https://mafiainaustralia.wordpress.com/

[AustraliaSteve]

I know, that’s true. And I’m certainly not suggesting that all surnames are related, of course. It’s interesting to me because digging around in that case are a lot of Gold Coast Biker Clubs, mostly Mongol Mob, a Northside Mongrel Mob chapter plus some Logan shenanigans. And Giorgi attended as some kind of arbiter (?) in this “interrogation” that led to a murder. Like I said, Giorgi travelled down to Coopers Plains from the Coast, that’s an hour and a half, two hour drive there. To stay for exactly 47 minutes, before leaving. There’s historic overlap there to GC & Brisbane biker clubs, prison culture and some Calabrian families. More a pattern of behaviour, I guess.

Plus Bornstein’s co-accused Filip Grbavac would be murdered by his cell mate. Not that that last part is connected, necessarily, but it’s certainly interesting.

[AustraliaSteve]

The guy arrested at the raids relating to Adrian Romeo’s disappearance has been released on bail, an indigenous bloke named Joshua Gangelhoff. He was found on the farm driving a golf buggy filled with weed, and after greeting officers, apparently dashed away to dispose of a firearm…? Not exactly criminal mastermind, but it looks like he’s at least been cleared of the murder.

This might not be ‘ndrangheta related, but it smacks of OC. I will keep across it.

[AustraliaSteve]

Arrest in Romeo case;

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-26 ... /104145416

[AustraliaSteve]

“There’s always something going on at Brendan Road…’”
Quote from a neighbour regarding Romeo “associates”.

Robert Mantini, resident of Wallan was arrested @ 7.20pm on Thursday 25th in connection with the Romeo murder. Not much known at this point beyond he is apparently prescribed medication for anxiety, and he has been remanded to custody til December. If that’s his committal, he might go trial mid to late next year? Hopefully more comes out about him. As it stands he’s charged with murdering Romeo on the day same day he disappeared.

[AustraliaSteve]

So it turns out Mantini has some history. Convictions in the 90s for cannabis and amphetamine trafficking in Melbourne’s North.
Trying to keep across it, it’s interesting.

[antimafia]

Illicit drug lab equipment, chemicals originated in B.C., but wound up seized in resort city in Fiji
https://vancouversun.com/news/illicit-b ... eized-fiji

[AustraliaSteve]

Illicit drug lab equipment, chemicals originated in B.C., but wound up seized in resort city in Fiji
https://vancouversun.com/news/illicit-b ... eized-fiji

That’s wild. I saw a recent case that revolves around Papúa New Guinea and Australia (or Brisbane, specifically). It was a meth related case, but the profits were crazy. Like $2 to $6 million a week getting cleaned. Doesn’t help that a lot of those Oceanic countries are dirt poor, so officials are on the take to ensure things function properly. This case, iirc, involved a Hong Kong national who had spent time in Canada, increasingly being used as a transit point for transnational syndicates. There’s cases of mob-linked shipments coming in through the PNG-FNQ Route. The recent Formica-Forni case, for example.

[AustraliaSteve]

I put Mark Buttler from the Herald Sun on to Dr Sergi’s “Familiness” paper and he wrote a story on it. It pretty much just summarises the paper and expands a little on some historical stuff.

The four family types that make up Australia’s mafia

Australia’s Honoured Society can be broken down into four types of families: Gatekeepers, Newcomers, Holdovers and Vanishers. Here is how they work.

Mark Buttler
4 min read
August 21, 2024 - 3:00PM

Daily Telegraph Crime Editor Mark Morri and reporter Josh Hanrahan examine the history of the Mafia in Australia, and its continuing impact following recent revelations made by the Australian Federal Police.
The mafia in Australia is divided into four types of families, an international Italian organised crime expert has found.

Dr Anna Sergi – who is respected worldwide for her work in the area – has published new research into Australian mafia family groups which she categorises as: Gatekeepers, Newcomers, Holdovers and Vanishers.

