On the 26th of January 1932, a fifty-seven year old Calabrian man named Rocco Tremarchi was shot dead on the verandah of his house on Farm 116 in Griffith. Tremarchi had lived there since 1926, when he and an associate named Francesco Manno had bought it following the death of its previous owner, a Frenchman named DeMassi, who had died on the Farm after his dwelling had been suspiciously engulfed by flames.
Tremarchi’s body was found clutching a butcher’s knife, with four bullets in his head and one in his chest. Only earlier that day he had been discharged from the local hospital after suffering a rib fracture. While recuperating in the hospital bed, a seemingly thoughtful visit from his young daughter-in-law had ended in a loudly overheard argument, during which witnesses apparently saw her drawing a gun on Tremarchi before fleeing in hysterics. Following the suspicious scene, police inquiries resulted in Tremarchi refusing to cooperate, who was resolute in stating that he would handle things on his own.
In the seminal work “Evil Life” by esteemed authors Gilling and Small, there is a reference to one Giuseppe Valenzie, described as a local godfather. Valenzie denied supposedly approaching Tremarchi and ordering him to leave Griffith. For his part, Tremarchi refused the entreaty anyway. He returned to his residence, where a large group of ten or more Italian men were sitting on his verandah. He was killed shortly after arrival.
The subsequent police investigation centred directly on Tremarchi’s eldest son Salvatore, who the year prior had married the daughter of a neighbouring farmer named Maria Calabria, a girl at the time aged thirteen years old.
At an inquest marred by hesitant witnesses and constantly contradicting testimony, the coroner would establish that young Maria had been at best engaged in an affair, and at worst had been sexually assaulted and perhaps even impregnated by the elder Tremarchi. It was claimed that upon his return to the farmhouse an argument had erupted, and Tremarchi had supposedly attempted to stab his wife. Salvatore, called Sam, maintained that he was defending his mother, but was found guilty of the murder. Questioned about the bullets of different calibre found during the autopsy, Sam casually changed his story, explaining that it he had actually used two different guns to shoot his father. He had disposed of the undiscovered weapon.
Newspapers reports of the time linked the elder Tremarchi extensively with the Sydney murder of Domenico Belle, and numerous sources hold him as being an early leader of Griffith ‘ndrangheta. In fact, amongst the collection of Belle’s correspondence was a letter from Tremarchi that arrived with a gift of £4.
Serving five years and three months of a seven-year sentence, Sam would be released from prison. He immediately petitioned the courts for a divorce from his young wife. She failed to appear at the civil court case, and the divorce was granted.
Tremarchi had obviously been deposed from his position after a career of violence and criminality. Born in 1876, Tremarchi had left Calabria for the United States, where after being implicated in a homicide investigation, he had immigrated to Australia, arriving in the early 1920’s with his brother Antonio, who also held a reputation for extreme violence. Like many before and after him, Tremarchi spent time in the cane-fields of North Queensland before settling, deciding on Griffith. In June of 1930, he and an accomplice, Giuseppe Ciccone, had been arrested for stabbing another Griffith local named Salvatore Raffaele. The case dissipated when Raffaele refused to make a statement.
Such recorded the first time Griffith would be so publicly linked with the ‘ndrangheta, the secret criminal society which was at the time, labelled with various terms, such as the “Camorra”, the “Mano Nera” and “Black Hand Society”. Police investigations were leading towards a growing awareness of the Society as a loosely united confederation that was engaged in all manner of crime. A 1930 report from the State commissioner had identified involvement in extortion, stolen goods and prostitution. Sydney figure Nino Bertucci, for example, was named as a member of the organization who specialized in supplying sex workers to the seasonal workers of Griffith, amongst other destinations along the Eastern Coast.
The New South Wales town in the Riverina district has become irrevocably linked to the Calabrian town of Plati. Afforded the lens of today, the links can be charted, if not somewhat quantified. Following the Second World War, the massive upswing in Italian migration to Australia saw an increasing trend towards Calabrian settlement. Of note in regards to Griffith in particular, was the number of families arriving from the impoverished town of Plati and its countryside. It is here that some familiar names were bred. Griffith also remains etched in the national psyche as the home of “the mafia”, who were responsible for the tragic case of a brave man’s murder and a families sorrow.
As for Plati, the township which gives its name to a municipality in the province of Reggio Calabria was amongst the most poverty-stricken regions of the Mezzogiorno. Moreover, as a centre of the criminal activity practiced by the ‘ndrangheta, Plati served as the home to several families that traced a long and sordid history inside Calabria’s homegrown mafia.
The ruling ‘ndrine of Plati were the Barbaro, Trimboli, Romeo and Sergi families. These remain prominent in the old country, extolling their solid links Down-Under. What is interesting is that it is commonly accepted that it was the lesser branches of the families that migrated; the theory being that those in power had less reason or desire to undergo the passage. As such, the evolution of the Calabrian Australian families has to have far exceeded expectation.
