Underbelly at Buderim? Not just yet, at least

A RUMOUR that Melbourne underworld identity Mick Gatto had bought property at Buderim has turned out to be just that - a rumour.

UNDERWORLD RUMOURS: Jonathon LaPaglia, left, and Matthew Nable in a scene from the TV series Underbelly: Badness. Talk of underworld identity Mick Gatto moving to Buderim has so far proven unfounded. Picture: David Dare Parker

A RUMOUR that Melbourne underworld identity Mick Gatto had bought property at Buderim has turned out to be just that - a rumour.

Gatto was alleged to have bought a property at Guy Crescent, Buderim, adjacent to an old Queenslander which once belonged to Buderim pioneers William and Susan Guy.

Properties either side of the home have been on the market during the last year for between $650,000 and $800,000.

The rumour of Gatto's supposed relocation to Buderim appears to have been sparked by a document lodged with a government department bearing the Gatto surname.

A prominent real estate identity was surprised and amused at the suggestion Gatto might have moved to the mountain, which is favoured by retirees these days.

"I'm looking across the road at a coffee shop and there's no no-on there in a pin-striped suit, and no shootings on the street. Sorry I can't help," he said.

A search of property records found one of the Guy Crescent blocks had been bought by a company owned by a Buderim doctor and his wife, who share the Gatto surname.

Dr Joe Gatto, a native Queenslander who has lived on the Sunshine Coast for more than 20 years, said he had no connection that he knew of with Mick Gatto.

"I don't believe we're related in any way," he said.

It was reported in 2005 that Mick Gatto and his wife had reportedly put their home up for sale and were house hunting in Noosa. It is not known if or where they did purchase.

They could be on the move again.

A property they have owned at Lower Plenty, Melbourne, since 2005 appears to have sold in November last year for an undisclosed price.

Mick Gatto is not the only Melbourn identity with alleged criminal links to look to call the Sunshine Coast home.

In 2009, Judy Moran, the mother of slain underworld figures Jason and Mark Moran, announced her plans to move to Noosa to make a fresh start.

But by the middle of that year, she had been charged with the murder of her brother-in-law, Desmond Tuppence Moran.

She was convicted and sentenced to 26 years jail but Noosa could still be on the cards as she is appealing the conviction.