The University of Essex professor’s work centred on 38 Honoured Society families and research included nine team interviews with the Australian Federal Police, three with Victoria Police in Melbourne and Mildura, and others interstate.

It dealt with families involved in the Ndrangheta, a Calabrian crime organisation regarded as the only Italian mafia operating in Australia.

Dr Anna Sergi says Australia’s mafia is made up of four family types. Picture: Kelly Barnes
Dr Anna Sergi says Australia’s mafia is made up of four family types. Picture: Kelly Barnes
NEWCOMERS

Dr Sergi writes that the Newcomer families, who have “appeared” in the underworld in the past 20 years or less, are mostly linked to the Melbourne scene.

In some cases they are linked to families who have come from the Calabrian areas of Oppido Mamertina and Sinopoli but are not joined to those places by criminal reasons.

Dr Sergi’s examination of 13 Newcomer families showed they derived relevance here through connection with a more established clan.

She cites case law which says: “The drugs trafficked by FM were alleged to have been imported by Pasquale Barbaro as head of a drug syndicate and others.”

Melbourne mafia figure Frank Madafferi being taken into the Supreme Court in 2017. Picture: David Crosling
Melbourne mafia figure Frank Madafferi being taken into the Supreme Court in 2017. Picture: David Crosling
The Australian Calabrian mafia was behind the tomato tin ecstasy bust. Picture: Supplied
The Australian Calabrian mafia was behind the tomato tin ecstasy bust. Picture: Supplied
Dr Sergi does not name him but the Newcomer referred to as FM is clearly jailed Melbourne mafia figure Frank Madafferi.

This type of family, the author writes, often “accentuate the separation between the licit and illicit in the family branches.

“For example, in one of the Newcomers in Melbourne we find two cousins: one who is a well-known entrepreneur and investor and another who was convicted for drug trade.”

Newcomers prefer to stay in metropolitan areas.

“One of the things that characterises the Newcomers is that they are found almost exclusively in urban settings, which does not surprise considering that cities have normally a more vibrant ‘underworld’,” Dr Sergi wrote.

GATEKEEPERS

Dr Sergi likens the Gatekeeper families to “royal dynasties” because they have been more important and influential than others for decades.

She writes that they are the reason the `Ndrangheta became an organisation here.

The Gatekeepers are primarily in the Riverina city of Griffith, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Mildura with an “overwhelming presence of families from the town of Plati, Natile, Careri” in the category.

“A set of surnames that appeared in the public eyes and that would fall into this category are, just as an example, the Sergi-Barbaro in Griffith (NSW), notoriously mentioned in institutional inquiries about the Honoured Society in Australia,” Dr Sergi wrote.

Her work notes that there are many Sergi and Barbaro clans and not all are from the Gatekeeper category, even when involved in crime.

Mafia Godfather Tony Sergi at his Griffith winery. Picture: Supplied
Mafia Godfather Tony Sergi at his Griffith winery. Picture: Supplied
Griffith drug dealer Robert Trimbole was known as a Mr Fix-It for the mafia. Picture: Supplied
Griffith drug dealer Robert Trimbole was known as a Mr Fix-It for the mafia. Picture: Supplied
Dr Sergi said the main characteristic of the 11 Gatekeeper families examined was their “business diversification”, which distances them from criminal activity and makes law enforcement investigation extremely difficult.

The study says their involvement in activities like drug trafficking and money laundering was peripheral.

“The Gatekeepers tend to use other (ethnic) groups to carry out any purely criminal activity.

“However, they build their reputation on violence and crime. The “echo” of that violence – even when it is from decades ago – lingers on the community and fuels ambiguity, because of impunity and resilience.”

The report states those families do not always generate fear because they give back to the community.

A New South Wales investigator told Dr Sergi: “The businesses they are involved in, their financial investment in the community, sporting teams, sponsorships, donations … having legitimate business, being seen around.

“The things of the past, their alleged involvement into this murder or that murder, no one talks about, feels like you can avoid thinking about that. This helps their prestige; they are benefiting from the uncertainty about their past.”

