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 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 ...

. Peirce was a member of the

Pettingill family The Pettingill family is a Melbourne-based criminal family,Fears of gangland war in ...

, which was headed by

matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general E ...

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 detailing how her husband planned and carried out the 1988

Walsh Street police shootings The Walsh Street police shootings were the 1988 murders of two Victoria Police officers: Constables Steven Tynan, 22, and Damian Eyre, 20. Tynan and Eyre were responding to a report of an abandoned car when they were gunned down about 4:50am ...

, 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 Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of the Coles Group. Founded in 1914 in Collingwood by George Coles, Coles operates ...

in Bay St,

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a populatio ...

on 1 May 2002. His funeral was held on 9 May 2002, at the Saint Peter and Paul's Parish Church in

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

. 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 Alphonse John Gangitano (22 April 1957 – 16 January 1998) was an Australian criminal from Melbourne, Victoria. Nicknamed the "Black Prince of Lygon Street", Gangitano was the face of an underground organisation known as the Carlton Crew. He ...

. Moran was a suspect in the murder of Gangitano, who was shot dead in his

Templestowe Templestowe is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Templestowe recorded a population of 16,966 at the . The s ...

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 A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

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 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 * ...

''. 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