Eris Censori, dubbed ‘Melbourne's Al Capone’ must remain on parole: court

A NOTORIOUS gangland killer dubbed “Melbourne's Al Capone” will remain on parole for life, a court has ruled. But he’s still one step ahead of the system.

FILE - In this Jan. 19, 1931 file photo, Chicago mobster Al Capone attends a football game in Chicago. On Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, the Chicago Crime Commission and the Drug Enforcement Administration are scheduled to name Joaquin Guzman Loera, a cartel kingpin in Mexico, as the new Public Enemy No. 1. It will the first time since Prohibition-era gangster Capone that authorities in the city deemed a crime figure so ominous a threat to deserve the label. (AP Photo/File) Picture: Ap

A NOTORIOUS gangland killer dubbed “Melbourne's Al Capone” will remain on parole for life after a failed bid for complete freedom.

But Eris Censori is still a step ahead of the system, after already beating a death sentence and order he remain behind bars for life over the murder of Perth man Michael Sideris in 1982.

Censori was ordered to face off with a Western Australian executioner over the murder, but the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. He started serving the term in Western Australia but was transferred back to Victoria in 1987 so he could be closer to his family.

Ultimately he was released on parole to end in 1999, and has been on a crusade since for complete freedom.

But in a major blow to his case legislative changes reforms in 2013 and 2014 forced him to be placed back on parole, and he has been fighting the decision since.

Earlier this year the Supreme Court dismissed his proceedings, and the Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal of that decision.

Censori, who impressed Supreme Court judge Stephen Kaye with his legal nous, represented himself on both occasions.

Among a myriad of arguments Censori had argued that as a prison transferee the only sentence he could have been legally subjected to was the Western Australian death sentence.

But he said because death sentence was abolished in Victoria in 1975, he was no longer subject to any sentence in this state Eris and his older brothers, Edmondo and Leo, were a well-known crime family involved in drugs and an illegal gambling syndicate.

Eldest brother Edmondo, known as “Eddie Capone”, has convictions in Victoria for violence, including assaulting police, theft and threats. The small but thickset man has been involved in the amusement machine business in Melbourne and Perth.

Eddie has previously given his occupation as a bouncer, labourer, machine operator, fitter, billiard marker and cafe proprietor.

He arrived from Italy with his parents in 1960 and was known to hang around inner-suburban coffee bars in Melbourne as a teenager.

Eddie and Eris moved to Perth in 1981 and set up an amusement machine company.

Gambling identity Leo Censori has convictions for possession of a pistol and for possession of fully jacketed ammunition.

In 1982 he was convicted in the County Court in Melbourne on a charge of possessing a prohibited import (heroin) and sentenced to five years with a minimum of three.

He was also fined $5000.

His ex-wife detailed how he was behind a massive illegal gambling empire he has helped run for more than a decade.

In a series of interviews with the Herald Sun in 1991, she exposed the inner workings of the cartel, which controlled a large slice of the lucrative illegal gambling industry in Melbourne.

Ms Glascott said her former husband had made a fortune from illegal gambling.

“I have seen the money,” she said. “Leo can stack money better than a bank.” She said she had found rolls of money — up to $40,000 — hidden around their Alphington home. She recalled seeing about $60,000 sitting on their coffee table at home.

At one time Leo Censori accepted a police guard when detectives discovered a group of bandits planned to kill him.

Ms Glascott said things turned a little sour in Perth for the family after Eris was convicted of murder.

“Eris destroyed it with the murder. Within 24 hours, the police seized his machines and closed him up.