The influence of Italian families and syndicates affiliated with organised crime is said to have been entrenched in the underworld of Australia's east coast since the 1930's.

The Australian based group of Mafia-style Italian criminals is known as the Honoured Society.

Other names bestowed on them have included the 'Black Hand'.

In Calabrian parlance, the Honoured Society was referred to as L'Onorata or N'Dranghita.

Mob related extortion in Queenslands cane fields in the 1930's is generally seen as the birth of Mafia style corruption in Australia.

Within the fruit and vegetable industry, Calabrian immigrants had received considerable assistance from the Honoured Society. In turn they were indebted, often for life.

While drugs, particularly marijuana, have become a huge money spinner for the Society, its role in primary production is very strong.

Society members have been able to use their agricultural skills to grow crops as well as using their place in the fruit and vegetable industry to transport and distribute the drug.

In Victoria, the Society moved heavily into the production and distribution of fruit and vegetables.

The Society had the huge Queen Victoria Market, known as the "Melbourne Market", sown up.

Outsiders had very little chance of getting a in whole those of Calabrian, and more generally, Italian extraction were given help getting started, provided they obeyed the Society's rules.

American organised crime investigator John. T. Cusack was summoned to Australia by local police to see if he could help them improve their insight into the Honoured society.

Before returning to the US on August 11, 1964, he reported, among other things, that there were five established rules within the Society.

1. Aid was to be extended to a member no matter what the circumstances.

2. There was to be absolute obedience to the officers of the society.

3. An offence against an an individual member was an attack on the Society and must be avenged.

4. No member will turn to a government agency for justice.

5. Omerta, the code of silence, must always be obeyed. No member was to reveal any of the organisations secrets. 'They realise in silence there is security while testimony against a Society member can bring death', Cusack said.

Domenico Italiano (Godfather died December 1962)
Domenico was known as 'Il Papa', or 'the Pope' and was the Godfather of Melbourne's Honoured Society.

He was the father in law of notorious hit-man, Michele Scriva, Vincenzo Muratore was his trusted lieutenant and Antonio Barbara, his right hand man.

Domenico Italiano died peacefully of old age in his West Melbourne home in December 1962.

His funeral was held at St. Mary's Star, of the Sea.

Soon after the December 1962 death of Domenico Italiano, Barbara, another senior member of the society died.

He was Italiano's right hand man and was well known for violence.

His death, on the heels of Italiano's, left a huge hole in the upper echelons of the Honoured Society.

Vincenzo Angiletta (Shot dead April 1963)
Angiletta was a gunman who migrated to Australia in 1951.

He became a producer of fruit and vegetables for the Society.

Angiletta wanted the Society to be like the Sicilian Mafia in the United States and called for extortion rackets to include non- Italians.

This was rejected by Domenico Demarte (below) and other Society elders.

Angiletta reacted to this snub by refusing to sell his produce to designated wholesalers and going direct to the public. He was warned but refused to conform.

Angiletta was stabbed once on Society orders but still refused to return to the fold. He was then kidnapped and covered in excrement at Woodend.

He vowed revenge and began his own group called La Bastarda- the Bastard Society and recruited 300 members.

Angiletta sold his market garden in Kew to a Greek family rather than a designated Calabrian Family. It is believed that Angiletta then became a marked man and he carrying a pistol.

In the early hours of April 4, 1963, Angiletta, by then employed as a cleaner, was hit twice in the head by shotgun fire as he parked his car in the garage of his Stafford Street, Northcote home at 2.30am.

Friends of Angletta blamed Demarte and Vincenzo Muratore.

Demarte, notorious hitman Michele Scriva and Domenico Pezzimenti were charged with the murder of Giuseppe "Fat Joe" Versace in what was probably Victoria's first Mafia hit.

Versace was stabbed 91 times in Fitzroy. 

The trio were acquitted.

A market commission agent, Demarte experienced problems when a rival faction emerged within the Society.

