Adelaide bikie violence: Four unsolved high-profile murder cases
IT was Adelaide’s bloodiest bikie battle. In a violent gunfight that lasted less than a minute, two Rebels were shot dead and a third died two days later. In the wake of the Texas bikie war, we examine SA’s sordid history of bikie violence.
IT was Adelaide’s bloodiest bikie battle. In a violent gunfight that lasted less than a minute, two Rebels were shot dead and a third died two days later.
In the wake of the Texas bikie war, in which nine people were killed and 18 wounded, we examine our sordid history of bikie violence.
Here are four cases which remain unsolved to this day.
WRIGHT ST SHOOTOUT
THE Wright St shootout remains Adelaide’s bloodiest bikie battle.
In a violent gunfight that lasted less than a minute, two Rebels were shot dead and a third would suffer a head injury that claimed his life two days later.
They were Graham Nixon, 33, Sinibaldo Palombi, 35, and Hubert Weston, 32.
Police moved swiftly to arrest three senior Hells Angels members and charge them with multiple counts of murder – thanks to crucial statements given by five Rebels members who were present.
Those charged were Faoud “Fred’’ Chaptini, Peter Threadgold and George Petropoulos – but the case against them eventually crumbled because of the bikie code of silence.
Case officer Detective Brevet Sergeant Rob Beattie said while the case against the three charged bikies was initially strong, once the Rebels members who initially gave statements refused to testify it became futile to proceed.
He said immediately after the shooting outside the Rebels clubroom in 1999, detectives took seven statements from witnesses and five of them identified the shooters. Of those, two have since died. Investigations have revealed there was no deal worked out between the two gangs to buy the silence of the witnesses, it was simply the unwritten bikie code of silence that came into play. “They initially gave statements in the emotional heat of the incident on the night,’’ Det. Bvt Sgt Beattie said.
“I was involved on the night with their lawyer and we obtained audio accounts of what had occurred from three of the senior Rebels who identified the three shooters and we seized the CCTV footage.
“After that those three and two others came in and gave full statements. Later those five came in and did photo identification and identified all of the offenders.
“Those statements would have been more than enough to start a trial with a reasonable chance of success.”
STEVE WILLIAMS
FOR years after Steve Williams disappeared, his mother, Jan, would see him when she was out and about.
He would be walking in a crowded street or driving past in a car. She would always do a double-take but, of course, the men she saw were never her beloved son.
After many years of clinging to a faint hope he may still be alive, Mrs Williams has finally accepted the blunt reality that he is dead.
Now, she simply wants to know what happened to him and, when his remains are found, lay him to rest so her family can finally have closure.
“Even though I’ve been hoping he wasn’t dead, I really feel as though he is,’’ she said at her modest home in Willaston, 40km north of Adelaide.
“Every day for the past 10 years I’ve wondered that. It just won’t go away until we get some closure.’’
Williams, the former president of the Gypsy Jokers bikie gang, disappeared a decade ago after being dropped off at a Gillman trucking company owned by a senior member of the Finks. While police believe he was murdered at the truck depot, a motive has not yet been established.
Mrs Williams, 75, can still remember the last time she saw her son. It was around noon on June 14, 2005 – the day he vanished. He dropped in, but didn’t stay long enough for a cup of coffee. While this wasn’t unusual, Mrs Williams noticed Steve wasn’t himself.
“He was a little bit different. He wasn’t concentrating on the visit,’’ she said.
“He got a phone call – I’m assuming from his boss – and said he was going to the hotel at Gepps Cross.
“I think I’m the last one in the family to get a big hug from him. I can still feel it.’’
While the public image of Williams is of a heavily tattooed, solidly built, pony-tailed bikie, Mrs Williams said few knew his real persona, that of a caring person who felt deeply for not just his family, but others who needed help.
She revealed he was bullied as a child because he suffered dyslexia, which eventually led him to leave Banksia Park High School at just 15 and work on a sheep station in the Flinders Ranges.
She said he drifted into the bikie gang culture when he was 17 or 18, socialising with gang members and finally joining the gang.
“I have got a feeling it was because he was looking for that sort of club thing, that was what he thought he was after. It worried me a bit,’’ she said.
And while Mrs Williams worried about her son’s activities with the gang she said he also did many positive things for others. “He had a soft side, a soft heart, one very different to what the police would see,’’ she said. She recalled on one occasion he prevented a suicide after a man wrote to him and advised him what he wanted him to do concerning his funeral arrangements.
“It upset Steve so he went and got this guy and took him home to Victoria, reunited him with his family and he’s still alive,’’ she said.
Detectives have revealed Williams, a debt collector, was dropped at Singleton’s Transport, at Gillman, by an associate – most likely to collect money from someone who worked there.
It is likely his body was removed from the business in the rear of a white utility – covered by a tarpaulin – seen parked in a street adjacent to the property later the same day.
Despite extensive searches of land surrounding the relatively isolated industrial precinct and further north at Port Gawler and Middle Beach, no trace of Williams, 38, has ever been found.
Case officer Detective Sergeant Paul Ward said while police had not established a definite motive, it was likely Williams was murdered by enemies within the bikie community or because of a book he was writing at the time.
“There had been some speculation among gang members that Williams was in the process of writing a book about his life and activities,’’ Det. Sgt Ward said.
“It appears that within the outlaw motorcycle gangs community they were not too happy with that. That probably started a number of issues that Steve had. But it may be as simple as someone he was collecting money from.’’
