Alphonse Gangitano
Alphonse John Gangitano | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 March 1957 |
| Died | 16 January 1998 (aged 40) Templestowe, Victoria |
| Other names | Black Prince of Lygon Street |
| Spouse | Virginia Gangitano |
| Children | 2 |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2009) |
Alphonse John Gangitano (24 March 1957 – 16 January 1998) was an Italian Australian organised crime identity from Templestowe, a suburb of Melbourne. Nicknamed the "Black Prince of Lygon Street", Gangitano was the face of an organisation known as the Carlton Crew, and a close associate of convicted criminals Graham Kinniburgh, Mick Gatto and Jason Moran.[1] He was also an associate of alleged organised crime bosses Tom Domican (Sydney) and John Kizon (Perth).[2]
Gangitano was one of the first of the 1998–2010 Melbourne gangland killings when he was murdered in 1998. Gangitano was portrayed by Vince Colosimo in the 2008 TV series Underbelly and by Elan Zavelsky in the 2009 TV series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities.
King Street nightclub attack
Gangitano, Moran and associate Troy Rapasarda were charged over serious assaults on several patrons at the Sports Bar nightclub in King Street, Melbourne on 19 December 1995.
Moran later said of Gangitano: "He's a fucking lulu ... if you smash five pool cues and an iron bar over someone's head....you're a fucking lulu". The attack[3] was portrayed on Underbelly.
Murder
On the day of his death (16 January 1998), Gangitano was reported to have had a telephone conversation with Kizon. That same day, Kinniburgh drank at the Laurel Hotel in Ascot Vale with associate Lou Cozzo before driving to Gangitano's home at Templestowe. At a subsequent coroners' inquest, evidence was presented that Kinniburgh and Jason Moran were in Gangitano's home that night. Both were exempted from giving evidence at the inquest, on the grounds that their evidence might incriminate them. [citation needed]
Kinniburgh left Gangitano's house shortly after 11 pm to purchase cigarettes. Upon his return 30 minutes later, he found that Gangitano had been shot several times in the head in the laundry. Gangitano's de facto wife, Virginia, was with the body. Traces of Kinniburgh's blood were later discovered on the back flyscreen door at Gangitano's home.[4]
Kinniburgh reportedly respected the code of silence, frustrating police investigating the murder. Gangitano's pallbearers included Gatto and Kizon.[5] Gangitano is survived by his wife and two daughters, and was widely believed to have had another child with which he had no contact to an unidentified woman. [citation needed]
Kinniburgh and Moran were both later murdered themselves. Jason allegedly pulled out a gun after an argument with Alphonse and shot him in the head. The murder may have led to as many as 75 revenge assaults on underworld members.[citation needed] Gangitano was charged with shooting petty criminal Gregory John Workman dead in 1995, however Gangitano never went to trial over the shooting after a witness retracted their evidence.[6]
References
 | Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (July 2010) |
- ^ Melbourne Crime, 2008, "Alphonse John Gangitano". Accessed 13 March 2008 Template:Wayback
- ^ John Silvester & Selma Milovanovic. "Rogues' gallery emerges from ex-cop's testimony". The Age. 5 June 2004. Accessed 13 March 2008.
- ^ http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23169580-5006022,00.html.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) [dead link] - ^ Ibid.
- ^ An industry built on intimidation
- ^ Ryan, Kelly (11 February 2008). "Schoolboy's dad, Gregory Workman, 'was no gangster'". Herald Sun. Melbourne: News Limited. Retrieved 6 December 2009.