This was led by Vincenzo Angiletta who was shot dead soon after.

Angiletta's allies blamed Demarte and Alfonse Muratore.

Demarte was shot at and wounded by a shotgun blast while leaving his Chapman Street, North Melbourne home to go to market at 3.30am on November 26, 1963.

The shooters were believed to have been two relatives of Angiletta.

Demarte survived but decided to forgo his position in the Honoured Society.

Vincenzo Muratore (Shot dead January 1964)
Vincenzo had been a trusted lieutenant of 'Godfather' Domenico Italiano.

He was Domenico Demarte's financial advisor when Demarte took over as Melbourne's 'Godfather' after the deaths of Domenico Italiano and Antonio Barbara in 1962 and 1963.

Vince was a prominent market merchant and commission agent and the father of Alfonso Muratore, shot dead in 1992.

Vincenzo was killed with a shotgun outside his Avondale Street, Hampton home on the way to a supermarket at 2.30am on January 16, 1964.

This was allegedly a payback for the Vincenzo Angiletta murder in April 1963.

He was said to have been killed by two male relatives of Angilletta, one who escaped to Italy after the killing.

Antonio Monaco (Shot dead January 1964)
Monaco was a market seller.

He was shot dead on January 18, 1964, two days after Vincenzo Muratore's murder.

Monaco was leaving his Dandenong Road, Braeside home at about 2.30am.

The attack allegedly involved three men as a payback over a domestic dispute.

Domenico Cirillo (Shot February 1964)
Cirillo was a fruit and vegetable retailer.

He was wounded with a shotgun blast when leaving his Ardmillan Road, Moonee Pond home for market at 4.30am on February 6, 1964.

Two people are said to have been involved in the attack which came about as the result of  domestic and financial dispute.

Rocco Medici - Giuseppe Furina (Found dead May 1984)
Medici (left) was a close associate of godfather Liborio Benvenuto.

He was found tortured near the Murrumbidgee River with brother in law Giuseppe Furina on May 6, 1984.

Sumner was said to have supplied the bomb which took out Liborio Benvenuto's land cruiser and it has been alleged that Medici and Furina were killed as payback for the explosion.

One of the men had his ear sliced off, a supposed mafia warning to others that the victim had "heard too much".

Liborio Benvenuto was godfather to one of the Medici family and was a close friend of Furina.

The murders were never solved.

Sumner was an associate of several Italian crime figures and a close friend of "The Friendly Godfather" Giuseppe 'Joe' Arena.

He was gunned down in his Bayswater home in 1988.

Giuseppe Sofra (Shot June 1985)
Soffra was a green grocer

He was shot three times in the back of his legs at his Springvale Road fruit shop on June 19, 1985.

The shop was owned by Anotonio Madafferi.

The shootings were said to have been related to a price cutting war in the area and a warning to the two men.

Liborio Benvenuto (Godfather died - May 1988)
Liborio was born in Calabria on December 15, 1927.

Involved in the fruit and vegetable industry, he was the son of a man reputed to be 'in charge' of several Calabrian villages.

Benvenuto has been described as a small and dapper fellow.

He was a close associate of Joe Arena who was shot dead in 1988 and the father of Frank Benvenuto, shot dead on May 8, 2000.

Liborio rose to prominence following the 1963-64 market murders of Muratore and Angiletta and became the undisputed Godfather of Melbourne.

Benvenuto's right hand man was Michele Scriva.

He was married to a daughter of Domenico Italiano.

Scriva'a son, Tom, married one of Benvenuto's daughters.

Benvenuto was the father-in-law of Vincenzo Muratore (killed during the wars in 1964).

His daughter was married to Vincenzo's son, Alfonso (killed in 1992), until he left her.

Police at one stage investigated allegations that Benvenuto was involved in moving marijuana from Griffith to Melbourne.

