In his classic 1970 work “The Criminal Brotherhoods“, respected author David Leon Chandler cites information gleaned from Australian investigators in stating that during the 1930’s “three…mafia families (had) appeared in Australia”, claiming there were two Calabrian ‘families’ (centered in Sydney and Melbourne) and one Sicilian (centred in Perth). It’s likely that early investigators lumped together a number of Calabrian cells, wittingly or otherwise, and later readings of police reports would indicate a number of Calabrian men responsible for establishing organised chapters of the Honoured Society in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
An important distinction amonsgt the demographic I believe, is the difference between Italian-Australian criminals and actual members of ‘ndrangheta cells. While the two are certainly not mutually exclusive, the fact that an organised criminal is of Italian extraction does not automatically make him a member of the mafia or of a “mafia family” as such. Indeed, the term “Black Hand” was simply the name given to the extortion method itself, and Italian-Australian criminals are apparent in all strata of hierarchy. To muddy the waters, some Black Handers indeed belonged to certain ‘ndrangheta cells, though more sophisticated methods eventually became the norm for the true n’drina. But as Italian-Australians have distinguished themselves in all other fields and ventures, why not crime and criminality as well?
While D’Agostino was working his crude Black Hander rackets in Far North Queensland, the Thirties were roaring and dirty, and in the bustling south-eastern capital of Sydney, a vibrant rough-and-tumble criminal scene was raging. Before we discuss the interesting figure that was a migrant son who became a force in the gangland milieu of the time, a little about the times and more organised elements is relevant.
Only perhaps Melbourne comes close in the history of Australian cities to a gangland story as notoriously dramatic as Sydney’s. Australia’s “first city”, its reputation for crime, vice and corruption in the late 19th and early 20th century’s was legendary. By the early to mid 20th century, the inherent corruption had installed a criminal subculture that was rampant across the former colony, and the legendary gunmen of Sydney had begun the city’s grand tradition in standover and vice rackets.
When the Pistol Licensing Act was passed in 1927 it became illegal to be found in possession of an unlicensed firearm. Overnight Sydney’s local gangster types, loosely organised in their local “push” factions, became known as the notorious razor gangs, so named for the easy availability and concealment of the blades they had begun to carry.
On hand easily from the local barber or general stores, and small enough to be easily palmed and hidden; also sharp enough to open up a man’s face from ear to mouth along the jawbone with a flick of the wrist. Between 1928 and 1935 there were over five hundred victims officially admitted to hospital suffering slashings, the peak years of the razor gangs. Considering the estimate that only one of every three slashings was officially reported, in reality the number is likely much higher.
Mt Druitt, Surrey Hills, Liverpool, Redfern, The Rocks, Woolloomooloo, Darlinghurst and central Sydney itself, gangs reminiscent of a modern street-gang mentality thrived, loosely structured and divided geographically with a bare semblance of hierarchy. Hard men came up in the hard city and the hardest rose to the top of the gangland heap with their fists and their “dash”, wits and ruthlessness.
Sly-grogging, prostitution and standover tactics were the staple rackets of the day, inherent with violence. A maelstrom of elements jockeyed for control of the rackets, and whole careers were launched off the extortion of vice entrepreneurs. A son of Neapolitan migrants born in Sydney in 1902 had carved himself a vicious reputation, one Guido Calletti.
The biggest ‘organised’ gang powers in Sydney at the time were two infamous women, each prostitutes, brothel owners and drug dealers; Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine. Between their respective factions roared a battle for control of the vice industry in 20’s/30’s era Sydney, a long running battle that was notorious at the time, and a staple of print media.
One of the more prominent figures affiliated with the Tilly Devine ‘faction’ was a well-known Sydney prostitute named Nellie Cameron. Married to Melbourne born dockworker, standover thug and gangster Norman Bruhn from when he moved to Sydney until his death, upon Bruhn’s death she would eventually marry the Italian migrant and fellow standover thug and all round criminal; the aforementioned Guido Calletti.
Calletti commanded a fearsome reputation in his time. He was a prominent and powerful gangland figure from the suburb of Woolloomooloo, first picked up by the police at the age of nine. By the time of his death, he had clocked up some sixty charges, including murder and various assaults. On the 20th of March 1930, for example, he was acquitted of a murder committed in 1929, at the age of twenty-two. Later, Calletti was arrested for assaulting police, ultimately serving a four month sentence, more prison time that had punctuated Calletti’s life.
Some three to four months after being released, he was convicted again of the same offence and labelled a habitual criminal. Also sentenced on criminal consorting charges, he later failed an appeal and would eventually serve two years. Upon his release in 1933 his reputation as a vicious brawler and cutthroat thug earned him his own prestigious position in the standover trade.
