Prison informant tells NCA bombing trial Domenic Perre brought him into ‘the family’, called victim ‘that piece of s---’

A prison informant claims NCA bomber Domenic Perre brought him into ‘the family’ – and called the police officer he allegedly murdered an offensive name.

A man who was jailed for stabbing his boyfriend has told a court he was befriended, offered a job and taken into “the family” by alleged NCA bomber Domenic Perre.

In his evidence to the Supreme Court, the former prisoner said Perre referred to his alleged victim, Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen, as “that piece of s---”.

The man told the court he was “scared beyond belief” when he was incarcerated in 1995 – until he met Perre.

He said Perre, then serving time for drug offending, helped him adjust to prison life and was “somebody I felt safe with” among the “volatile” inmates.

“Dom would refer to me as ‘family’, as though I was part of a collective and bigger world … he said ‘we look after one another, we don’t squeal on one another’,” he said.

“He talked about privacy, having each other’s backs, it was virtually always a constant reminder.

“I understood it to be the worst thing I could ever do, breaching that confidence.”

Domenic Perre, left, the NCA building and the parcel bomb, centre, and slain police officer Geoffrey Bowen, right.

Perre, 64, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Detective Sergeant Bowen, and attempting to murder NCA lawyer Peter Wallis, with a parcel bomb.

Previously, prosecutors have alleged Perre told the other inmate about the bombing and discussed the design of the explosive device itself.

In his evidence, the former inmate – whose identity is suppressed – said he served his time in the Adelaide Remand Centre as well as the Yatala and Cadell prisons.

He also had multiple stays at James Nash House “purely for mental health purposes”.

The man said he had “looked very ethnic” in his youth, which prompted interest from Perre.

“He specifically asked me if I was Italian and I said I was not … he mentioned that he was Calabrian … he asked if I was Catholic, I was,” he said.

The former inmate said he did not discuss his sexuality with Perre, nor with anyone else in the prison.

“My single most dreaded fear was if anyone caught wind that I was a gay man, and what the consequences would be,” he said.

“Gay men were regarded (by other prisoners) as in the same league as paedophiles … we were the scum of the earth.”

Perre in March, when the court visited the scene of the bombing. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards.

The man said that, on one occasion, Perre asked “why haven’t you asked me yet?” in reference to the NCA bombing.

“Dom said the officer killed in the bombing was the same one responsible for him being incarcerated, and made reference to a term I’ll always remember,” he said.

“He used the term ‘pezzo di merda’, meaning ‘that piece of s---, Bowen’.”

Being from interstate, he had no knowledge of the incident – prompting Perre and another prisoner to question whether he was an undercover police officer.

“It was bad enough I was a gay man in prison, the thought of anyone thinking I was an undercover officer absolutely terrified me,” he said.

Days later, he said, Perre told him “we checked you out, you’re okay” and resumed their conversations.

“Dom made reference to the fact that I was cool, calm, collected and had a cool head, and said he could use a man like me in his organisation,” he said.

“I said I had no experience with drugs and had never used them – he said ‘that’s what makes a good operator’.”

When asked to place conversations in chronological order, the man requested time to think.

“My brain is getting fried,” he said.

The trial, before Justice Kevin Nicholson and in the absence of a jury, continues.