Gantol 'Tom' Scriva

Born in 1945, Tom was the son of notorious hit man Michele Scriva.

He was a stall holder at Melbourne's fruit and vegetable markets after migrating to Australia as a 17-year-old in 1936.

In 1945 Michele was acquitted of murdering Giuseppe "Fat Joe'' Versace in what was probably Victoria's first Mafia hit. Versace was stabbed 91 times.

He was later sentenced to hang for stabbing Frederick Duffy to death in North Melbourne, but the sentence was later commuted and he served 10 years.

Michele Scriva was also a pall bearer at the funerals of Melbourne's first godfather, Domenico Italiano in 1962, and Vincenzo Muratore in 1964.

Both men were shot and killed in an internal Mafia power struggle for control of Melbourne's markets.

Tom Scriva married a daughter of Melbourne Godfather Liborio Benvenuto.

Bonds between the Scriva's and Benvenuto's were cemented decades ago with the two families linked through marriage.

Scriva was a firm friend of the Benvenuto clan.

Scriva later became known as the disgraced lawyer for suspected Melbourne mafia figures.

He represented Walsh Street suspect Victor Peirce and wife Wendy.

In 1986 Scriva represented Claudio David Crupi, who was questioned and cleared over the Russell St bombing, when he was charged with shooting with intent to murder policeman Gerard Michael Wilson at Greensborough in February that year.

Crupi was later arrested when caught breaking into cars to be used in armed robberies.

His accomplice that day in 1991 was the notorious Hugo Rich.

Scriva represented a husband and wife, John William Palmer, 33, and Darlene Joy Palmer, 27, of West Heidelberg, who, on December 6, 1986,  held three people at knifepoint intent on revenge for the drug-related death of a friend.

The court heard the couple burst into the Moonee Ponds house which was owned by a man charged with the murder of Julie Ann Dunne, found dead at Kinglake the day before.

A policeman told the court he went to the house and found John Palmer with a pistol and Darlene Palmer with a knife.

On June 24, 1992, police raided the office of Constantine Vincent Kay and Co. in Bridge Rd, Richmond.

They were looking for information linked to Victor George Peirce, one of the men was acquitted of the Walsh St police shootings.

On November 28, 1995, eight of the police officers involved in the raid were ordered to pay $10,000 damages over their conduct which a judge said amounted to false imprisonment of staff.

County Court judge Judge Leslie Ross, said police had gone beyond the search authorised by warrant when they raided the office.

Judge Ross said that restrictions on the movement of staff, the control exercised over them and other security measures taken by police during the two-hour raid were not justified.

He said experienced police from the fraud and tactical investigation squad searched the office looking for material relevant to the prosecution of Peirce for drug trafficking.

The search was part of a larger task force investigating the activities of Peirce.

Judge Ross said the task force was told of a belief that two people at the firm were involved in money laundering for Peirce and were "not to be trusted ".

But no charges were laid as a result of the raid.

The head of the firm, Mr Constantine Vincent Kay, solicitor Thomas Scriva and legal secretaries Elisabeth Mantzos and Carol Havelos, brought the civil action against police, including the head of the operation, Sgt Alan Comte, claiming they had suffered anxiety, loss and damage.

Judge Ross awarded Mr Kay $5000 damages, Mr Scriva $2500 and Ms Havelos and Ms Mantzos $1250 each.

He said that during the raid Mr Scriva was physically detained for about 15 minutes, Mr Kay said he had no freedom to move around his office and was restricted in his access to phones and the facsimile machine and one secretary said she felt intimated by such a large police presence.

Staff claimed they were wrongfully locked in the premises.

In 1999 Scriva acted as a loan shark in apparent breach of a Legal Profession Tribunal decision in cancelling his licence to practise.

He was under investigation by the Law Institute for trust fund irregularities. 

Scriva borrowed money from mostly legitimate investors with the promise of high returns and then lent the money to others.

Some used the money to pay off gambling debts or for other dubious activities.

An underworld source said one borrower had taken a $600,000 loan through Scriva, but had lost the money gambling and had no way to repay the debt.

He raised up to $6 million in his final months alive from both underworld and everyday investors for finance schemes.

Much of the money is now believed missing.

Also in 1999: Scriva was banned from practising on his own after the Legal Profession Tribunal found him guilty of misconduct.

The tribunal found he had:

EXECUTED mortgagors' acknowledgments without explaining the true purpose and effect of a mortgage to the parties involved.

FRAUDULENTLY completed a certificate of identity as to the relevant signatories.

FALSELY witnessed statutory declarations when the witness had not signed the documents in front of him.

Scriva was reprimanded and had his lawyer's certificate cancelled until 2009.

Scriva then worked at a Melbourne legal firm.

It is unclear what his role at the firm was.

Tom died on July 13, 2000 of natural causes at the Alfred Hospital.

Millions of dollars were feared lost after the Scriva's death. 

He is buried less than a metre above Melbourne's most recent murdered Mafia godfather, Frank Benvenuto, the son of former mob boss Liborio Benvenuto.