Alphonse Gangitano - most kooky mobster?

I was watching this video-clip on Alphonse Gangitano from Melbourne, Australia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-gsTtz8c7s

It seems he didn't have much street-cred amongst other crooks, but I also think he was a genuine tough guy and an accomplished street fighter who loved bashing off-duty cops after dark.

Anyone heard of him? A tough guy or an actor and wannabe?

I was just researching him last night! I lived in aus for 8 years, this dude was no joke 'the black prince of Lygon street' he was known as. You should check out a Aussie tv show called Underbelly, true drama series about a gangland war in Melbourne which Gangitano is shown in.

Sorry Scarfo, but 'Fonse was exactly what Uncle Chop meant when he referred to the "Fairy God-Fathers". He was a private school-boy from a good family who went out of his way to associate with crims. He did the exact opposite of what most OC figures are about; instead of taking dirty money and investing it legit, he took clean money and used it in his attempts to build rackets.
When he was killed (by Jason, I myself believe), IIRC, he had something like $80 cash on him and his only asset was the house his parents left him and his sister. There is a LOT of myth surrounding Gangitano, but none of it matches the facts. Look at his rap sheets, and match them up with the reports; he was always in a group when he attacked and assaulted people. Even Greg Workman, his most prolific 'hit', was shot in the back at a drunken party with many watching. It was the Moran's who sorted out the witnesses who came forward, and only then, it was because they were friends of friends(they reached out to Jason), and the girls were badly treated by Victorian police.
He was a good dresser with a nasty rep, that's about it. There's a reason Gatto had already begun distancing himself from the guy.


Sure, when he was surrounded by Jason and his crew.

He dies in the first episode.

Sure, when he was surrounded by Jason and his crew. [/quote]


Nothing wrong with that, you'll find 99.9% mobsters will only hurt & extort weaker people either with a gun or numbers.

Watched a show the other night called Australias Toughest Criminals and it was about Alphonse. I go on an Ozzy crime forum and the posters all seem to think it was Mark Moran who killed Alphonse whilst in the company of Jason Moran and The Munster.

I've always thought Jason, just due to their different temperaments and Jason being closer to Gangitano (he let whoever killed him into his house while dressed in boxer shorts and a robe) though I'm aware Mark is also a viable suspect. The evidence seems to suggest that The Munster wasn't complicit, but was aware of what was about to go down during his visit to the house that night.

Link to the particular forum you mention? I frequent a few myself. Robbo's site?

Nothing wrong with that, you'll find 99.9% mobsters will only hurt & extort weaker people either with a gun or numbers. [/quote]

Well, there is something wrongwith that, but yeah, I know. Something about the glorification of Gangitano in particular has always irked me though.

Well, there is something wrongwith that, but yeah, I know. Something about the glorification of Gangitano in particular has always irked me though. [/quote]


Yeh I know what u mean but almost every mobster gets glorified in some way by the media... That's how they sell their papers & books sadly

Eg Merlino has huge fan boys on this site alone, yet how many times has he walked up to another tough guy and offered to fight them one on one fairly? Not much

He's either packing a gun or has guys with him or both

Fair point.
And you're right RE. Merlino. I swear, some guys would suck his dick if it meant they could get close to him.
I've copped some flak for saying this before, but fuck all these guys and their type. I'm always hoping for more rats. There's one way I like to break it down; fuck borrowing money, drug-dealing, the life-style etc (then you've earned what's coming), but imagine if it was you or say, your Dad that was getting shook down for $ from a business you or he has been honestly building up for years.

No Mickey its not Robbos site although I do read his a lot. Its the Big Footy site on their true crime section.I also go on crimecasefiles Australian section. Been reading about a guy called Reagan aka The Magician do you have any info on him? I'm haveing trouble finding any info about Jimmy the Pom or the Toecutter who where at war with Sydneys criminals any info on either would be greatly appreciated.