HOLDOVERS

Seven Holdover families were studied by Dr Sergi, who found that, like the Gatekeepers, they had been in “public narratives and institutional investigations” since the 1950s.

“An example of this category would be the Perre family in South Australia, even though their mafia status, clearer for Italian standards, has not been ascertained in Australia and should not be assumed,” she wrote.

The Holdovers were older families but, unlike the Gatekeepers, failed to evolve.

National Crime Authority bomber Domenic Perre. Picture: Brenton Edwards
National Crime Authority bomber Domenic Perre. Picture: Brenton Edwards
Dr Sergi wrote that they had issues with “diversification of their familiness” either because of an unchanging business strategy or due to obstacles at a family level.

“For example, Holdovers are families where we find father and son both involved in drug trade together with other family members at a time (in the 90s) when, in the Gatekeepers legitimation and intergenerational evolution had already started occurring.”

Dr Sergi said while the Gatekeepers’ efforts to be involved and give back to the community, the Holdovers did not.

“The Holdovers live on the fringes of it (the community), at times openly displaying contempt towards institutions, disdain and disrespect for non-family members, honest people and law enforcement,” Dr Sergi wrote.

One police interviewee told Dr Sergi that newer Holdover generations were marrying into other families.

“So they basically don’t exist any more on their own. They go with what their acquired families do, or don’t do,” that source said.

VANISHERS

Vanisher families, Dr Sergi says, would include names like Italiano in Melbourne and Marafiote and Pollifrone in South Australia.

“A member of this family was an apical member of the Honoured Society in Melbourne where he was involved in the notorious Queen Victoria Market murders, a period when murders of members of the Honoured Society were linked to the control of the extortion rackets and the cartels of the fruit and vegetable markets,” the paper says.

The funeral of Melbourne Godfather Domenico Italiano in 1962. HWT Library
The funeral of Melbourne Godfather Domenico Italiano in 1962. HWT Library
The killing of Vincenzo Angilletta heralded the start of the Queen Victoria Market murders. Picture: HWT Library
The killing of Vincenzo Angilletta heralded the start of the Queen Victoria Market murders. Picture: HWT Library
Police frisk a stallholder during the Queen Victoria Market murders. Picture: HWT Library
Police frisk a stallholder during the Queen Victoria Market murders. Picture: HWT Library
Dr Sergi wrote that after the death of that man, a power struggle resulted in more deaths and another family emerged on top.

That family is now among the Gatekeepers.

Vanishers included families who had lost in a conflict with others, who had been hit by law enforcement or whose next generation were not interested in following the “mafia heritage” or there was no suitable heir.

There were Vanishers who, at a given time, were relevant and recognised.

“The reputation and charisma of the boss is at times the one thing that sets apart this family from others,” Dr Sergi wrote.

The Australian mafia families’ links to the old country remain, the paper says.

“Ndrangheta clans have been operational for almost a century in Australia, never fully severing the bonds with the motherland but also developing a fully Australian ‘portfolio’,” Dr Sergi wrote.

[ANNAESSE]

There was an Antonio Giorgi killed in 1970 in Woodville, NSW. Giorgi is a fairly common name in Calabria, so maybe not related, but it's striking to always see the same names appear in Australia (Giorgi, Romeo, etc...) https://crimestopperssa.com.au/media-re ... io-giorgi/

Very interesting - Giorgi might be from San Luca as a fairly common name unfortunately there - good find!

[ANNAESSE]

I put Mark Buttler from the Herald Sun on to Dr Sergi’s “Familiness” paper and he wrote a story on it. It pretty much just summarises the paper and expands a little on some historical stuff.

The four family types that make up Australia’s mafia

Australia’s Honoured Society can be broken down into four types of families: Gatekeepers, Newcomers, Holdovers and Vanishers. Here is how they work.

Mark Buttler
4 min read
August 21, 2024 - 3:00PM

Daily Telegraph Crime Editor Mark Morri and reporter Josh Hanrahan examine the history of the Mafia in Australia, and its continuing impact following recent revelations made by the Australian Federal Police.
The mafia in Australia is divided into four types of families, an international Italian organised crime expert has found.

