Mates in big night out on death anniversary of Dianne Brimble
THE timing was deplorable: A dinner of four mates implicated in the Dianne Brimble cruise tragedy - almost eight years to the day that she died.
THE timing was deplorable: A dinner of four mates implicated in the Dianne Brimble cruise tragedy - almost eight years to the day that she died.
Accompanied by their partners and other friends to dinner at a popular city restaurant last Saturday night, the men - Dragan Losic, 49, Sakelarios "Charlie" Kambouris, 47, Luigi Vitale, 45, and Petar Pantic, 33 - were clearly in an upbeat mood, laughing loudly, embracing and high-fiving each other as well as chatting in groups outside during repeated smoke breaks.
Early in the night they enjoyed gin and tonics at the bar, before having wine brought to their tables.
Kambouris, with his distinctive shaved head, made several trips to the bar during the dinner, often returning to the table with spirits mixed with Coke.
Losic, who sat beside Kambouris for some of the night, looked just as physically pumped as his mate, wearing a black T-shirt barely covering tattoos on his arms.
Just like in the group photo taken before they boarded the Pacific Sky on which Dianne Brimble died eight years ago, Losic stood out as the unofficial leader last Saturday night. Spirits were high at the House of Chow during the 11-course Chinese banquet spread over four hours.
A smiling Vitale, wearing a tight navy-blue T-shirt, designer jeans and gold jewellery, joined a female friend outside while she had a cigarette.
Inside Pantic grinned as he cosied up to an attractive blonde woman.
The foursome seemed to have not a worry in the world.
During one cigarette break under the House of Chow's leafy veranda, Losic grabbed Vitale in a playful headlock, while Kambouris looked on, laughing at their friendly game.
Back inside at their tables, they and their other companions laughed and chatted, animated, as they worked their way through dinner, which included Morton Bay bugs, fillet steak and barramundi.
The get-together last Saturday night came eight years to the day since their original nine-day cruise on the Pacific Sky ended with the cruise ship returning to Sydney.
This holiday of a lifetime, in late September to early October 2002, was later portrayed in court as an alcohol-fuelled, drug-crazed bender after the death on September 24, 2002, of fellow passenger Ms Brimble - a 42-year-old mother of three - from alcohol and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) toxicity, one day into the trip.
The four friends dining at the House of Chow were among a group of eight men from Adelaide who travelled together on the Pacific Sky, and were all later named as persons of interest in the investigation into Ms Brimble's death.
Absent from the dinner were Mark Wilhelm, Matthew Graham Slade, Ryan Kuchel and Letterio "Leo" Silvestri in whose shared cabin Ms Brimble was found dead.
Vitale, Pantic, Losic and Kambouris shared a cabin down the hall.
Wilhelm, Slade and Kuchel are believed to have since distanced themselves from the group, many of whom previously frequented an Adelaide gymnasium where they had enrolled in martial arts classes.
Allegations were made in court that some of the eight had provided drugs to Ms Brimble, had sex with her and taken photos of her naked while she was unconscious and possibly dying.
Three were charged: Wilhelm, Kuchel and Silvestri.
A charge of manslaughter against Wilhelm was later dropped before he was convicted for supplying a prohibited drug - fantasy (GHB) - to Ms Brimble. Kuchel was sentenced to an 18-month good behaviour bond because he failed to tell police Wilhelm gave Ms Brimble fantasy.
Silvestri was placed on a 15-month good behaviour bond for the same offence.
Last Saturday's dinner began at 7.30pm.
Kambouris - who arrived in a late-model black Holden Statesman with dark tinted windows - and Losic were among the first to show up, and spent a good 20 minutes at the bar drinking and chatting, waiting for the rest of the group, which eventually included
numerous women and several unidentified men.
Losic was greeted with his first name by the restaurant owner/manager: "Right this way, Dragan, how have you been?" as he and his party were shown to two large round tables.
In the fully booked restaurant that was hosting several birthday parties, this large group nevertheless stood out.
The camaraderie among the men was evident.
Repeated unsuccessful attempts were made by the Sunday Mail to contact Kambouris, Losic, Pantic and Vitale.
Losic's wife confirmed there had been a dinner celebration on Saturday night but insisted it was for a birthday.
However, when quizzed on whose birthday was being celebrated, she refused to give a name. "It doesn't matter," Mrs Losic said.
While Vitale's mother later told the Sunday Mail her son no longer associated with the other men from the cruise, Vitale appeared to be enjoying their company. "My son minds his business, he's got two little kids to look after, he doesn't associate with them (the other men)," Mrs Vitale said.
"He's got his own work to handle, he's got a lot of work load, he's got his children.
"He's getting on with his life, trying to get on with his life.
"My son had a frigging nervous breakdown. You're telling me that my son can't have dinner?
"You're saying now who's got the right to see who in this world . . . what's this - a communist country now?"
From his current home in Dubai where he works for an interior fit-out company, Kuchel declined to comment other than to say he would never have attended such a dinner if he'd been back in Adelaide.
While Losic, Vitale, Pantic and Kambouris were celebrating on Saturday night, Ms Brimble's family was still continuing to come to grips with what happened eight years ago.
"We don't have any thought or comments on those people," Ms Brimble's former husband and family spokesman, Mark Brimble, said.
"Other people will have to make their minds up about who and what they are."
The family was more critical of the publishers of a new book on the case.
Mr Brimble said the decision by Allen & Unwin to launch Geesche Jacobsen's book Abandoned on the eighth anniversary of Ms Brimble's death was "insensitive", adding that the publisher "was trying to make money out of something which the family has never sought to".
Mr Brimble said the family had to learn to live with the realisation they would never know exactly what happened before the mother of three died aboard the cruise ship.
"We are closer than we were right at the beginning on September 24, 2002, but can Dianne's family ever truly rest in knowing what did happen? No, we cannot," Mr Brimble said.
"That's very hard to live with. How do you live with it?"
The family is pinning its hopes on strong recommendations from coroner Jacqueline Milledge on November 30 when she delivers her findings from the inquest into Ms Brimble's death.
Mr Brimble said the family wanted a reform of the entire cruise ship industry.
"After all the crap we've been through, we want to ensure something good comes out of this," he said.
Additional reporting
by Daryl Passmore