Stewart John Regan aka Nano the Magician/The Magician (people close to him were always disappearing). He was involved with the loose coalition of crims, the so called Toe-Cutters Gang, and one himself (that is, a criminal who preyed on other criminals). He was also involved in prostitution and organised theft rackets. I believe he also had some involvement in real-estate (obviously on the dodgy side ).
Even though James Linus Driscoll aka The Pom was convicted of the Jake Mahoney murder, several sources cite Regan as his true killer. I think it was '74 he died. He was a true nut-bag and hard man, like most of the figures involved in the scene around that time.
That's really about it, off the top of my head. I must apologise, I'm typing on a new computer and still waiting for old hard-drives to arrive, and unpacking all my books. I'd recommend the Gangland Australia series and Shotgun and Standover, both co-written by James Morton, for some more insight into the Sydney scene in the '70's.
If you are still interested, I can post more when I can access all my old shit.

The Carlton Crew is different from the others LCN group was founded in the late 70s by Gangitano and Mick Gatto,the Moran family was allied with the italians but Jason Moran killed Gangitano because was too violent,he shoot Greg Workman in 1995 for a 5,000 $ loan instead of break his legs or something.
And even the myth that his death started the Melbourne Gangland War isn't true.
The war started when Jason shot in the stomach of Carl William because him began to sell the moran's drug to a lower prize.But jason don't killed him because wanted his money back but william first killed his brother Mark and after jason.
Take alook to Underbelly is well done but in the 2008 more of the real criminals was under indictment and the name was changed.

They have Italian people in Australia? Hmmmmm......Interesting!

It's different because its NOT an LCN group. There was no initiation rite, several ethnicities comprised it and there was no real formal hierarchy. It was a bunch of guys hanging out at La Porcetta (a restaurant), most had their own interests and simply backed each other up on occasion. Though some sources state they're still in operation, it seems like a bit of a Merlino type situation; the hype surrounding Gatto means that there are folk who pick up tabs, loan money, etc, to be seen as "near" him. He runs an "industrial arbitration" firm last time I checked, whatever the fuck that means. Basically he settles arguments for money.
Wikipedia is a terrible source for the Crew, they were never in any real competition with any 'Ndrine, Gatto was too smart for that, at least. I have a grudging respect for Gatto, mostly because he killed that nut-bag Veniamin, but also because he has strived to keep a relatively low profile. Mario Condello did have links to certain families, but mainly through his work as a lawyer (until he was disbarred) and his money-laundering operations. He also bought drugs through some cells.
Melbourne crime reporter John Silvester claims that Gatto and Condello were one taken in by a 414 (Nigerian Prince) scam, and lost thousands, though I'll admit he has been seen tohave an agenda of his own in the past.
Letting Mokbel get beaten by bikers in front of him (Gatto) is really a major factor in why the war started, ie, helping Williams finance from a nobody to a player. Although nobody really expected the fat kid to have the balls he eventually showed, and also supposedly turning Benji Veniamins allegiances away from Gatto (although that crazy fuck just seemed to want to be able to kill, for anyone who was willing to pay him or not).

The first series of Underbelly really was ground-breaking as far as Aussie TV goes. The second series was alright, by the third I'd started losing interest. I haven't bothered with any after that, but I heard Mokbelly was good, and mean to check that out at some stage.

Yeah dude. Outside of the US and Canada, one of the the largest expat communities. Though arriving as early as the '30's, The biggest waves happened post war years and into the '60's. While Italians from all over came, there is a predominantly Calabrian crime element. It's been said that a large portion of the population of Plati basically moved to Australia in a couple of years, and what happens in Australia is known there overnight.

I watched that last 2-part documentary about the 'ndrangheta Madafferi group in Australia. When they are speaking "Italian" on the tapes, I don't understand a single word, apart from the English word "fuck" they often put in Good that there were subtitles. Maybe it's a mix of Calabrian modified dialect and English with Australian accent?

Mickey any info u can provide will b greatly appreciated. I watched all the Underbelly shows the first two were great, Fat Tony and co and Badness were also good but I watched a show called Blue Murder about Neddy and Roger Rogerson which I thought was excellant dare I day better than Underbelly 2 as it seemed to b closer to the actual events. Don't mean to bug u but when u sort ur hard drive etc any info on Tom Domican or Kizon(not sure of christian name).Thanks for answering.Got a lot of questions u will b sick of me soon.