Dr Anna Sergi – who is respected worldwide for her work in the area – has published new research into Australian mafia family groups which she categorises as: Gatekeepers, Newcomers, Holdovers and Vanishers.

The University of Essex professor’s work centred on 38 Honoured Society families and research included nine team interviews with the Australian Federal Police, three with Victoria Police in Melbourne and Mildura, and others interstate.

It dealt with families involved in the Ndrangheta, a Calabrian crime organisation regarded as the only Italian mafia operating in Australia.

Dr Anna Sergi says Australia’s mafia is made up of four family types. Picture: Kelly Barnes
Dr Anna Sergi says Australia’s mafia is made up of four family types. Picture: Kelly Barnes
NEWCOMERS

Dr Sergi writes that the Newcomer families, who have “appeared” in the underworld in the past 20 years or less, are mostly linked to the Melbourne scene.

In some cases they are linked to families who have come from the Calabrian areas of Oppido Mamertina and Sinopoli but are not joined to those places by criminal reasons.

Dr Sergi’s examination of 13 Newcomer families showed they derived relevance here through connection with a more established clan.

She cites case law which says: “The drugs trafficked by FM were alleged to have been imported by Pasquale Barbaro as head of a drug syndicate and others.”

Melbourne mafia figure Frank Madafferi being taken into the Supreme Court in 2017. Picture: David Crosling
Melbourne mafia figure Frank Madafferi being taken into the Supreme Court in 2017. Picture: David Crosling
The Australian Calabrian mafia was behind the tomato tin ecstasy bust. Picture: Supplied
The Australian Calabrian mafia was behind the tomato tin ecstasy bust. Picture: Supplied
Dr Sergi does not name him but the Newcomer referred to as FM is clearly jailed Melbourne mafia figure Frank Madafferi.

This type of family, the author writes, often “accentuate the separation between the licit and illicit in the family branches.

“For example, in one of the Newcomers in Melbourne we find two cousins: one who is a well-known entrepreneur and investor and another who was convicted for drug trade.”

Newcomers prefer to stay in metropolitan areas.

“One of the things that characterises the Newcomers is that they are found almost exclusively in urban settings, which does not surprise considering that cities have normally a more vibrant ‘underworld’,” Dr Sergi wrote.

GATEKEEPERS

Dr Sergi likens the Gatekeeper families to “royal dynasties” because they have been more important and influential than others for decades.

She writes that they are the reason the `Ndrangheta became an organisation here.

The Gatekeepers are primarily in the Riverina city of Griffith, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Mildura with an “overwhelming presence of families from the town of Plati, Natile, Careri” in the category.

“A set of surnames that appeared in the public eyes and that would fall into this category are, just as an example, the Sergi-Barbaro in Griffith (NSW), notoriously mentioned in institutional inquiries about the Honoured Society in Australia,” Dr Sergi wrote.

Her work notes that there are many Sergi and Barbaro clans and not all are from the Gatekeeper category, even when involved in crime.

Mafia Godfather Tony Sergi at his Griffith winery. Picture: Supplied
Mafia Godfather Tony Sergi at his Griffith winery. Picture: Supplied
Griffith drug dealer Robert Trimbole was known as a Mr Fix-It for the mafia. Picture: Supplied
Griffith drug dealer Robert Trimbole was known as a Mr Fix-It for the mafia. Picture: Supplied
Dr Sergi said the main characteristic of the 11 Gatekeeper families examined was their “business diversification”, which distances them from criminal activity and makes law enforcement investigation extremely difficult.

The study says their involvement in activities like drug trafficking and money laundering was peripheral.

“The Gatekeepers tend to use other (ethnic) groups to carry out any purely criminal activity.

“However, they build their reputation on violence and crime. The “echo” of that violence – even when it is from decades ago – lingers on the community and fuels ambiguity, because of impunity and resilience.”

The report states those families do not always generate fear because they give back to the community.

