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AustraliaSteve
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by AustraliaSteve »

Article about one of so called ''Australian Donnie Brasco's''.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/vict ... oym4t.html

Trivia; in Australia, the ''Brasco'' is slang for toilet, especially in jail. Because it's ''full of shit''.
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

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Recent article explores links between suspected 'ndrangheta member and shady dealings at his strawberry farm.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/drug-tr ... 505b8.html
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by AustraliaSteve »

Totally missed this one. I've been lazy, and trying to get back into research and writing after working on music and fiction for a bit.

So a few years back, it came out in some Crimine Reports that Tony Vallelonga, a businessman and former Mayor of the West Australian city of Stirling, had been in direct contact with 'ndrangheta boss Giuseppe Commisso, and it was revealed that Italian investigators alleged him to be the leader of a Perth based locale'.

Giovanni Italiano is the name of the guy who replaced him in 2013 (to clarify, Italiano originally served a term in the 90's. Vallelonga ended his term in 2005, and actually helped re-swear in Italiano in 2015, after several interceding terms by others).

Anyway; it seems like Italiano has some dodgy links of his own, with a photo surfacing that shows him holidaying with convicted heroin trafficker and murder victim Frank La Rosa. Italiano refers to La Rosa (who was killed in 2008 over a supposed drug debt of $32,000 after having served time in the 90's for importing drugs) as a childhood friend and denies any knowledge of La Rosa's ongoing criminal activity (the photo also shows the men convicted of La Rosa's murder, Frank and Adam Mikhail). Italiano retains the same lawyer that Vallelonga did to defend against the ''smears''.
https://www.watoday.com.au/national/wes ... rx0qo.html

Possibly related to some separate issues regarding contested real estate, it's also interesting that Italiano's offices were littered with butchered rodents (lolwut?)
https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/police-i ... b88803059z

Going down the rabbit hole with this, there's actually a pretty long history of Sicilian and Calabrian drug traffickers in Western Australia, which for decades was better known for the Sicilian Rispoli and Tudori families, and their links to gambling and night clubs in the state. This Trove stub has an article on the former subject;
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/127244940

Finally, i think this may be a re-post, but it's a good article.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-ac ... 735933f9a0
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by Antiliar »

Mickey, in your vast knowledge of the Australian Camorra, did anyone claim a connection to Mussolino?
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by Aussie_Steve »

Hey guys. My name’s Steve, I used to post here and on other various boards as Mickey Meatballs. Back again, after Operation Ironside broke, it was interesting to note the links between the Commancheros and Lone Wolves and ‘ndrangheta being reported as strong as ever. Looks like Madaferri is finally going to be deported https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/14925-a ... r-to-italy
but he’s been here since 2014 so we’ll wait and see. For what it’s worth, I’m hoping to update my blog mafiainaustralia.wordpress.com soonish. Heaps happening on the boards lately which is good to see. Hope everyone’s well, good to be back.
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by Aussie_Steve »

Antiliar wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 9:49 pm Mickey, in your vast knowledge of the Australian Camorra, did anyone claim a connection to Mussolino?
Sorry Antiliar for the years late reply, but do you mean Mussolini, or the Musitanos?
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by motorfab »

Aussie_Steve wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:07 am Hey guys. My name’s Steve, I used to post here and on other various boards as Mickey Meatballs. Back again, after Operation Ironside broke, it was interesting to note the links between the Commancheros and Lone Wolves and ‘ndrangheta being reported as strong as ever. Looks like Madaferri is finally going to be deported https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/14925-a ... r-to-italy
but he’s been here since 2014 so we’ll wait and see. For what it’s worth, I’m hoping to update my blog mafiainaustralia.wordpress.com soonish. Heaps happening on the boards lately which is good to see. Hope everyone’s well, good to be back.
Hey, I've been hooked recently by the History of the 'ndrangheta in Australia, so I'm glad to see you post news again. Unfortunately the second link doesn't work but I know your site. I didn't know it was yours, I find it's an awesome site full of great infos and very easy to access for a rookie like me
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by Antiliar »

Aussie_Steve wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:09 am
Antiliar wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 9:49 pm Mickey, in your vast knowledge of the Australian Camorra, did anyone claim a connection to Mussolino?
Sorry Antiliar for the years late reply, but do you mean Mussolini, or the Musitanos?
Glad to see you back. You've been missed.

