Carl Williams (criminal)
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Carl Anthony Williams (13 October 1970 – 19 April 2010) was an Australian convicted murderer and
drug trafficker The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...
from
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. He is the central figure in the
Melbourne gangland killings The Melbourne gangland killings were the murders of 36 underworld figures in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between January 1998 and August 2010. The murders were retributive killings involving underworld groups. The deaths caused a power va ...
as well as their final victim. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a
non-parole period Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
of 35 years for ordering the murders of three people and conspiracy to murder a fourth (which was unsuccessful). On 19 April 2010, while incarcerated at
HM Prison Barwon HM Prison Barwon or informally Barwon Prison, an Australian high risk and maximum security prison for males, is located from the township of Lara, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria, part of t ...
, Williams was beaten to death with the stem of an exercise bike by another inmate, Matthew Charles Johnson. Williams enlisted the help of others willing to perform the contract killings in exchange for large payments of cash. At the time of his death, he was in the maximum-security Acacia unit of HM Prison Barwon near
Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
. Williams would have been 71 before he is eligible for parole.


Early life

Williams attended Broadmeadows Technical School, leaving in Year 11. Williams spent much of his childhood in Western Melbourne with his friends and older brother Shane who died of a heroin overdose in 1997. He was married to convicted drug trafficker Roberta Mercieca (born 23 March 1969), with whom he had one daughter, Dhakota Williams born 10 March 2001. Williams held various labouring jobs before opening a children's clothing store in partnership with his wife, which eventually failed. On 25 November 1999, Williams, along with his father George and another associate, were arrested and charged with drug trafficking after a raid on an illegal drug factory that had been set up in a unit located in Fir Close,
Broadmeadows Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Broadmeadows recorded a population of 12,524 at the 2021 census. Broadmeadow ...
. In excess of 25,000 amphetamine tablets were seized by police, estimated to be worth up to 20 million. Williams, who described himself as a semi-
professional gambler Advantage gambling, or advantage play, refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling, in contrast to cheating in casinos, cheating. The term usually refers to Casino game, house-banked casino games, but can also refer to games ...
, was banned from the Crown Casino on 2 April 2004 by police commissioner
Christine Nixon Christine Nixon (born 11 June 1953) is an Australian former police officer who was the chief commissioner of Victoria Police from 23 April 2001 to 27 February 2009, being the first female chief commissioner in any Australian state police force. ...
under the ''Casino Control Act''. Williams's mother Barbara Williams was found dead in her Melbourne home on 22 November 2008, having overdosed on unspecified drugs in an act of suicide. She had been suffering from depression.


Melbourne gangland killings

On 13 October 1999, Williams was shot in the abdomen by
Jason Moran Jason Moran may refer to: * Jason Moran (criminal) (1967–2003), Australian mobster * Jason Moran (musician) Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator involved in multimedia art and theatrical inst ...
because he owed the Moran family $80,000. This event sparked a lengthy underworld war known popularly as the
Melbourne gangland killings The Melbourne gangland killings were the murders of 36 underworld figures in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between January 1998 and August 2010. The murders were retributive killings involving underworld groups. The deaths caused a power va ...
. In 2002, after meeting through a mutual friend,
Tony Mokbel Antonios Sajih Mokbel (Arabic: طوني مقبل) (born 11 August 1965) is an Australian criminal who has been convicted of a number of offences, most prominently commercial drug trafficking. He has spent most of his life in Melbourne, Australi ...
, Williams courted the services of the murderer
Andrew Veniamin Andrew "Benji" Veniamin (16 November 1975 – 23 March 2004) was an Australian criminal from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A convicted car thief, Veniamin was a key figure in the Melbourne underworld killings, suspected of both murdering sev ...
as his right-hand man until early 2004.


Mark Moran

Mark Moran is shot on 15 June 2000 after arriving at his home in
Aberfeldie Aberfeldie is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Aberfeldie recorded a population of 3,925 at the . Aberfeldie is bo ...
. Williams was due to stand trial for his murder, but the charge was dropped when he pleaded guilty to other murders.


Jason Moran

On the Saturday morning of 21 June 2003,
Jason Moran Jason Moran may refer to: * Jason Moran (criminal) (1967–2003), Australian mobster * Jason Moran (musician) Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator involved in multimedia art and theatrical inst ...
and a colleague, Pasquale Barbaro, were fatally shot in the parking lot of the Cross Keys Hotel in Strathmore, Melbourne, where Moran and Barbaro had brought five children to attend an
Auskick Auskick is a program designed to teach the basic skills of Australian rules football (AFL) to boys and girls aged between 5 and 12. Auskick is a non-contact variant of the sport. It began in Australia and is now a nationwide non-selective pro ...
football clinic. The clinic had just finished, and many adults and children were standing around. Moran and Barbaro sat in the front seats of Moran's minivan—with the five young children sitting in the rear—a gunman approached and fired both a shotgun and a handgun into the vehicle. Both men died at the scene. Three years earlier, a shotgun and a handgun had been used to gun down Moran's half-brother Mark. Two of the children in the minivan were Moran's, and all were age 7 or under. The gunman—nicknamed "The Runner" before he was identified as Victor Brincat—later told police that Carl Williams was the person who paid him to kill Moran and Barbaro, and that Williams had paid him less than the $100,000 fee he was originally promised. Williams later pleaded guilty to the murder of Jason Moran.