A New South Wales investigator told Dr Sergi: “The businesses they are involved in, their financial investment in the community, sporting teams, sponsorships, donations … having legitimate business, being seen around.

“The things of the past, their alleged involvement into this murder or that murder, no one talks about, feels like you can avoid thinking about that. This helps their prestige; they are benefiting from the uncertainty about their past.”

HOLDOVERS

Seven Holdover families were studied by Dr Sergi, who found that, like the Gatekeepers, they had been in “public narratives and institutional investigations” since the 1950s.

“An example of this category would be the Perre family in South Australia, even though their mafia status, clearer for Italian standards, has not been ascertained in Australia and should not be assumed,” she wrote.

The Holdovers were older families but, unlike the Gatekeepers, failed to evolve.

National Crime Authority bomber Domenic Perre. Picture: Brenton Edwards
National Crime Authority bomber Domenic Perre. Picture: Brenton Edwards
Dr Sergi wrote that they had issues with “diversification of their familiness” either because of an unchanging business strategy or due to obstacles at a family level.

“For example, Holdovers are families where we find father and son both involved in drug trade together with other family members at a time (in the 90s) when, in the Gatekeepers legitimation and intergenerational evolution had already started occurring.”

Dr Sergi said while the Gatekeepers’ efforts to be involved and give back to the community, the Holdovers did not.

“The Holdovers live on the fringes of it (the community), at times openly displaying contempt towards institutions, disdain and disrespect for non-family members, honest people and law enforcement,” Dr Sergi wrote.

One police interviewee told Dr Sergi that newer Holdover generations were marrying into other families.

“So they basically don’t exist any more on their own. They go with what their acquired families do, or don’t do,” that source said.

VANISHERS

Vanisher families, Dr Sergi says, would include names like Italiano in Melbourne and Marafiote and Pollifrone in South Australia.

“A member of this family was an apical member of the Honoured Society in Melbourne where he was involved in the notorious Queen Victoria Market murders, a period when murders of members of the Honoured Society were linked to the control of the extortion rackets and the cartels of the fruit and vegetable markets,” the paper says.

The funeral of Melbourne Godfather Domenico Italiano in 1962. HWT Library
The funeral of Melbourne Godfather Domenico Italiano in 1962. HWT Library
The killing of Vincenzo Angilletta heralded the start of the Queen Victoria Market murders. Picture: HWT Library
The killing of Vincenzo Angilletta heralded the start of the Queen Victoria Market murders. Picture: HWT Library
Police frisk a stallholder during the Queen Victoria Market murders. Picture: HWT Library
Police frisk a stallholder during the Queen Victoria Market murders. Picture: HWT Library
Dr Sergi wrote that after the death of that man, a power struggle resulted in more deaths and another family emerged on top.

That family is now among the Gatekeepers.

Vanishers included families who had lost in a conflict with others, who had been hit by law enforcement or whose next generation were not interested in following the “mafia heritage” or there was no suitable heir.

There were Vanishers who, at a given time, were relevant and recognised.

“The reputation and charisma of the boss is at times the one thing that sets apart this family from others,” Dr Sergi wrote.

The Australian mafia families’ links to the old country remain, the paper says.

“Ndrangheta clans have been operational for almost a century in Australia, never fully severing the bonds with the motherland but also developing a fully Australian ‘portfolio’,” Dr Sergi wrote.

Thanks for posting Steve! And thanks for sending it to them!

[AustraliaSteve]

Nah, all g. That paywall is a pain. Yeah, like I said, I thought it was pretty evenhanded. Buttler isn’t as sensationalist as some.

[AustraliaSteve]

More Censori family drama;

Tony Campana sues his sister Elenia Censori in a bid to claw back nearly $135,000

The convicted murderer uncle of Bianca Censori — Kanye West’s Australian wife — is suing his sister, claiming she stole tens of thousands of dollars from him.
Rebekah Cavanagh
Rebekah Cavanagh
Follow
@rebekahcavanagh
3 min read
August 22, 2024 - 7:00PM


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The gangster uncle of Kanye West’s Australian wife, Bianca Censori, is suing his sister in a bid to claw back nearly $135,000 he claims she stole from him.
In the latest legal battle to embroil the Melbourne glamour girl’s family, Tony Campana — a convicted murderer formerly known as Eris Censori and dubbed “Melbourne’s Al Capone” — has launched Supreme Court action against his sister, Elenia Censori.

