Holy Shit, somebody actually read my post. Awesome.
Thank you, Lilo - conversation!

In September of '94, NSW Member of Parliament & Member for the seat of Cabramatta
(sort of similar to senators in the US) John Newman was murdered outside his home.
It was seven years after his death that chief suspect Phuong Ngo was found guilty
of setting up the murder. Ngo, a Vietnamese-Australian political rival to Newman
for the seat of Cabramatta, was found to have links to several local criminals
and criminal groups of Asian extraction, and to have orchestrated the murder in an attempt to ensure
his own chances of political success, and to solidify the allegiences of the drug
gangs who were threatened by Newman and his hardline policies.

Cabramatta is well known for its large Vietnamese community, and at the time of Newman's death,
Vietnamese criminals were playing a large role in Australia's heroin trade; & so by proxy Cabramatta
became the epicentre of the nations heroin culture, due largely in part to a locally formed "Triad" of
Vietnamese youth's that, along with a few offshoot factions, fought tooth & nail for control of distribution networks.
Once the back of these groups was broken by the late 90', times changed & things moved on.

Some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newman_(Australian_politician)

One in Four Australians are born overseas. We truly are a migrant country, and Australia's
prosperity is based in a large part on the sweat of the men & women who came to this
country to build a life. Unfortunately, we all know we dont just get the honest,
hardworking migrants, but the dodgy ones as well; as a result, the Anglo-Australian
criminal elements have had to deal with numerous criminal cells even more determined
& dangerous as themselves. Vietnamese were/are but one of many.

The last bloke to be hanged in Australia, if my memory is correct, was one Jason
(or Joseph? I may be wrong) Ryan, sentenced to hang for murder in 1957.
The Death Penalty was abolished in 1973, and despite heated opinions has remained
so. More Australian's have been executed for drug smuggling through South-East Asia
in recent years.

An interesting side note: one Gabe Watson, an Alabama man sentanced to four and a half
years in prison for "unlawfully killing" his recently married wife Christina in 2003,
(long story short - she drowned when the boat they were passengers on left them
scuba-diving in deep-waters off the Australian East Coast - huge news in Australia)
was recently the subject of an extradition request by his State's government to face
trial for her murder in his home country (Americans were said to be furious with the
decisions of the Australian Courts that saw Watson serve only 12 months)
Unless there is a guarantee given that he will not recieve the death penalty if
convicted, the Queensland Government will not comply with the request, keeping with
Australia's opposition to Capital Punishment and refusal to force individuals into
that circumstance.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensla...90609-c17c.html

sorry sorry sorry long post.
i could go on for days, thankfully i wont, eh?

Poor guy, you prolly regret even showing mild interest.

I came this close to picking up McMafia recently M.M.
It actually sounds very cool.

Last edited by Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica; 02/19/10 05:42 AM.

(cough.)