Mark Caleo murder trial: Sydney restaurateur takes stand over wife’s murder
A FORMER top Sydney restaurateur accused of arranging to have his wife and brother-in-law killed has gone into the witness box and denied a claim by the crown’s star witness.
NSW
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A FORMER top Sydney restaurateur accused of arranging to have his wife and brother-in-law killed has gone into the witness box and denied a claim by the crown’s star witness.
Mark Caleo, 46, has pleaded not guilty to soliciting the murder of his Malaysian-born wife Rita Caleo in August 1990 and her brother, Dr Michael Chye, in October 1989.
The Caleos owned a string of successful restaurants and bars in Sydney and Kuala Lumpur in the 1980s including Caleos Italian Ristorante in Sydney’s QVB and Brannigan’s Brewery at Brighton Le Sands.
It is alleged that Caleo arranged for Dr Chye’s murder after a real estate deal went wrong.
Caleo had bought a $3 million Blakehurst property from Dr Chye at auction but cancelled the $300,000 deposit after learning there was a caveat on the property and Dr Chye refused to let him renege on the contract and was threatening legal action, the court has been told.
Dr Chye was shot dead as he drove into the garage of his Woollahra home.
Crown witness Anthony Stambolis, an assistant manager at the QVB restaurant, has told the jury of driving in a company car with his boss in 1989.
Mr Stambolis claims they drove past a Woolloomooloo service station.
“Mark had said to me that there was someone in there was going to fix Michael,” Mr Stombolis, who was then 19, has claimed.
Today, Caleo has denied ever being in a car with Mr Stombolis. He said that his employees were able to use that car but he “never” drove in it with Mr Stombolis.
Mr Stombolis also claims to have put Mark Caleo’s brother in touch with Tongan Alani Afu who is on trial accused of stabbing Rita Caleo to death in her Double Bay home.
Afu has also pleaded not guilty. There is no suggestion he was involved in Dr Chye’s death.
It is alleged that Ms Caleo had discovered her husband was having an affair with one of her friends, Janice Yap.
Caleo has denied falling out with his brother-in-law over the sale of the Blakehurst property and said he had renegotiated a higher price after the caveat was removed.
“Did you have anything to do with the death of Dr Chye?” Caleo’s counsel Grant Brady SC asked him in court.
“No,” Caleo said.
The jury has heard that two cash cheques for $15,000 and $10,000 were drawn by Caleo around the time of his wife’s death with some of the cash allegedly to pay for her murder.
But Caleo said today that his wife liked wearing “too much jewellery” and he had given her “anywhere up to” $50,000 to buy jewellery just before her death. He said he also liked to pay for supplies for his restaurants in cash because he got better deals.
The trial before Justice Robert Hulme continues.