Campana is the brother of Bianca’s father, Leo Censori.


Bianca Censori with her husband, US rapper Kanye West. Picture: Instagram
Bianca Censori with her husband, US rapper Kanye West. Picture: Instagram
It comes a year after Campana won a Brunswick property dispute fight against his sister with a judge ruling Elenia had held the Union St property on constructive trust for her brother since 2005.

Despite claiming she was the rightful owner, Elenia was ordered to transfer the property to her brother, and pay him $182,097 for rent she had received after exiting the house and putting tenants into it in February 2016.

In a statement of claim filed this month and obtained by the Herald Sun, Campana claims his sibling took from the trust to pay her legal costs in last year’s June trial before the judgment was handed down.

The former Carlton crime gangster states Elenia “engaged in equitable fraud” by taking the money when he was the sole beneficiary of the trust property.

He claims he has suffered loss and damage.

Bianca, 29, who met US rapper West, 47, through her role as an architect at his company Yeezy, was last week seen hitting the town with her younger sister, Angelina, during a family reunion in LA.

Bianca Censori and younger sister Angelina let their hair down during a family reunion in LA. Picture: Instagram
Bianca Censori and younger sister Angelina let their hair down during a family reunion in LA. Picture: Instagram
Alexandra Censori with daughters Bianca, Alyssia and Angelina. Picture: Supplied
Alexandra Censori with daughters Bianca, Alyssia and Angelina. Picture: Supplied
The Melbourne-born sisters, who share the same affinity for daring fashion, were seen living it up as the controversial West took to the DJ decks to play teasers from his new album.

Bianca currently lives in Los Angeles with West, but is understood to maintain a close relationship with her Australian siblings and parents.

Meanwhile, her aunt and uncle’s rivalry was aired in the Supreme Court last year with both of them giving evidence against each other.

Ultimately, Justice Michael McDonald rejected Elenia’s evidence that she had purchased the home with her own money, saying it was “quite implausible” for her to have saved such an amount as a single mum and cleaner.

During her evidence, she claimed she had leant tens of thousands of dollars to her brother over the years, including $40,000 cash she had stored behind a bookshelf in her home.

She said she was “scared to bring it up” with her brother to repay the money because “Eris is not a person you can – you can say no to … he can be intimidating”.

Eris Censori in 1991 while serving time in Victoria.
Eris Censori in 1991 while serving time in Victoria.
Ella Censori (Leo Censori) with his youngest brother Eris Censori. Picture: Herald Sun 1991
Ella Censori (Leo Censori) with his youngest brother Eris Censori. Picture: Herald Sun 1991
She also denied ever signing a trust deed or declaring a trust over the property.

A copy of the trust deed could not be shown to the court because Campana said it had been destroyed in a fire at his home in April 2014. A copy at the law firm where it was signed was also destroyed in a fire, the court heard.

Campana successfully argued he had sought to apply for building permits in respect of two neighbouring properties, but was told new building laws at the time were limiting permits to owner-builders to one every three years.

His way around that was to transfer the title of one of the properties to his sister.

Campana is no stranger to the courts, with a jail stint for heroin dealing and having been convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Perth waiter Michael Sideris in 1982.

His sentence was later changed to life imprisonment when WA abolished the death penalty.

In 1987, he was transferred to Victoria to serve his sentence closer to his family.

But in May 1994, he was released from jail on condition he be on parole for life.

He told the court he initially lived with his brother Leo, who is Bianca Censori’s father, on his release, but then he moved in to Elenia’s house in Heidelberg.

She had tried to argue in court the Brunswick house was a gift from her brother for allowing him to stay with her.