A short time before he vanished, he was ejected from the Gypsy Jokers while president. This action alone was the source of much acrimony between Williams and senior gang figures.
The associate who dropped him at the transport company has been interviewed but Det. Sgt Ward said “he cannot assist our investigation in any way’’.
At the time, Singleton’s Transport, on Kapara Rd, was owned by Frank Condo, a senior member of the Finks. He also employed several gang members in the business.
Detectives are unaware of the reason Williams was visiting Singleton’s, but believe it most likely was for the purpose of collecting money from someone as part of his employment. There is no evidence to suggest a link to drugs.
While many potential witnesses have declined to co-operate, information has been flowing to police over the past decade about the circumstances of his disappearance.
Over the years many people have provided information on possible locations for his remains. They have included being dumped at sea, buried in concrete, buried around Port Gawler or Middle Beach and even disposed of using a wood chipper.
Det. Sgt Ward said police had established there were “many people’’ within the bikie community who had issues with Williams and he had amassed enemies for a variety of reasons.
“However, we also know there are a number of people within those groups who are loyal to Steve Williams and we urge those people to act on that loyalty and come forward and assist us,’’ he said.
“We suspect within those groups it is well known what happened to Steve Williams.’’
Mrs Williams also urged anyone with information to come forward.
“I hope nothing like this ever happens to a member of their family and they have to go through all of these years of agonising and wondering and hoping,’’ she said.
“It’s cruel. I would like people to contact police if they have got the courage.’’
Frank Condo, who is serving a nine-year and 10-month sentence in Yatala Labour Prison after being convicted in 2011 of the bashing of another man, has been questioned over Williams’ murder but refuses to help the investigation.
A $200,000 reward is available for anyone who provides information leading to the recovery of Williams’ remains or provides information leading to a conviction.
JASON DE IESO
THE fatal shooting of Jason De Ieso is a chilling example of what happens when bikie wars erupt in public places.
The 33-year-old father-to-be was shot in the head when five Hells Angels associates opened fire in his Pooraka crash repair workshop in November, 2012.
They were among a group of nine gang associates who stormed the premises looking for a Finks member they believed was responsible for firebombing a Parafield Gardens house the previous night. The house was linked to some of the suspected gunmen.
Major Crime case officer Detective Brevet Sergeant Campbell Hill said the death of Mr De Ieso highlighted the dangers innocent bystanders faced in bikie gang wars.
“Jason was not connected, in any way, to The Finks,’’ he said. “He was simply a good friend of the man they were seeking. His only fault that day was going to work and trying to earn a living.’’
A $500,000 reward has been posted in an effort to prompt a breakthrough in the murder but to date it has not motivated those with knowledge of the crime to contact police. “It is a difficult investigation because those who are in these circles don’t want to talk to us and those outside the circle are under the misconception that if they talk to us, that will be instant trouble for them,’’ Det. Bvt Sgt Hill said.
“That is one of the frustrations with this; we know there are people who are not necessarily in with this criminal element or have anything to do with these two groups, who can assist us.’’
Det. Bvt Sgt Hill said the nine men were all suspects even though, within the group, some individuals have varying levels of culpability and some were not carrying guns.
“The door is always open for them to come and talk to us either directly or through their lawyers,’’ he said.
“It is up to them to look after their own interests. I would hate to be one
of this group relying on other members to stay staunch.
“It is a lot of people to keep one secret and all it takes is one to unravel the whole thing.’’
JULIAN RAPADAS
MISSING Brooklyn Park man Julian Rapadas was most likely executed by members of the Finks bikie gang on the orders of a criminal identity strongly linked to the gang.
But detectives have revealed they believe the 23-year-old was killed because the criminal identity mistakenly believed he was involved in the murder of another man four years earlier.
Mr Rapadas, who was well known to police through his involvement in Adelaide’s drug underworld, disappeared on November 18, 2008. Police have pieced together the last 24 hours of his life and the intelligence obtained indicates he has been murdered.
He was last seen with a female friend at the Hendon Hotel. He told a close friend he was planning to meet a man, who was well-known to police, and after that told the woman he was heading to another man’s house – a Finks’ member. There were no further sightings of him after that and his mobile telephone has not been used since. Detectives believe the meeting was “engineered’’ by those involved in his death. His remains have never been found.
Case officer Detective Sergeant Justin Ganley said the inquiry was ongoing, with three suspects at the centre of the investigation. Two are full members of the Finks and the third is closely linked to one of them. A fourth person who was also a suspect is now dead.
Investigations have revealed Mr Rapadas was wrongly targeted by the well-known criminal who thought he had been involved in the murder of Karim Morrison, 18, at Morphettville, in 2004. He was shot in the Hungry Jack’s carpark, on Anzac Hwy, before his body was dumped in Bray St. One man has been convicted of Mr Morrison’s murder and, last December, a second man was charged with murder and is awaiting trial. Det. Sgt Ganley said investigations had revealed while Mr Rapadas was present at the location where Mr Morrison’s body was dumped, he was not linked to the murder. “The man we believe instigated Julian’s murder was under the misconception he was involved with the Morrison murder. He was not. That man now has to live with the mistake he has made,’’ he said. A $200,000 reward is available for anyone with information leading to the recovery of the remains of Mr Rapadas or who provides
information leading to a conviction.
Anyone with any information about unsolved crimes can call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.