A truck had been driven from Griffith with fruit and vegetables concealing the marijuana.

The truck would be parked in Carlton and the key left above the front tyre.

A second driver would drive the truck to a secret spot, remove the marijuana and return the vehicle.

The original driver would then take it to the market. 

On May 10, 1983, Benvenuto's four wheel drive was blown up at the market. No one was hurt. A shotgun was found in the car.

Benvenuto said at the time: "I have no enemies, only friends at the market. "I don't know why anyone would do this at all. "I have never done anyone any harm." 

In 1984, the bodies of close-associates Rocco Medici and Giuseppe Furina were found in the Murrumbidgee River, believed by some to be a payback for the bomb.

One of the men had his ear sliced off, a supposed mafia warning to others that the victim had "heard too much".

Benvenuto was godfather to one of the Medici family and was a close friend of Furina.

The murders were never solved.

An astute and experienced criminal, Laurence Joseph Sumner, is rumoured to have helped plant the bomb. 

Sumner was also believed to have supplied the gun which was used to kill Joe Arena although it has also been said the pair were close friends.

Sumner was later involved in amphetamines and caught in a speed lab at his home in 1991.

He then became an informant into one of Melbourne's biggest drug cartels.

Liborio Benvenuto died of natural causes in May 1988.

He had not considered son Frank a worthy successor and close associate Giuseppe "Joe" Arena" was summonsed to Benvenuto's Beaumauris home where discussions were held about him becoming head of the organization.

But on his death bed Liborio Benvenuto anointed son-in-law, Alfonso Muratore as Godfather.

After the death of Benvenuto some merchants decided they had had enough of 'paying'.

Some even employed Australian gangsters as a show of strength.

In a shock move however Muratore declined the offer and the next year left his wife, Liborio's daughter, Angela, for mistress Karen Mansfield.

Muratore was shot dead outside his Hampton home it 1992.

An inquest heard allegations that Frank Benvenuto (left) took out a contract of Muratore's life for snubbing the Honoured Society and his family but was never charged.

Frank Benvenuto was shot dead in May 2000.

Giuseppe "Joe" Arena's ascension never came to pass and a rival faction murdered him outside his Bona Vista Rd, Bayswater, home on August 1, 1988, six weeks after Benvenuto had died.

Arena was shot from behind with a shotgun, the traditional Honoured Society method of death with dishonour. The killing happened shortly after he and his wife came home from a wedding in Footscray.

Dominic "Mick" Gatto was considered a prime suspect but later spoke out and denied the allegations vehemently.

Santo Ippolito (Beaten to death December 1991)
Ippolito was a retired fruiterer.

He was battered to death by a man who smashed his was into the victim's Springvale home on Christman Eve in 1991.

Ippolito and his wife were in bed after a family barbeque.

There were no demands and nothing was stolen.

A man had broken down Ippolito's front door, entered the bedroom and began beating him with an iron bar.

Ippolito's wife turned the light on but did not recognise the killer. She too was bashed.

Ippolito died in hospital the next day.

The 71 year-old, was president of an RSL club and it was said that a dispute there lead to a hitman being paid to kill Ippolito.

 On February 29, 1992 a Melbourne market fruiterer and his wife were pistol whipped and robbed of $5000 at their Wandin home by two masked men.

Robert Nancarrow (Beaten to death March 1992)
Robert was the founder of the Nancarrow supermarket chain.

He was beaten to death in his Northcote shop and drowned in his own blood on March 2, 1992. The motive was assumed to be robbery.

Costa rings in
It was then that big-time Geelong fruiterer Costa's Pty Ltd was called in by Coles-Myer.

They were seen as very trustworthy and reputable.

This was successful to a degree with company head and now Geelong Football Club President Frank Costa, appearing on ABC-TV's Four Corners program.

He spoke out against the corruption and spoke of the fear many fruiterers had for their lives.

