Mafia kingpin Rocco Arico jailed for 14 years, facing deportation to Italy
SUSPECTED mafia kingpin Rocco Arico has been abandoned by his once loyal supporters, with not one showing up in court as he was jailed today for at least 10 years.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
BLUNDERING mob boss Rocco Arico will rot in jail for at least the next 10 years — then faces deportation back to Italy.
Arico, who is suspected of being a big wheel in the Calabrian mafia, was today sentenced to 14 years in jail over extortion, drug dealing and gun charges.
Former Essendon premiership player — and Arico’s next door neighbour — Alec Epis took the stand this week to declare Arico was a “good bloke”.
But the 38-year old was all but abandoned by his once loyal horde of supporters and family, who were visibly absent from today’s sentence.
Arico is likely to be shipped back to his motherland in disgrace on release from jail.
The County Court heard it was a series of blunders by the violent criminal that brought him undone.
Arico broke the golden mob rule of crook survival when he lost his cool, threatening a rat on a hot telephone.
Former drug dealing mate Arthur Vouthas told police Arico had embarked on a campaign of terror against himself and his family after he bungled a drug deal.
The dealer told police he received $350,000 worth of cocaine from Arico in 2010 but had it ripped-off by notorious bikie Toby Mitchell in a deal-gone-wrong.
When he falsely claimed he was behind the 2011 shooting of Mitchell outside Doherty’s Gym, Arico demanded the dealer pay him $110,000.
Phone taps later caught the notorious criminal threaten the dealer’s brother-in-law, hurt his wife and shoot-up his family members’ homes.
At one point, another of Arico’s minions was heard telling his boss that Vouthas “has gotta go in the boot”.
Arico quipped: “You should never joke like that”.
But Judge Geoffrey Chettle accepted Arico knew it was no joke.
He was later found with a 45-calibre pistol stashed in a motor scooter at his apartment building.
The court heard that in 2001, an armed Arico and four mates beat the suitcase out of a man before stuffing him into the boot of a car.
He was convicting of kidnapping in the County Court that year and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail.
At the time, Arico was already serving a nine-year sentence for shooting a stranger during a road-rage incident.
In 1998 he was fined $1200 for criminal damage and unlawful assault.
Judge Chettle said Vouthas would spend the rest of his life in fear of reprisals.
“I realise I’ll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. I blame myself for this,” he stated in a victim impact statement.
Judge Chettle said Arico had shown absolutely no remorse for his actions and had continued to lie to psychologists who assessed him.
“You are a drug dealer and a stand over man,” he said. “You were a complete outlaw at the relevant time.”
A jury found Arico guilty of extortion, intentionally causing injury and trafficking methamphetamine last year.
Then another jury found him guilty of possessing a gun and possessing a drug of dependence following a separate trial.