Peter John Allen fights his way to new prison
He’s a member of a notorious Melbourne crime family and one of the oldest crooks in our jails, but he’s shown age is no barrier when it comes to punching on in prison.
Police & Courts
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A member of a notorious Melbourne crime family has shown age is no barrier to prison drama by fighting his way to a jail transfer.
Peter John Allen, at 67, is one of the oldest criminals in the corrections system but was moved to a new jail after things boiled over recently.
The situation turned physical with other inmates, underworld sources say.
Authorities were forced to take action after a confrontation between the notably belligerent granddad and others at the Ravenhall Correctional Centre.
The situation indicates Allen’s health has taken a turn for the better since a 2013 court hearing at which he told a judge he was terminally ill.
The fiery Allen is the brother of Dennis “Mr Death” Allen, a prolific heroin dealer and multiple killer who was a major Melbourne underworld player in the 1980s.
Peter would later develop his own heroin trafficking operation which, at its peak, was bringing in huge amounts of money.
His other brothers included gangland war victim Victor Peirce and career criminal Trevor Pettingill, both of whom were acquitted of the 1988 Walsh St police murders.
Their mother is infamous crime matriarch Kath Pettingill.
Peter Allen, who has faced court dozens of times, has more than 50 criminal convictions and has spent about half of his life in prison, starting with being locked up in the 1960s.
He has convictions for rape, shooting at police, assault, heroin trafficking, armed robbery and theft.
A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesman said: “We do not comment on individual prisoners.”
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DENNIS ALLEN’S MUM PLANNED TO KILL HIM