I mean Mussolino as in the Calabrian killer and Camorrista Giuseppe Mussolino. (I'll have to recheck, but I believe the proper spelling is with two S's):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Musolino
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by Aussie_Steve »

motorfab wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:40 am
Aussie_Steve wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:07 am Hey guys. My name’s Steve, I used to post here and on other various boards as Mickey Meatballs. Back again, after Operation Ironside broke, it was interesting to note the links between the Commancheros and Lone Wolves and ‘ndrangheta being reported as strong as ever. Looks like Madaferri is finally going to be deported https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/14925-a ... r-to-italy
but he’s been here since 2014 so we’ll wait and see. For what it’s worth, I’m hoping to update my blog mafiainaustralia.wordpress.com soonish. Heaps happening on the boards lately which is good to see. Hope everyone’s well, good to be back.
Hey, I've been hooked recently by the History of the 'ndrangheta in Australia, so I'm glad to see you post news again. Unfortunately the second link doesn't work but I know your site. I didn't know it was yours, I find it's an awesome site full of great infos and very easy to access for a rookie like me
Hey brother. Thanks for the kind words. I used to link it in my signature, but just fwiw, hopefully this link works a bit better:
https://mafiainaustralia.wordpress.com/about/
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by Aussie_Steve »

Antiliar wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 11:37 am
Aussie_Steve wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:09 am
Antiliar wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 9:49 pm Mickey, in your vast knowledge of the Australian Camorra, did anyone claim a connection to Mussolino?
Sorry Antiliar for the years late reply, but do you mean Mussolini, or the Musitanos?
Glad to see you back. You've been missed.

I mean Mussolino as in the Calabrian killer and Camorrista Giuseppe Mussolino. (I'll have to recheck, but I believe the proper spelling is with two S's):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Musolino
Ah. Okay, we’ll I haven’t come across any direct links, but the surname is very common in Australia, particularly in South Australia, which is well known for its ‘ndrina linked to the Perre and Barbaro clans (from Plati) the Commisso (from Siderno) and the Alvaro (from Sinopoli).
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by Aussie_Steve »

This article goes into a bit about Frank’s brother Tony, who been named in Italy as being among the highest members of the Alvaro clan in Melbourne, alongside Diego “Danny” Luppino. In phone taps related to Project Ephymos, an Italian investigation, they’re are conversations linking Luppino to Cosimo Canizarro, described as an elderly ‘ndrangheta figure who spoke of his respect of Luppino, who he stayed with during a visit to Melbourne. The phone taps also detail Luppino consulting him for advice regarding how to deal with an indiscretion committed between a connected man and a a particular female. Domenic Forgione, who was arrested in Project Ephymos is described as an Australian associate who entered politics in Calabria.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.smh.c ... 544nw.html
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by Aussie_Steve »

Hmm, can’t edit posts like you once could it seems. Just wanted to fix some misspellings. Their, not they’re, and other minor errors. Oh well.

For those who haven’t heard it, The Mafias Wb is a great podcast series detailing a macro view of the ‘ndrangheta across Australia and Italy. If anyone’s interested, I definitely recommend it.
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by AustraliaSteve »

I missed this article when it first came out, but it’s interesting to I thought I’d share. It seems in the fallout of the Nicola Gobba aka Lawyer X case, it’s come out that police at some point, Australian investigators suspected Tony Madaferri of being responsible for the 2006 murder of crooked lawyer Mario Condello. For context, Gibbo was a lawyer who represented several figures who were prominent in the Melbourne Gangland War of the early 2000’s, including Carl Williams and Tony Mokbel. Obviously unbeknownst to the Melbourne gangsters at the time, Gobbo was secretly passing information to Victoria Police for roughly the decade up to 2009, which jeopardised several convictions attained against gangland figures in this time period. This led to the Royal Commission into Police Informants being announced (which ran for a year until 2019, then was expanded to July 2020 with an extra $12 million budget). The result announced speculation that some convictions are possibly under grounds that serve for some convictions to be overturned, such as Mokbel himself.

The murders and subsequent convictions that took place in Melbourne around this time left a void in drug markets that was swiftly filled by Calabrian importers, in particular the ecstasy trade which Mokbel and Williams largely controlled at the time.
Condello was a lawyer who, while NOT recognised as an ,Ndrangheta member, was linked to them as a proficient money launderer (supposedly hiding money for figures like Frank Benvenuto and Joe Arena) with interests in Victoria and Naples. Condello was actually a closer associate with the Carlton Crew, a loose confederate that included several Italian, Irish and Anglo elements.

