Stocco fugitives arrested by NSW Police at a property in Dunedoo

THE alleged shooting murder of a western Sydney man on a Dunedoo property may have led police to arrest Gino and Mark Stocco.

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THE alleged shooting murder of a western Sydney man on a Dunedoo property may have led police to arrest Gino and Mark Stocco, ending what police claim was the pair’s eight-year reign of terror.

Worried relatives of Rosario Cimone, 68, filed a missing persons report at Green Valley police station on October 8 when they could not get in contact with him. They feared he had met with foul play.

Mr Cimone, who was shot three times and buried in a shallow grave, had been living on the secluded property northeast of Dubbo at the same time as the Stoccos and had allegedly developed a working relationship with the pair during their eight years on the run from authorities across four different states.

The Daily Telegraph ­understands police are investigating links to alleged cannabis cultivation carried out by Mr Cimone and others living on the farm.

As his family filed the missing persons report, it is believed Mr Cimone’s body already lay in his farm grave on the parcel of land used by a number of itinerant workers as living quarters.

police.

NET CLOSES

That report, pieced together with information the Stoccos had been hiding on bush properties near Dubbo and that a white 4WD similar to the one stolen by the pair had been seen abandoned in nearby Gunnoo State Forest, led police to sleepy Dunedoo as night fell on Tuesday.

Mark and Gino Stocco were arrested at the Pinevale property at Elong Elong near Dunedoo in central west NSW after a three-week manhunt. Picture: NSW PoliceAs the nation’s largest manhunt drew to a close 440km north of the Gundagai service station where they were last seen, armed officers from the Tactical Operations Unit, airwing and the Robbery and Serious Crime Squad yesterday closed in on the men’s bushland hideout.They spotted 57-year-old Gino Stocco first, and pounced. He resisted arrest but, following a short struggle, was brought into custody. His 35-year-old son Mark was caught next, bringing to an end an unprecedented chase across the outback. Mark Stocco suffered a broken nose in the dramatic arrest and both he and his ­father were assessed at Dubbo hospital last night.

Gino Stocco is escorted by two policemen into Dubbo police station. Picture: AAP

A vehicle removes the decomposed remains found at the property where Gino Stocco and Mark Stocco were arrested. Picture: Neil Keene

Speaking about the murder victim yesterday, a police source said links between the dead man, the Stoccos and others who routinely visited the 385ha farm near Dunedoo were being investigated.

“They knew each other for sure,” the source said. “They resided together (on the property). This is not a farm like you or I know, it’s got no ­cattle or sheep. It’s got trees and shrubs and a few sheds.”

RIVERINA SWITCH

Prior to yesterday’s arrest, hundreds of police from around NSW converged on the southern Riverina and, as late as yesterday morning, senior police believed the Stoccos remained in the area.

On Friday, October 16, the Stuccos shot at police from the window of a stolen silver Nissan Nevarra before making a daring escape by speeding down a 15km dirt track and bolting shut the rusty iron gate of a property ­belonging to elderly brothers Ivan and Roy Robinson using a stolen heavy-duty padlock.

Map shows area of final drama in the Central West.

A locked gate at the Pinevale premises. Picture: Neil Keene

Pinevale’s distinctive postbox. Picture Neil Keen

They dumped the vehicle and trekked across rolling farmland, including the Wandoo station on which they used to work, and stole a now-infamous white Toyota LandCruiser belonging to Paul Rogers.

Police believe the Stoccos were living off hidden dumps of food, ammunition and fuel secreted throughout bush locations known only to them.

They slowly made their way north, using the cover of darkness to travel, before settling on the Pinevale farm in Dunedoo, a patch of land they knew well and where the murdered 68-year-old Rosario Cimone lay dead.

CHARGES EXPECTED

They were arrested yesterday without a shot being fired.

“It’s a good outcome. Safer streets means we can go about our lives. These two men when they decided to shoot at a police officer lifted the bar too hard,” Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said.

“They’d gone past the tipping point and we threw all the resources we needed to at them and they’re in custody.”

Police applied for arrest warrants in Wagga Wagga courthouse on Monday and were expected to charge the pair with more than a dozen offences, ranging from att-empted murder to the illegal use of firearms. Police are also investigating the Stoccos over the murder of Mr Cimone.

Police move in during the operation that ended the Stoccos’ long run from the law. Picture: Neil Keene

Max McKenzie (no hat) from a neighbouring property speaks to police during the operation. Picture: Neil Keene

Police enter the property during the operation. Picture: Neil Keene

Pinevale, near Dunedoo, where decomposed remains were found after the Stoccos’ arrest.

The Stoccos were captured at Pinevale, a 385ha property on Tonniges Rd, Elong Elong.

THE STOCCO TIMELINE

2007: Mark and Gino Stocco are on the run from police in NSW and Queensland for fraud and robbery.

Oct. 16: The Stoccos — armed with a high powered rifle and shotgun — shoot at NSW highway patrol officers near the Victorian border.

Oct. 17: Police find the pair’s dumped Nissan Navara near Wagga Wagga.

Oct. 18: The pair steal a white Toyota LandCruiser ute from a property in the NSW Riverina region.

Oct. 20: Fresh-shaven and clean, the Stoccos are spotted refuelling the stolen ute at a petrol station in Eurora, in northeast Victoria.

Oct. 21: The Stoccos are spotted driving on the Melba Highway near the town of Glenburn, in central Victoria.

A police chopper involved in the search for the Stoccos. Picture: Mike Keating.

The Stoccos lived rough for most of the manhunt.

Oct. 21: The father and son are captured on CCTV at a supermarket in Bairnsdale.

Oct. 22: The pair are spotted by police at a check point near Castella but lose them in a high speed car chase.

Oct. 22: A Victorian police car is rammed near St James by a LandCruiser with numberplates stolen from Tumbarumba, NSW.

Oct. 24: The stolen ute is spotted in Sale, Victoria in the morning.

Oct. 24: At 9pm the men steal petrol from a service station in South Gundagai, NSW in a LandCruiser with South Australian numberplates.

Police had been pulling over and investigating every Toyota Land cruiser. Picture: Jason Edwards

Oct. 25: Police set up a perimeter around a property in Tarcutta, NSW, after residents report seeing the stolen vehicle.

Oct. 25: Unconfirmed sightings of the pair in Tumut, NSW.

Oct. 27: Police receive tip off about the pair’s whereabouts.

Oct. 28: After eight years on the run the Stoccos are arrested by NSW police at a property in Dunedoo near Dubbo in central west NSW.

Originally published as Stocco fugitives arrested by NSW Police at a property in Dunedoo