On July 19, 1992, Alfonso Muratore and Orlando Luciano met with Coles-Myer executives in an attempt to smooth things over and to advise them of some of the questionable schemes that had operated at the market.

The meeting was highly secret and the city venue was checked extensively for bugs.

The two were believed to be making a solid sales pitch to the executives, ensuring them that they could do a better and 'cleaner job'.

In the weeks following the meeting, Muratore had acid poured over his car and he was assaulted at the market, leaving him with a blackened eye.

He was soon dead.

Alfonso Muratore (Shot dead August 1992)
On August 4, 1992, Alfonso, then 39, was shot dead in Hampton as his father Vincenzo had been 28 years before.

He had left his Storey Avenue house at 1.30am to drive to the market with friend, and workmate Ron Lever, the step father of his de facto wife.

A hooded gunman fired at close range as Muratore was about to climb into his car.

Lever was shot in the legs to immobilise him but Muratore was shot twice in the head and died instantly.

At least three other major fruit and vegetable merchants immediately employed armed security guards after the murder because they were told their names were on a death list.

A relative of Muratore received death threats and eventually moved after his house was vandalised.

A 1995 inquest heard allegations that Frank Benvenuto took out a contract on Muratore's life for snubbing the Honoured Society and his family but was never charged.

Benvenuto took over Muratore's fruit stall at the market after Alfonso was shot dead.

Ms Mansfield said at the inquest that Frank Benvenuto had tried to hire someone to kill Muratore. 

He had been trying to regain control of the market stall when he was shot dead.

He had also told investigators about corruption involving supermarket buyers and fruit and vegetable wholesalers only two weeks before being executed.

Frank Benvenuto told the inquest he had no idea who had murdered Muratore.

Another man police saw as a suspect in Muratore's death was truck-driving fruiterer, Guiseppe 'Joe' Quadara.

Represented by jailed criminal lawyer, Andrew Fraser, it was speculated that Quadara eluded a payback hit when a man of the same name was shot dead in Toorak on Friday 28 May 1999.

Frank was related to Michele and Tom Scriva through marriage. 

Frank was a known associate of the notorious Moran family.

Liborio Benvenuto, who died of natural causes in 1988, did not consider Frank a worthy successor.

At the time Benvenuto senior was critically ill, it was also thought son-in-law, Alfonso Muratore was not ready to take over the running of his empire.

Giuseppe "Joe'' Arena was summonsed by Benvenuto senior and discussions were held about him becoming head of the organisation.

But it never came to pass because a rival faction murdered Arena outside his Bayswater home shortly after.

Then, on his death bed, Liborio anointed his son-in-law, Alfonso Muratore.

But in a shock move, Muratore declined the offer and the next year left his wife Angela, and Frank's sister, for a mistress.

Muratore was shot dead outside his Hampton home in 1992.

An inquest heard allegations Benvenuto took out a contract of Muratore's life for snubbing the Honoured Society and his family but was never charged.

Benvenuto had no criminal record and detectives could not link him to Muratore's murder.

Benvenuto took over Muratore's fruit stall at the market after the killing.

Frank Benvenuto was shot in the chest at the wheel of his Holden Statesman outside his Beaumaris home at about 3pm on May 8, 2000.

He was on his way to the tip.

His falling out with Alfonso Muratore after Muratore left Angela Benvenuto for lover Karen Mansfield in 1989 is one avenue homicide detectives followed in trying to identify a motive for the murder.

Karen Mansfield said at Muratore's 1995 inquest that Frank Benvenuto had tried to hire someone to kill Muratore.

He had been trying to regain control of the market stall when he was shot dead.

He had also told investigators about corruption involving supermarket buyers and fruit and vegetable wholesalers only two weeks before being executed.

Frank Benvenuto told the inquest he had no idea who had murdered Muratore.

Victor Peirce, one of the men acquitted of the 1988 Walsh St police shootings and a member of the Pettingill crime family, was also believed to be linked the murder.