Blue Murder is a fucking absolute Aussie classic. Roxburgh and Martin absolutely nailed it. In his memoirs, Abo Henry displays a lot of bitterness at how he was was portrayed, but that 2 part series was fucking awesome.
John Kizon it is, BTW. Associated with bikers and myriad nightclubs. He helped Gatto organise the meeting with Mokbel and the bikers (Coffin Cheaters or Gypsy Jokers IIRC, I'll have to double check on that, I may be wrong).
Domican was another hard case, and ran his own rackets, was independent. He never quite reached the level of Freeman and McPherson though.
No prob at all, you're not bugging me; I love to talk about this shit. Unpacking more shit all the time, will gladly help understand what was the cluster-fuck known as the East Coast Milieu.

The East Coast Milleu? Iread a book awhile ago called Smack Express which really got me intrested in OC in Sydney before that I had only really heard about crims from Melbourne.Now I can't get enough about Australian crime and crims

Been trying to find a copy of the Woodward Commission on corruption in NSW police.The thing I like about police in Australia is they are not adverse to takin on the crims. Cops like Rogerson,Skull Murphy seemed to be happy to play the crims at there own game.Where the two said cops really as crooked as is alledged or was it crims spreading stories with no fact to back them up Has It been proved beyond a doubtthat Rogerson and Murphy were crooked

OK, I will provide some details on what dannymac has asked about. The video he is looking for (a TV documentary made by a large television network) can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjyXuQv224s

It was hosted, in part, by Quentin Dempster - a leading Australian television journalist

To be honest, a number of people on this forum (one in particular) think I'm an idiot, but I know my shit.

I'm working on a big story that exposes a lot of what Aussies talk about, but at the end of the day, this GangsterBB forum is mainly about East Coast America LCN - they don't know or care about our Aussie shit, which is fair enough.

We are presently attempting to get an arrest warrant for Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia. The arrest warrant has nothing to do with Manus Island and the treatment of illegal refugees, - it's a long story.

Here's a video of us getting arrested when we went to the local Aussie police station to provide written documents stating that we can only be arrested on the condition that we are paid $100,000 for each arrest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDd74BHf6wo

Here's a video of us attempting to arrest the Aussie police while they attempt to arrest us because we use our own home-made drivers licenses and car license plates - it's hilarious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEKF2m3r4oU

If you're an Aussie, you really need to start looking at websites like http://www.aussiespeedingfines.com/

If you detect a bad smell around here, it's probably thanks to independent Australian politician John Hatton, who successfully initiated the Woodward Royal Commission into police corruption in Australia, courtesy of The Police Farce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CILyHEgYIrI

Australia is a fa***t 'house of cards' that is going to fall - I will see to it personally. The total and entire legal and political system in Australia is going to get destroyed.

I mean, who cares, anyway? Australia is garbage and needs to be thoroughly demolished!

I expect EVERYONE on this forum to hold me to my word... thanks!

Aussie Police Commissioner Tony Lauer had to resign over that TV documentary I listed above... watch it

Night timer nice one and thank you for the link about the Woodward Royal Commission gonna have a watch later will also check out ur other links. I enjoy Australian true crime stories just working my way through Crime Investigation Australia at the moment. Lots of good episodes. Thanks again for link.

Lauer resigned before the Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service, held between '95 and '97. Justice Woodward headed an entirely different Commission into drug trafficking between '77-'79. They were two separate investigations.