A court date is yet to be set for the latest showdown.

More Coverage

Gatekeepers, Holdovers: Four family types make up our mafia

[AustraliaSteve]

Francesco Madaffer, aka Frank the Fruit, aka Mad Frank;

Is FINALLY getting deported. Hold up I’ll post the article.

[AustraliaSteve]

Frank Madafferi detained by Australian Border Force officers and taken to a Melbourne immigration detention facility

The 63-year-old has been released from jail after serving a long sentence for high-level drug trafficking but is now in line to be deported to Italy.

Mark Buttler
EXCLUSIVE
2 min read
August 26, 2024 - 5:46PM

Daily Telegraph Crime Editor Mark Morri and reporter Josh Hanrahan examine the history of the Mafia in Australia, and its continuing impact following recent revelations made by the Australian Federal Police.
Melbourne mafia man Frank Madafferi has been freed from jail but immediately thrown into immigration custody.

Madafferi was released last week from medium security Loddon Prison, in central Victoria, after serving a long sentence for high-level drug trafficking.

The 63-year-old is an unlawful non-citizen and in line to be deported to his native Italy.

He was detained by Australian Border Force officers and taken to a Melbourne immigration detention facility.

Frank Madafferi is in line to be deported to his native Italy. Picture: David Crosling
Frank Madafferi is in line to be deported to his native Italy. Picture: David Crosling
Madafferi had done a 10-year stretch for his role in a 2007 ecstasy bust, in which Calabrian mafia figures imported 15 million ecstasy pills concealed in tomato tins.

He has previously been regarded as a major player in Australia’s Italian organised crime scene where he has a reputation for extreme violence.

Madafferi once boasted that “Melbourne is mine”, in a conversation about drug distribution.

Whether he gets to stay may now rest on the success or otherwise of a Supreme Court appeal over the tomato tins bust.

He has claimed his former lawyer Joe Acquaro – shot dead outside his Brunswick East gelato bar in 2016 – was secretly giving evidence about him to organised crime detectives.

Vincenzo Crupi, 74, was charged two years later over the murder.

Another leading mafia figure, Rocco Arico, is also appealing convictions which led to his jailing because of Acquaro’s role.

Arico – who became eligible for parole earlier this year – has claimed his right to a fair trial was subverted and there was a miscarriage of justice.

Madafferi dodged deportation in 2005 when Liberal Party Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone overturned a ruling that he be banished.

This was despite warrants being in place for Madafferi’s arrest in Italy and the fact he had done prison time in that country for kidnapping, mafia conspiracy, theft and offences against the person.

He came here in 1989 on a visitor’s visa, married and had four children.

Victoria Police had submitted that he was involved since arrival in blackmail, extortion and murder.

Madafferi was charged in 2009 with conspiracy to murder over a gangland contract killing plot but the charges did not make it past the committal stage.

A Department of Home Affairs spokeswoman said no comment could be made on individual cases but that non-citizens who wanted to enter or stay in Australia

needed to meet Migration Act requirements which included areas of identity, health, character and security.

“The Australian Government takes seriously its responsibility to protect the community from the risk of harm arising from non-citizens who choose to engage in criminal activity or other serious conduct of concern,” the spokeswoman said

“Where unlawful non-citizens have exhausted all administrative, procedural and legal avenues and have no lawful basis for remaining in Australia, they are expected to depart or will be removed as required by law.”

More Coverage
Caged mafia boss’ major fight against deportation
Caged mafia boss’ major fight against deportation

[AustraliaSteve]

Cydonee Marden for the Daily Telegraph wrote a piece that states mafia figures were amongst the residents of the national detention centres, which are being overrun by non-nationals with serious convictions.

Apart from Mad Frank, Rocco Arico could be looking at deportation. Also some of the suppressed Alvaro case stemming from Ironside could have some overlap with the ABF. And IIRC, one of the dozen or so associates arrested in Operation Inca (Tomato Tins Bust) might be in detention by now…?

Anyway. Interesting. See if he and his family fight it.