Mario Rocco Condello (12 April 1952 – 6 February 2006) was an

Italian-Australian Italian Australians ( it, Italiani Australiani) are Australians with Italian ancestry. Italian Australians constitute the sixth largest ancestry group in Australia, and one of the largest groups in the global Italian diaspora. At the 2021 ce ...

organised crime figure. Condello, once a lawyer, was a member of the

Carlton Crew The Carlton Crew is a criminal organisation based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, which was formed in the late 1970s and named after the Melbourne suburb in which it is based, Lygon Street, Carlton, commonly called "Little Italy". The organ ...

, and is believed to have been a

money launder Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

er for Melbourne's Calabrian mafia, the

Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of the most powerf ...

. He was a key 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 vacu ...

Background

Condello was born in

Carlton, Victoria Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3 km north of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of Vic ...

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

n parents and was at one time a lawyer in

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He had a criminal record consisting of arson, fraud and drug trafficking and was also suspected by police to have been involved in multiple murders. In June 2004, an attempt on Condello's life was foiled when two gunmen were caught by police outside Brighton Cemetery near his house. In 2005, he was charged with plotting to murder crime boss Carl Williams. Williams later was convicted of conspiracy to murder Condello.

Murder

Condello was shot dead in his driveway on 6 February 2006, a day before he was due to stand trial for conspiracy to murder Williams. On 7 February 2006, his counsel, Robert Richter, QC told the trial judge, "Unfortunately, I announce my client won't be answering bail, he was murdered last night...He died confident of his acquittal." Police feared that his murder would be the resumption of the gangland wars.

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 ...

believed hitman Rodney Collins killed Mario Condello as a paid hit. Collins was serving a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

with a minimum of 32 years for a 1987 double murder for which he was convicted in May 2010, before his death in 2018. About 700 people attended Condello's funeral, with

Mick Gatto Domenic "Mick" Gatto (born 6 August 1955) is a professional mediator within the Victorian building industry; and a debt collector. Gatto was named as a standover man during the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry. Ba ...

serving as a pallbearer.

Popular culture

Condello was depicted as a loan shark in the 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 * ...

'', portrayed by

Martin Sacks Martin Colin Sacks (born 16 October 1959) is an Australian actor who is chiefly known for his 12-year role on ''Blue Heelers'' from 1993 to 2005. Life and career Sacks was born in Sydney. He got into acting after a bit part in an episode of ' ...

References

1952 births 2006 deaths 2006 murders in Australia Australian organised crime figures Australian arsonists Australian people of Italian descent Australian people of Calabrian descent Criminals from Melbourne Deaths by firearm in Victoria (Australia) People murdered in Victoria (Australia) Victims of the Melbourne gangland killings People convicted of arson People convicted of fraud Australian drug traffickers People from Carlton, Victoria {{AUS-crime-bio-stub

Background

Murder

Popular culture

See also

References