Especially with Rogerson back in the news accused of murder Fred Krahe was another one those type of cops you mention.
I found an old list of those accused by Woodward as comprising the Griffith 'Ndrine at the time in the R.C, sooner or later I'll find a another old chart that had their birth-dates and notes which helped tell them apart. I don't believe every member was identified by any means, but this is at least who Woodward identified.
True to the Society's SOP's, there was a great deal of intermarriage between families and cousins to solidify bloodlines and make it that much harder to develop informants, as they'd be testifying against their own blood in most cases.
Antonio Sergi
Guiseppe Scarfo
Rocco Barbaro
Leonardo Gambacorta
Pasquale Agresta
Francesco Barbaro
Antonio Sergi (another relation of the first Antonio listed)
Guiseppe Sergi (two guys named Guiseppe, and older and younger)
Guiseppe Agresta
Luigi Pochi
Vincenzo Ciccarello
Vincenzo Barbaro
Vincenzo Piscioneri
Saverio Barbaro
And of course Aussie Bob Trimbole. FWIW, the guy who's often called "the Australian God-Father" was pretty much the equivalent of a Capo, if that. He had the gift of the gab and was known for his ability to cultivate contacts from all walks, but always answered to Sergi's and Barbaro's directions, the elders. I wrote an article a while back that was published in a local rag, but I have the original copy somewhere.
Fuck moving, I hate it.

Mickey, have you got information of an Australian 'ndrangheta boss named Peter Calipari? I read somewhere he was the real boss of the area that supposedly was controlled by Bob Trimbole.

By the way, why did you put laughing emoticon when saying Roger Rogerson is accused of murder? Do you think he isn't guilty? Just being curious.

Another curiosity: Bazley (alleged triggerman for the McKay murder) said Fred Krahe was the real killer. Which theory is more plausible in your opinion?

Maybe the questions are kind of newbie, but I know only a little about the Australian mob.

I'm still unsure over his guilt, but it's well known he'd been doing it hard for some years, and him getting back involved in easy money schemes is hardly a stretch of the imagination, considering his character.

Calipari was recognised as a leading figure in NSW Calabrian cells by the time he died in 1980, I think it was. He ran a shoe shop in Griffith, and I believe Donald Mackay had accused him of a number of things before his death. He kept pretty well under the radar for many years, and police were unable to tie him to anything major (at least as far as making a charge stick). I believe he accompanied Al Grassby to Plati when the Labor polly made his trip there in the '70's, and Grassby had stood in as a character witness when Calipari faced up to the one arrest of his I can remember, for carrying an unlicenced pistol in...the early '60's I think it was? Evidence of his stature is supported by Melbourne boss Liborio Benvenuto attending his funeral.

I think Bazley did it. Some new investigations have been launched in recent years, and they all draw the same conclusions. Krahe was in the area around the time though, so Bazley had a plausible reason to name him.

I write slow as fuck (two kids, a full-time job and life and shit), but when I finish my next round of Italian-Australian criminal articles, I mean to explore Griffith and it's 'Ndrine a bit more. They are easily the most recognizable cell in the country.

That would be me.


This would be why:











Preach crazy somewhere else. We're full here.

Mickey I think I read somewhere that there is an Ndrine cell in Perth is that right. Also Chopper mentions Joe Arena as a Italian-Australian OC figure any info.Any idea what happened to Tizzone(not sure on spelling) the guy who set up the Mckay hit was he aNdrine soldier? Did he give evidence against anyone else when he snitched on Trimbone.

Yeah, there is, no where near as well known as the East and South Coast cells though. Tony Vellelonga, the mayor of the Stirling, outside of Perth, was recently caught up in scandal involving his links to Calabria. The Brown and Macera reports name some bosses, but these reports are yet to be released in their entirety, though I believe they are referring to the Rispoli and Tudori families. Professional gambler Ralph Romeo is said to be a relative of the Romeo's of Adelaide and Griffith. The reports also reference a Sicilian family. Not sure yet how he fit in, but a Sicilian named Paul Musarri was pretty deep into dealing hard drugs in the '70's and early '80's. I'll admit I haven't done a lot of research on WA compared to other cells in Australia.
Joe Arena aka The Friendly Godfather was close to Liborio Benvenuto and for a time was considered a viable successor, but he died in the late '80's. He operated primarily as a money-launderer, IIRC.
Gianfranco Tizzoni would by American parlance I guess count as an associate. He was a Northern Italian, and worked many different trades before getting involved with Trimbole and one Archie Molinaro in what started as a legitimate poker machine business (Molinaro is not connected, BTW). When he flipped, he named a lot of names, but later recanted and ended up only fingering Bazley, Trimbole and gun dealer George Joseph, who originally put Tizzoni in contact with Bazley.

