WA commuted his sentence.
The Hatton Report (an unreleased document by former MP John Hatton into the Winchester murder and it’s investigation) named the Censori family as possible Melbourne distributors for the Bungendore crops, linking them to the Sergi/Barbaro ‘ndrine through a relationship with some of the Canberra Barbaro.

For years they have operated illegal casinos and card games between Victoria and Western Australia. IIRC, they are either from Puglia or somewhere Northern. They became property magnates in their later years, and are currently in the news for a property dispute between one of the brothers and their sister.

ANYWAY….that is Bianca Censori’s story and background.

Next post will finish up the NSW ‘ndrina.

[motorfab]

A friend of mine was telling me about them not long ago. One of them is Kanye West's father-in-law, right?

[AustraliaSteve]

Yep, that’s what I was getting at. Bianca Censori is literally all over the tabloids and News Corp mastheads atm, I just wanted to explain to everyone who the Censori family are and why they are considered newsworthy, beyond Leo’s daughter currently getting banged by Kanye West aka Yeezy aka Yeezus.

[AustraliaSteve]

About to post on the Alvaro clan in Western Sydney and the other groups active there, but this hit the papers today so I thought I’d share; I’ll post the pictures later:

Mafia murder target Michael Barbaro jailed for running major Melbourne drug syndicate

Living in fear after being marked a target of a Mafia murder plot – allegedly by Australia’s former most wanted man – Michael Barbaro’s paranoia caused his substance abuse issues to escalate.
Mark Buttler
and
Olivia Jenkins
3 min read
October 7, 2023 - 3:00PM

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A criminal who was marked for death in a Mafia murder plot has been jailed for heading a major Melbourne drug syndicate.
Michael Barbaro was the target of a 2008 conspiracy in which he was to be shot, allegedly by former Australia’s most wanted man, Graham Gene Potter.

Melbourne County Court heard Barbaro had lived in fear and paranoia because of figures involved in the huge 2007 tomato tins ecstasy importation, causing substance abuse issues to escalate.


“I was told that at around this time, police apparently formed the view that some of the offenders associated with a notorious tomato tins MDMA importation, in particular a Graham Potter, had conspired to have you murdered,” Justice Michael O’Connell said.

Michael Barbaro has been jailed for drug trafficking.
Michael Barbaro has been jailed for drug trafficking.
Graham Potter has been charged with conspiring to murder Michael Barbaro.
Graham Potter has been charged with conspiring to murder Michael Barbaro.
Potter was arrested last year in north Queensland after more than a decade on the run.

Charge sheets from a subsequent court appearance show he is alleged to have conspired with mafia figures Pasquale Barbaro and Francesco Madafferi to murder Michael Barbaro.

Potter is also charged with conspiring with Pasquale Barbaro to murder Fedele D’Amico.

Police allege the killings were to happen in the aftermath of a massive 2007 Australian Federal Police bust in which 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy was found concealed in tomato tins imported from Italy.

Pasquale Barbaro and Madafferi are still in prison over that swoop.

Michael Barbaro was ensnared in a major police investigation in 2018, which also brought down his son, also named Pasquale, and prominent Middle Eastern organised crime figure Jimmey Barkho.

Barbaro, 63, pleaded guilty last month to trafficking a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, making nine sales worth a total of $78,900 to covert police and supplying smaller dealers.

A sawn-off shotgun, ammunition and a flick-knife were also found by investigators attached to a Victoria Police drug taskforce operation called Ezekiel.

Pasquale Barbaro in 2008. Picture: Supplied
Pasquale Barbaro in 2008. Picture: Supplied
Surveillance on his Sydenham home picked up Barbaro constantly doing business at all hours.

“The intercepts revealed you to be supplying methylamphetamine in response to calls at all times of the day and night in which people would tell you of their intention to attend your … home so as to pop in for a drink, lunch or dinner,” Justice O’Connell said.

A listening device installed by investigators in Barbaro’s garage picked him up doing deals in which he discussed prices for ounces and eight-balls.

He was clearly aware of the risks of such business.

Investigators later found a sawn-off 12-gauge Beretta model 680 shotgun on the kitchen bench with a sock containing cartridges, more ammunition on a kitchen table and other ammo around the house, including in a BMW children’s car.

Barbaro was arrested and charged but his problems did not end there.

In 2022, while on bail, he was arrested at Brisbane Airport in contravention of a condition he not leave Victoria.

While in custody in Queensland, police did another search warrant on Barbaro’s Sydenham home and found 6.1 grams of methylamphetamine.

The court last month heard Barbaro was born in Calabria, the second of eight children, where his family grew grapes on a vineyard and his father was a forest ranger.

Barbaro migrated to Australia when he was 20, marrying and having four children after settling in the Ascot Vale area.

Sydenham man Michael Barbaro being arrested by police. Picture: Alex Coppel
Sydenham man Michael Barbaro being arrested by police. Picture: Alex Coppel
He was later convicted, among other offences, of methylamphetamine possession, cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis, trafficking a drug of dependence and firearms crimes.

Justice O’Connell mentioned in his judgment that prosecutors had accepted that Barbaro was a target of the alleged Potter hit conspiracy.

“This was said to have caused you significant distress and fear and contributed to your substance abuse becoming more regular,” he said.

It was noted that Barbaro had family support, had recorded negative drug tests while in custody and had completed a rehabilitation course called “Ice and Me”.

He was handed a sentence of eight years and one month, with a five-year non-parole period.

Son Pasquale was jailed in 2020 after police busted him with nearly a kilogram of MDMA and 186 grams of cannabis stashed inside a cereal box hidden in a garage wall at his Taylors Hill home.

Concreter Barbaro, who also goes by Patrick or Pat, was tasked with moving commercial quantities of the drugs for the syndicate.

Pasquale Barbaro leaves the Melbourne Magistrates Court in Melbourne in 2019 after being accused of being part of a crime syndicate with alleged links to Italian organised crime.
Pasquale Barbaro leaves the Melbourne Magistrates Court in Melbourne in 2019 after being accused of being part of a crime syndicate with alleged links to Italian organised crime.
Pepi Scardamaglia was convicted over his involvement in the syndicate.
Pepi Scardamaglia was convicted over his involvement in the syndicate.
A pistol was found in his kitchen cupboard during the Ezekiel raid and he faced court for one of his hearings days before his wife was due to give birth to their third child.

Pepe Scardamaglia, 57, of Keilor Downs, ultimately pleaded guilty to selling meth with a street value of $27,000 to an undercover officer in a deal which contributed to the syndicate’s undoing.

A court heard Scardamaglia also had a drug habit and he was later sentenced to two years and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of 15 months.

Justice O’Connell told Scardamaglia that he had “essentially wasted the last 20 or so years” of his life addicted to meth.

Barkho, an associate of underworld killer George Marrogi, was caught by investigators trying to stash a 200 gram rock of meth and $8920 in a Louis Vuitton handbag.

He walked free last year after having done 101 days in custody.