Mark Mallia

Mark Mallia was an associate of murdered underworld criminal,
Nik Radev Nikolai Radev ( bg, Николай "Ник" Радев; 29 January 1959 – 15 April 2003), nicknamed The Russian, was a Bulgarian career criminal and mobster who was involved in crime in Melbourne, Australia. Biography During his life he was ...
. At 8:05 a.m. on 18 August 2003 a fire was reported in a stormwater drain in Sunshine. Fire brigade members attending to the fire recovered a wheelie bin containing the remains of a charred body inside, later identified as Mallia.


Michael Marshall

Marshall was shot outside his luxury
South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Sto ...
home in front of his five-year-old son on 25 October 2003.


Lewis Moran

Lewis Moran Lewis Moran (7 July 1941 – 31 March 2004) was an Australian organized crime figure and patriarch of the infamous Moran family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Notable for his involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings, Moran was shot de ...
was fatally shot in the inner-city Brunswick Club on 31 March 2004. Williams pleaded guilty to his murder.


Arrest and confession

On 28 February 2007, Williams pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Victoria to the murders of
Lewis Moran Lewis Moran (7 July 1941 – 31 March 2004) was an Australian organized crime figure and patriarch of the infamous Moran family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Notable for his involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings, Moran was shot de ...
, his son
Jason Moran Jason Moran may refer to: * Jason Moran (criminal) (1967–2003), Australian mobster * Jason Moran (musician) Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator involved in multimedia art and theatrical inst ...
, and Mark Mallia (whose name was initially suppressed by the court). Williams also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder gangland rival
Mario Condello Mario Rocco Condello (12 April 1952 – 6 February 2006) was an Italian-Australian organised crime figure. Condello, once a lawyer, was a member of the Carlton Crew, and is believed to have been a money launderer for Melbourne's Calabrian mafi ...
. A suppression order prevented the media from reporting this until the day of sentencing. Under a deal with police, Williams was not charged for his alleged involvement in orchestrating the murder of Mark Moran, Jason Moran's half-brother. It was also revealed that Williams was serving a sentence of 21 years for the 2003 murder of Michael Marshall. The outcome of this trial had previously been suppressed.


Summary of criminal convictions


School fees revelation

On 19 April 2010
News Limited News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,0 ...
newspapers including the ''Herald Sun'' revealed that
Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...
were paying $8,000 in school fees for Williams's daughter. The reason for the payment was not revealed at the time. Later, during the 2011 murder trial, it was revealed Williams had turned informant and had struck a deal with Assistant Commissioner
Simon Overland Simon James Overland (born 19 March 1962)
2 March 2009, www.premier.vic.gov.au
is the for ...
. Williams gave information on several unsolved murder cases believed to have involved corrupt officers and it was also revealed his murderer may have been implicated in at least one of those cases. Williams's lawyer Rob Stary said Williams was upset about the publication of the story. There was speculation that the police may have agreed to pay the school fees in exchange for information and that publication of the story may have led to Williams's death. The '' Herald Sun'' defended its publication of the story.


Death

On 19 April 2010, Williams died from a
head injury A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...
while incarcerated at
Barwon Prison HM Prison Barwon or informally Barwon Prison, an Australian high risk and maximum security prison for males, is located from the township of Lara, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria, part of ...
. He was struck with part of an exercise bike by another inmate, Matthew Charles Johnson, who was convicted of the murder, and sentenced in December 2011 to 32 years in jail. Williams's funeral was held on 30 April 2010 at St Therese's Catholic Church in
Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...
. He was buried in a golden coffin. In January 2011 it was reported that Williams's resting place consisted of a nameless plot, without a headstone. The circumstances of his death were investigated by the Victorian Ombudsman. A report critical of Corrections Victoria (for approving Williams to share a cell with Johnson) was released in April 2012. Two months later in June 2012, the Department of Justice Secretary Penny Armytage resigned and earlier in May the Corrections Victoria Commissioner Bob Hastings had resigned. In 2019, during the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants, former Deputy Commissioner (Crime) for Victoria Police Sir Kenneth Lloyd Jones made a written submission stating his belief that prison staff were involved with the death of Williams.


In popular culture

Williams was portrayed by
Gyton Grantley Gyton Stephen Grantley (born 17 July 1980) is an Australian actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of convicted murderer and drug trafficker Carl Williams in the hit Australian television show '' Underbelly'', for which he was nomin ...
in the 2008 Australian television series ''
Underbelly Underbelly is the side of something that is not normally seen. Figuratively, it means a vulnerable or weak part, similar to the term Achilles' heel, or alternatively, a hidden, illicit side of society. This term could refer to: Business * ...
'', based on the events surrounding the Melbourne gangland wars from 1995 up to his arrest in 2004. In 2014 Grantley reprised the role in '' Fat Tony & Co.'', and again in 2020 in ''
Informer 3838 ''Informer 3838'' is an Australian television series focusing on criminal barrister-turned police informer Nicola Gobbo (codenamed informer 3838) and her involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings. It is a spin-off of the ''Underbelly'' fr ...
''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Carl 1970 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Australian criminals 21st-century Australian criminals Australian drug traffickers Australian murder victims Australian organised crime figures Australian people convicted of murder Australian people who died in prison custody Australian prisoners sentenced to multiple life sentences Criminals from Melbourne Deaths by beating Melbourne gangland killings People convicted of murder by Victoria (Australia) Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Victoria (Australia) Prisoners who died in Victoria (Australia) detention Prisoners murdered in custody