|
Described as a small
and dapper fellow, he migrated to Australia and went into the fruit and
vegetable industry and became a well known identity in the Melbourne Markket.
Liborio Benvenuto rose to
prominence following the 1963-64 market murders of Vincenzo
Muratore
and Vincenzo Angiletta and became the undisputed
Godfather of Melbourne.
Seeing that with the Market Murders
full-scale civil war was likely to break out within the market community, he had
worked hard as a peacemaker, at one point going Mildura to bring about peace.
Benvenuto's right hand man was Michele
Scriva who was married to a daughter of former Melbourne Godfather Domenico
Italiano.
Scriva'a son, Tom, married
one of Benvenuto's daughters.
Benvenuto was the father-in-law of
market identity Vincenzo
Muratore (killed during the wars in 1964).
His daughter was married to Vincenzo's
son, Alfonso Muratore (killed in 1992), until he left
her for a mistress.
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.
Gelignite
had been strapped beneath it.
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. Police
asked Benvenuto to go to its Homicide Squad offices to be interviewed about the
murders. Benvenuto
walked in wearing a pork-pie hat and said: "I'm sorry I can't help but I
don't know anything about it".
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 Giuseppe
"Joe"
Arena, the reputed Godfather after Benvenuto's death, although it has also been said the pair were close friends.
Liborio Benvenuto died
of natural causes in May 1988.
He had not
considered son Frank a worthy successor and close associate Joe
Arena was summonsed to Benvenuto's
Beaumauris home.
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.
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 in 1992.
An inquest heard
allegations that Frank Benvenuto 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.
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.
|
