By John Silvester and Chris Evans
MELBOURNE'S gangland wars erupted again last night when former lawyer and Carlton ident ity Mario Condello was gunned down near his Brighton home on the eve of a court appearance.
Condello, 53, was allegedly to be killed at the Brighton cemetery 18 months ago. Last night he was killed a block from that cemetery. |
"I can confirm that shortly before 10pm, Mario Condello was shot dead in the driveway of a home here in North Road," acting Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said.
"At this stage Purana detectives have been called out and have attended the scene. They will take charge of the investigation. "They will be assisted by members of the homicide squad and other resources of the Victoria Police. We're obviously very concerned that this has happened.
"All available resources will be brought onto this job, we will leave no stone unturned to find the people responsible for this latest murder."
Mr Overland was not able to confirm that Condello was murdered in front of his family. "We are getting co-operation from the family," he added.
Condello's trial for incitement to murder was to begin today with legal argument, before the empanelling of a jury tomorrow.
Condello was released on bail in March last year. Magistrate Jelena Popovic agreed to bail Condello after being told by prison psychiatrist Daniel Sullivan that the suspect was struggling with life in a high-security division and "in layman's terms, Mr Condello could be considered stir crazy".
Condello was grateful for the decision. "Thank you very much, your honour. I can assure you of one thing: I won't let you down," he said at the time.
A disbarred lawyer, he had convictions for arson, fraud and drug matters. He was good friends with Mick Gatto - who was acquitted of the murder of Andrew "Benji" Veniamin.
While details of the murder remained unclear last night, including the number of shots fired, senior police said it was logical to conclude the killing was related to the gangland war, in which more than 20 people have been killed.
Police were to allege in court that the men charged with conspiring to kill Condello had planned to kill him while he walked his dog. The disbarred solicitor was seen as bright, big, ruthless and well connected - so much so that he could order a major arson in Italy from Melbourne.
When members of a 1980s taskforce investigating Condello, called Operation Zulu, travelled to southern Italy to investigate the arson and $1.4 million art fraud, they saw posters in one of the villages honouring Condello's father.
The Zulu team investigated an allegation that Condello employed two men to break the legs of a businessmen who refused to release his rights to a business name.
But the standover men - one a murderer, the other an armed robber - preferred guns to baseball bats. They went to the victim's Box Hill home at 6am and checked the man's sleeping children before blasting him with a double-barrelled shotgun.
The man was saved only because he was shot in bed and the doona cushioned the blast, leaving him with a deep wound embedded with feathers.
The last gangland murder was Lewis Caine, who was found dead in May 2004. A court has been told that Caine had earlier accepted a contract to kill Condello.
Police fear that the murder of Condello could again spark Melbourne's tit-for-tat underworld war. While many of the main players are in jail, several violent criminals remain loyal to one principal who is in custody.
Mr Condello's solicitor, Anthony Brand, said last night: "I am shocked by this. I had no doubt he probably would have won this trial. He was totally besotted with his children and concerned for his wife. His wife and children will be devastated."
- With STEVE BUTCHER, STEPHEN MOYNIHAN