In a similar fashion to the infamous ‘Toe-Cutter Gangs’ (a-la Chopper Reed and company of a more modern Sydney), Calletti’s M.O was in the extortion of bookies, brothel owners and other petty criminals. Lest it be believed that there was any Robin Hood-esque ‘friendly-neighbourhood-gangster’ qualities inherent in Calletti, it should be pointed out that he kept all spoils between himself and his gang, and was feared by gangster and citizen alike for a vicious reputation. With his ill-gotten gains he fuelled an extravagant lifestyle, and was well known around the local hot spots of the Sydney of the Dirty Thirties.
Calletti was one of a number of contemporaneous mobsters and gunmen that would sue newspapers for libel, being awarded “a farthing” in 1934 for a newspapers libellous suggestion that he had only married a prostitute to avoid consorting laws.
Following the death of George Bruhn and their subsequent marriage, clashing with Nellie Cameron’s other prospective suitors seems to have taken up a fair amount of Calletti’s time. He spent years battling other thugs for Nellie’s favour, amongst them a former paramour of Tilly Devine’s, the notorious Frank Green, amongst the most feared gunmen in Sydney at the time. Despite his proposed devotion to Nellie however, Guido was often sighted around town with different young women, amongst them another well-known prostitute of the time Dulcie Markham, in later years named “The Kiss of Death Girl” by news media for the number of her former paramours that had, or would be, shot down. As a man with so many enemies by his mid-thirties, perhaps Calletti would have done himself a favour if he’d taken note of the ill-portents that came along with Dulcie’s company.
In 1939, he decided to gate-crash a function at a Sydney pub with Dulcie on his arm. Barging his way in and helping himself to refreshments, he was shortly after confronted by a small group and began to argue. In the ensuing melee’, he was shot twice in the stomach by an unknown party. With a room full of potential witnesses no one came forward to identify the shooter, and when asked by police Calletti claimed to have no idea as to who had shot him. It had been suggested by researchers that this may not have been a case of omerta or criminal silence as such, but rather an admission that he himself was unaware of whom his assailant had been. He died from the gun-wound within hours.
A number of contemporary news articles link Calletti to the ubiquitous Black Hand, at the time a reference to suspected ‘mafia’ affiliation. With the retrospective hindsight available, it’s is well known today that in fact Black Hand was never an actual specific criminal group as such, rather a common method of extortion. In this context, it is entirely likely that Calletti was indeed a ‘Black Hander’, in that he intimidated and shook down victims in the name of a vague notion of protection, or less ambiguously straight up shaking down.
Essentially, he was well-known and widely feared as a thug and standover man, but there is scant evidence to link him to any actual mafia affiliation or figures beyond his ethnicity and some vague supposition in a small number of newspaper articles and being named as Sydney counterpart of the Black Hand cells that had popped up around Australia.
Having said that, now established as factual is the presence of the network of ‘ndrine that were in early opereration across the state. It would be a likely assesment to say that a prominent underworld figure such as Calletti may very well have known and recognised their presence. Considering his ethnic background as well, it is unlikey that the concepts behind such a criminal fraternity were foreign to him. However, as mentioned above, there is no conclusive evidence that Calletti was linked to the ‘ndranghisti. He stands out as a wild cannon and lone wolf, driven purely by self. He stands as a prime example of criminality knowing no racial boundaries.
In regards to the ‘ndrangheta, my previous article touched on the murder of Domenico Belle. After arriving in 1923, he’d some time spent up north until an altercation with Vincenzo D’Agostino had led to a move to Sydney. His contemporary Giuseppe Mammone had arrived in Sydney in 1926, and the two became recognised as early leaders of the Sydney ‘ndrina. They fell out over a bungled insurance scheme, after which Mammone apparently struck Belle. Following Belle’s 1930 murder, there was abundance of correspondance found at his home that showed he had been in contact with members of the Society all over the counrty. Similarly, letters were found during a search of Mammone’s place of business after he’d attempted to conceal them. These letters to his father contained instructions regarding payments for individuals in Calabria who had performed acts of violence on his behalf.
Two decades later, after investigators reopened the case of Belle’s murder, confidential sources revealed that Belle had misappropriated funds intended to pay fines incurred by one Filippo Pignataro for sly-grog, who had served a prison sentence as a result. The sources would claim that Belle’s murder had been carried out by a Sydney member who had shortly after moved to Melbourne, a man named Rocco Ferraro who would become a powerful leader.
Besides the sly-grogging, extortion and insurance fraud, there is extensive evidence that shows the Sydney ‘ndrine was heavily engaged in prostitution, with said females being sent north to the cane fields and other parts of the country. Nino Bertucci was a notable pimp identified as a member of the Society.
As illustrated, it was becoming apparent to investigators that they were facing an insidious threat. Referred to as variously the Black Hand Society, the Honoured Society, Mano Nera or Mala Vita (Black Hand and Evil Life), these were some of the early manifestations of the ‘ndrangheta in Australia.
Mafia in Australia 