Victor George Peirce (11 November 1958 – 1 May 2002) was an Australian gangster 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. Peirce was a member of the Pettingill family, which was headed by matriarch and former

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

brothel owner

Kath Pettingill Kathleen Pettingill (born 27 March, 1935) is the matriarch of the Melbourne criminal family, the Pettingill family. Family Pettingill's 10 children are: (with Dennis Ryan) * Dennis Bruce Allen (1951–1987) – a drug dealer, jailed for rape i ...

Walsh Street police shootings

In 2005, Peirce's widow, Wendy Peirce gave an interview to

Australian media Mass media in Australia spans traditional and digital formats, and caters mostly to its predominantly English-speaking population. It is delivered in a variety of formats including radio, television, paper, internet and IPTV. Varieties include ...

detailing how her husband planned and carried out the 1988 Walsh Street police shootings, a crime for which he was acquitted by jury along with three accomplices after she failed to give truthful evidence in court.

Death

Peirce was shot dead in a car parked opposite the Coles supermarket in Bay St, Port Melbourne on 1 May 2002. His funeral was held on 9 May 2002, at the Saint Peter and Paul's Parish Church in South Melbourne. Father

Bob Maguire Robert John Maguire (born 14 September 1934) is an Australian Roman Catholic priest, community worker and media personality from South Melbourne. From 1973 to 2012, Maguire was parish priest of Sts Peter and Paul's Church in South Melbourne. Co ...

conducted the service. Peirce was later buried at the Altona Memorial Park. Present was Jason Moran, former running mate of slain gangster Alphonse Gangitano. Moran was a suspect in the murder of Gangitano, who was shot dead in his Templestowe home on 16 January 1998. On 22 June 2007,

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...

arrested Faruk Orman in the western suburb of

Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when th ...

, alleging he was the driver for Peirce's killers. In September 2007 Vince Benvenuto—brother of

Frank Benvenuto Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

, an underworld identity reputedly under the protection of Victor Peirce and murdered May 2000—was arrested for

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

. ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' reported that when asked whether he was arrested as a result of the Purana investigation, police replied: "He's a suspect in relation to the murder of Victor Peirce." But it was hitman Andrew "Benji" Veniamin who shot Pierce dead. Veniamin claimed "If I don't get Victor he'll get me first". An unnamed man who drove Veniamin to the killing was found guilty of the murder in September 2009 and was sentenced in November 2009 to a minimum of 14 years in prison, which took into account more than two years he had already been in custody; in 2013 it was revealed that it was Orman. However, Orman's conviction was quashed in 2019, due to miscarriages of justice by his former lawyer and notorious police informant

Nicola Gobbo Nicola Maree Gobbo, sometimes known as Nikki Gobbo, (born 16 November 1972) is an Australian former criminal defence barrister and police informant. Drug charge at law school In 1993, while she was a law student, police raided a house owned by ...

. Veniamin was later killed in 2004 by Domenic "Mick" Gatto. Gatto told the court that it was in self-defence, and was acquitted by a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

In television

In 2008, he was portrayed by actor

Andrew Gilbert Andrew S. Gilbert is an Australian actor best known for his portrayal of Tony Twist in ''Round the Twist'' (Series 3–4). He is also well known for his AFI Award–winning role in '' Kiss or Kill'' and other supporting work in '' Look Both Wa ...

in the 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 * Un ...

''. He was also portrayed in the 2011 Australian television series '' Killing Time''.

References

External links

Murder hits home for widow of gangland killer
2004-03-10, The Age

By Leo Shanahan, 2007-06-22, The Age {{DEFAULTSORT:Peirce, Victor Australian organised crime figures Australian bank robbers Australian murder victims Australian drug traffickers Victims of the Melbourne gangland killings Pettingill family 1958 births 2002 deaths People murdered in Victoria (Australia) People acquitted of murder Criminals from Melbourne Deaths by firearm in Victoria (Australia) 2002 murders in Australia