Tony Madaferri however, is the real deal. His brother Tony and he are known to have arrived in Australia with deep links to Calabrian ‘Ndranghisti, with Tony in particular being named as Copabastone of Melbourne in wiretaps picked up Calabria. Subject to a deportation order that was overturned by former Labor Minister for Immigration Amanda Vanstone, Tony’s brother Frank has suffered a similar fate and is soon to be deported back to Calabria after having been picked up in the record ecstasy busted of 2004 and 2006 with Pasquale Barbaro. Also believed to have ordered the 2016 murder of lawyer Joe Aquaronafter a falling out involving his standover tactics and influence over Aquaro’s children. Frank’s son Johnny Madaferri has also been charged in recent years with some pretty serious violence, including a home invasion. None the less, Tony himself remains in Australia, solidified as a Melbourne power and litigious against claims suggesting he’s a mob power (he is).

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theag ... 55ly0.html
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

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Here’s an older article, but it goes into a bit of detail about what’s going on with Joe Barbaro and a few of his 8 boys. It’s pretty tangled but definitely gives an idea on what the current situation looks like with that particular family.

True Crime Australia
Mafia tangled web rife in notorious Barbaro family

The father of a man wanted for questioning over the murder of young mum Ellie Price in South Melbourne belongs to a powerful family clan within the secretive Calabrian “Honoured Society’’, otherwise known as the mafia.

Anthony Dowsley
@anthonydowsley
2 min read
May 7, 2020 - 10:57PM

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Ricardo “Rick” Barbaro belongs to a powerful family clan within the secretive Calabrian “Honoured Society’’, otherwise known as the mafia.

Barbaro’s father, Joe, is the son of Pasquale Barbaro — a significant mafia figure murdered in Brisbane in 1990.

The family has strong ties to the NSW town of Griffith, where relatives still hold a powerful place in Australia’s ‘Ndrangheta network.

Joe Barbaro, who lives in Melbourne’s west, has eight children to three women.

Crime and family tragedy has been the story of his life.

Son Ricardo, who is wanted for questioning over the murder of Ellie Price, 26, is the subject of a nationwide manhunt.

But Joe said he and his son had not spoken for five years, Joe Barbaro told the Herald Sun.

Joe Barbaro. Picture: David Caird
Joe Barbaro. Picture: David Caird
Ricardo Barbaro.
Ricardo Barbaro.
Another son, Pasquale, who was a notorious Sydney drug boss notable for his gangster image and pin-striped suits, became the target of hitmen.

In 2016, in the Sydney suburb of Earlwood, the 35-year-old Pasquale was getting into his Mercedes-Benz outside construction boss George Alex’s mother’s home when he was shot five times in ambush.

Having already survived one attack on his life, he would not survive another.

Pasquale was aged 10 when his grandfather and namesake was murdered.

Two decades later, he had suffered the same fate.

His brother Rossario, who resided on the Gold Coast, took his own life six months later. It was believed he had deep depression after Pasquale’s murder.

Harley, a fourth brother, is a member of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle club and also resides on the Gold Coast where he is facing anti-consorting law breaches.

In 2004, Barbaro’s current wife, Anita, was in a shopping centre carpark when their daughter, Montana, was snatched from a baby seat and kidnapped. The baby was returned to her distraught mother days later after she was found in a dilapidated North Melbourne house.

Tragedy had also struck the family a year before.

Pasquale Barbaro.
Pasquale Barbaro.
In 2003, a gangland gunman — in a hit ordered by Carl Williams — shot dead a cousin, another named Pasquale, and Jason Moran at an Auskick clinic.

Joe Barbaro’s relative, Pasquale “Pat’’ Barbaro was jailed for 30 years as the ringleader of the infamous “Tomato Tins’’ ecstasy importation, seized by Australian customs in Melbourne in 2007.

Another relative, Francesco “Little Trees’’ Barbaro was named as a member of the Calabrian mafia by the Woodward Royal Commission, which was held following the disappearance of anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay in 1977.
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Re: Mafia Down Under Discussion

Post by antimafia »

‘Dead man walking’: Italy’s top mafia hunter warns of Australian crime links

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/dea ... 59erf.html
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