Australia’s mafia kings linked to Italian ‘Ndrangheta

A retired anti-mafia prosecutor who spent almost 50 years fighting the Italian Ndrangheta has revealed how Australia’s mafia kings were linked to them.

Exclusive: Australia’s mafia kings were funded from the kidnappings of the relatives of prominent Italian businessman, a retired anti-mafia prosecutor has revealed.

Enzo Macri spent almost 50 years fighting the mafia and even wrote a book on the links between the Italian Ndrangheta mafia and Australia.

He told News Corp Australia that the foundations of Australia’s marijuana trade in the 1970s came from the investment of kidnappings in Italy.

Some of the kidnappings raised millions allowing figures such as Griffith’s Bob Trimbole and Tony Sergi to become drug kingpins. Both have since died.

Mr Macri said Australian authorities sought out his help to tackle the problem.

Vincenzo Macri was an investigating magistrate in a Ndrangheta criminal trial for 17 years. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

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“From the very beginning the Australian police realised that they needed some help because the ndrangheta was becoming dangerous and they asked the Italians for help,” he said.

“Wherever they go the Ndrangheta create the same organisation that they had in the country of origin in Calabria. They recreate it in exactly the same way, the same hierarchy and roles.”

The 1977 disappearance of Donald Mackay, an anti drugs politician in Griffith, raised the stakes.

“Before the Mackay event a policeman in Australia received a letter and in the letter there was a bomb that exploded and killed a man,” he said in a translated interview.

“Nobody was ever caught for these killings in Australia, but they were thinking there was some Italians involved.”

Plati', Calabria. Plati is notorious for being a center of the powerful 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian organised crime organisation. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

In Melbourne, the mafia corrupted the wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

Liborio Benvenuto was the boss, with Rosario “Ross” Gangemi suspected to be his deputy.

Both men have died.

The mob took a small percentage off the top of every package for decades, with the scam only broken when fed up supermarkets went to clean fruit and vegetable king Frank Costa for help.

In more years the mafia has been tied up in drugs, most famously with the world’s biggest ecstasy import in 2008 that was caught at Melbourne’s docks.

Frank Madafferi, a key player in the scheme, remains in jail over the shipment that was organised by the Calabrian mafia.

Rocco Arico, a convicted drug dealer accused of mafia links, announced that he would challenge his convictions this week because his lawyer Joe “Pino” Acquaro was a police informer.

The book Australian 'ndrangheta by Vincenzo Macri.

Acquaro, who became a multi millionaire by working for the mafia, was killed in 2016 near his gelati shop in Melbourne.

In Sydney, Pasquale Barbaro was killed in 2016.

Mr Macri, 75, warned that the prohibition on drugs gave the mafia a silver platter for their business model.

Town of Bovalino in Calabria, one of the villages where many 'ndrangheta families come from. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

“They have so much money that they can pay anyone, everywhere, so they can buy whoever around the world, in Italy they also use a lot of extortion, if anyone opens a shop they have to pay them money but they don’t do that overseas because they don’t want to upset too many people overseas,” he said.

“They just want to create allies, so with the drugs they create clients and allies.”

Originally published as Australia’s mafia kings linked to Italian ‘Ndrangheta