Forgot to add, he high-tailed it out of the country shortly after the trial, returning to Italy to live out his days. Journalist Keith Moor tracked him down years later (surprisingly easily, according to Moor) and discovered a very bitter Tizzoni running a gas station. He would die in Italy in '93, I think. Apparently he had already purchased and built his burial plot, and was in the habit of going down there and just hanging out.

Check out Crims in Grass Castles by Moor for an in depth look at Trimbole, Tizzoni, Bazley and Griffith in general.

Mickey just ordered Crims in grass castles awaiting its arrival also just received Underbelly Files which is three stand alone films about Bendali Debs,An Aussie drug dealer who escaped from Bangkok Hilton and undercover cops infiltrating an Aussie-Italian crime syndicate. Watched the debs one it was good watch others tonight.

The last one is based onInfiltration By Colin McLaren. Good read and details how he brought down Tony Romeo (who was later murdered) and Trimbole's son, amongst others. Another good read is Wired by Damien Marriott. Marriott was a younger officer who spent time undercover with McLaren. The thing is,it affected Marriott a lot differently. He talks about it in his book, and while I have the utmost admiration for him, people talk about him becoming a little unhinged during the sting.

Mickey the guy Barbaro who was involved in th massive xtc bust is he connected to N drine,is he the Barbaro who's child was kidnapped and was he related to Pat Barbaro who died with Jason? Was the Pat Barbaro with Jason connected to Ndrangheta

It was Pasquale Barbaro caught in ecstasy bust, the son of Francesco aka Little Trees, named in the Woodward Commission, and yes, had links to the Calabrian suppliers, to the extent that he had to make a trip to Italy to explain why he would be late repaying debts. In fact, some sources state him to be more a "customer" of the local 'Ndrine than one himself. It was his cousin Joe Barbaro who's daughter was kidnapped, his father Pasquale aka Il Principal was a Canberra boss who flipped after an attempt on his life (he left his wife, who was a Nirta, another powerful family with strong links to the old country). He was eventually murdered in 1990. The Barbaro who died with Jason I believe was related, but not involved with his family's rackets. He seemed to have been known as a bit of a stoner.
It gets complex, doesn't it? I may be a bit off with the relations myself, but they were definitely two different Barbaros. Sooner or later I'll find the old chart that had birth dates and notes that help tell them apart.

Sonny Blackstein does too much MOUTHING OFF without knowing his shit!

I will now provide AMPLE PROOF that I am RIGHT and Sonny Blackstein, whoever he is, is WRONG... haha!

As for my claims against the corrupt and pathetic Australian government, start here... this is just one SMALL part of all the evidence we have been gathering about the human scum who call themselves Australia's political "leaders": http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns...l-1227372359462

Then check out this:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-10/false-boarding-pass-conviction/5015234

HOLY SHIT DUDE!!1!

Nah. This doesn't validate a single thing you've said in this thread. Geas has balls (crazy ones),but this has little and less to do with your claims, as does a 2013 stub article.

I remember reading a long time ago about a guy who went to buy pot off of his connection. Whilst there he killed his connects parents. If I remember correctly he had done this a number of times getting money off of people for pot then killing them and keeping the cash.I think her had a Italian name or the older couple he killed had Italian name. I think it was something like Marrafiorte or similar

The Marafiotes, that's correct. The son, Dominic, appears to have been an associate of Mildura and Riverina district figures, but I have not come across any definitive proof as yet. He was murdered by Alistair Sandy MacRae, who also drove to Adelaide and murdered Dominic's elderly parents, Carmelo and Rosa, looking for money which was eventually discovered by investigators hidden in Rosa's clothing.
MacRae's alleged to have killed up to 25 people, and was associated with Geoffrey Lamb, who ran a string of brothels in the '60's and '70's. MacRae supposedly struck out on his own in the '70's.

Geoffrey Lamb didn't chopper mention him in one of his books? A guy from an old moneyed family who ran brothels in Melbourne? In my research keep coming across the Sergei family and Griffith is Griffith a strong hold for N drine? Mickey thanks for takin time to answer all these questions.

Griffith has had a Calabrian Mob presence since the 1930's, possibly 1920's. An early boss and one of the first identified in Government commissioned reports was Rocco Tremarchi, murdered in 1932. Not so much a stronghold in so far as other cells are just as if not stronger, but they are easily the best known cell in Australia due to the Mackay murder.

Another thing on Domenic Marafiote; he had flipped by late 1982. At the time he was murdered, aged 42, he was acting as an informant for SA police and had named several high figures there and in NSW and VIC. This is also a plausible motive for his murder.

So was Macrae convicted of killing Marafiote or just the parents? Denis Allen is someone who really interests me how he was able to operate for so long when it seems like he was playing all sides against the middle. Was it common knowledge in the underworld that he was an informant? Why didn't Hells Angels retaliate when he killed Victor Gouruff(not sure if it was him or Anton Kenny who was the Hells Angel)Allen seems to have killed a lot of people did he always act alone,I know he was one of the Pentingells,did he have a crew.

I believe he was eventually convicted of all three murders as well as a score of others.
Dennis Allen was a fucken nutjob. He started informing on rivals pretty early in his career. In a sense, the extended Pettingill clan served as his "enforcers", but he always had a bunch of hanger-ons around him (Not the Flemington crew, they mainly stuck to bank robberies, but I've seen people include them with Allen before. Allen was a drug dealer, first and primarily, before his other rackets). In latter day interviews, Jason Ryan admitted to being party to some of Allen's violence, as young as he was (just what Ryan has said, not sure how much credence to put in to that).
As far as the Angels are concerned, IIRC Anton Kenny was known as an informer himself, and was no longer affiliated with the local chapter by the time of his murder.

A correction to this post, it's actually a book titled Undercover where Marriott talks about infiltrating the Griffith cell, as well as his dealings with Matteo Medici of Mildura.

Hearing a lot about Rocco Arico being the one who ordered fatboys murder but in one article it said he had to discuss this with Mick Gatto first why would he need to do that? Is Arico connected in anyway? Is fatboys father George still a player and was he involved in large scale drug manufacture/dealing before Carl took over.

Nah, George is done. IIRC, he had some loose connects to the FSPDU, but was a bit player before his son embarked on his crusade.
Fucking Arico...wasn't he connected with Dino Dibra, and by extension at the time, the Sunshine Crew and Williams himself? I know he was named as a suspect in the Mladenich hit, and that Williams was alleged to have been planning on talking about it, which may have implicated him (Arico). I also recently read some articles that named Arico as a suspect in the murder, and understand that Johnson and the as yet unnamed inmate present were associates of Aricos.
I call bullshit on the Gatto connection RE Carl Williams murder. Source for that? As far as I understand, a former Gatto associate claims that Arico communicated details of the murder to Gatto, and that Gatto may have known that Williams might be killed, but no indication of a conspiracy to murder on Gatto's part, or a required "permission", so to speak, sought from him. It seems pretty well established that Johnson murdered him on account of the revelations published in the Sun that very same day, and potential further information Williams was going to supply to police (he was known as a dog/rat by that time). I can't answer whether or not Arico was indeed responsible for the order, but his history indicates he has both the clout and connections to be a viable suspect. I mean, there's obviously a reason police are looking at him so hard (and multiple sources state that he was amongst the first to know of Williams death). It's a bit of a cluster-fuck at present. We had to wait years just for Goussis, The Duke and Johnson's names to be released. The next few years will likely see more light shed on the matter.

...fuck, sorry for the wall'o'text. FWIW, I found Aricos current lawyers surname interesting, considering its shared by a prominent victim of the Gangland War who did have established connections to some Calabrian families.

Way off the original topic, but I guess this can be a general Australian thread now.

Just a stub article, but refers to Calabrian involvement in the illicit tobacco trade. Federal taxes account for up to 50 to 80% of the cost of cigarettes here, and it's a massive source of revenue for the government. Hence the thriving trade in "home-grown" tobacco. Certain East Coast 'ndrine own and cultivate vast farmlands, where farmers used to grow "king-crop" weed plantations alongside their tomatoes (Tomatos?? Tomatoes??)

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion...0e874a2d54e19b7