By the 1960’s, Griffith’s population consisted of a near 70% ratio of Italians. In 1951, Plati had suffered a devastating flood, which served to bolster the steadily increasing flow of Calabrian migrants to Griffith. It was this year that saw the arrival of numerous Barbaro, Sergi, Romeo and many other families with surnames that would become notorious.
Of note was the arrival of Giuseppe and Maria Sergi in October of 1952. Giuseppe, a “man of respect” landed in Sydney with his seven children, only one of which a son, Antonio. This particular branch of the far-flung Sergi clan would eventually play a prominent role amongst the Griffith ‘ndrina.
The year 1951 saw the arrival of Pietro Callipari, a man who would eventually become recognised as not only a locally praised leader and success story of the Italian community in Griffith, but also identified as one of the national leaders of the ‘ndrangheta in Australia, labelled as such by both Italian and Australian investigators.
A shoe-maker by trade, he would establish a business originally named “P & C Callipari Shoe Repairs”, situated on Banna Avenue, located in the town’s central business district. The store would become well-known in Griffith, and is reported to have served as a meeting place for Society members for decades. A local heritage project in the 21st century made special note of “Peter” Callipari, praising him as a self-made business man who had taught himself the language of his adopted home, while offering huge support towards his countrymen by assisting them in both business and civil matters, by serving as a translator and organising migration and settlement in the New Country.
In the decades to come, Callipari would be described as the “real godfather” of Griffith by murder victim Donald Mackay, making reference to the alleged true powers that guided the same figures who would later be implicated in his death. For his part, Callipari boasted a scant criminal record. In 1965, following investigations conducted by the Victoria Special Branch, a series of raids took place across the states, in both city and regional centres which included Melbourne, Adelaide, Mildura and Canberra. One of the few houses in Griffith included in the police raids was the property owned by Callipari.
An unregistered firearm, a pistol, was found to be in his possession. He was charged over the discovery, but still managed to somewhat distance himself from the other figures who had been caught up in the investigation, which included a number of names such as Barbaro, Alvaro and Nirta. Callipari was arraigned in court, and appeared on the 28th of September, 1965. Almost immediately, a number of high-profile Griffith officials sprang to his support, including such as local MP Al Grassby, resident Italian consular agent Frank Testoni, Shire president Nevis Farrel and an unusual oath proffered by his counsel, Simon Mackenzie. Each offered extremely favourable references to Callipari’s character, insisting on his lawful, honest and completely upstanding nature. Even the officer tasked with giving evidence, Senior Detective Jack Ellis, would state during his cross-examination that he regarded Callipari as great man who was integral to the Griffith community. He stated under oath that Callipari’s business had suffered several recent burglaries, and that the weapon in question was some years in storage, and never actually used.
Unsurprisingly, the charge was subsequently lessened, with Callipari eventually taking a plea deal that recorded no conviction against him, and incurred only a token fine of a paltry £20 pounds. As it happened, as had become a usual occurence in such events as these, police had also discovered at his house an amount of correspondence between Callipari and interstate figures of interest. Besides a handwritten document that listed Society members across Victoria, similar to papers seized in Sydney, of particular note was a letter from Liborio Benvenuto, the emerging boss of the pre-eminent Melbourne cell of the Honored Society, who had written to Callipari to inform him of an upcoming meeting of the Societies elite.
Grassby and Callipari would remain close for years. With Callipari’s esteemed regard amongst his peers, he was reportedly capable of delivering the votes of the large Italian block in the Murrumbidgee district. At the time of Donald Mackay’s murder, Callipari was described in secret intelligence files as one of the national leaders of the ‘ndrangheta. His shoe store was known as a place where the local Italians would congregate, both suspected members of the local ‘ndrine as well as law-abiding citizens seeking favours.
Grassby’s links to Griffith ‘ndranghisti bear a measure of scrutiny. Born in 1926, Grassby would come to prominence as Labor MP for the Murrumbidgee electorate in 1965, the year of the raids that ensnared Callipari. Following a series of roles taken on in State politics, he would eventually serve as the Federal Minister for Immigration, appointed by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1972. It was during these years that Grassby became a household name, extolling the virtues afforded Australia by its multiculturalism. Also, the decade marked Grassby’s deepest affiliations with the Society.
He remains to this day a polarizing figure. One one hand, Grassby was a driving force behind the end of the White Australia policy, and stood as a genuine believer in the merits of the Australian melting pot. On the other hand, Grassby’s corruptions and complicity has marred his good and charitable works. And by infamously attempting to table in parliament a scurrilous letter attacking Donald Mackay’s reputation following the man’s disappearance, he would face civil action from Mackay’s widow, as well as lose the respect of many of his peers.
It was barely a month after his death that a series of 2005 articles appearing in the Herald Sun explored the depth of his corruption. Described as being at the “beck and call” of Griffith’s ‘ndrine for over four decades, he was named as complicit in crimes which included thwarting an investigation by the National Crime Authority which had attempted to examine the Griffith ‘ndrine, and also of having accepted a $40,000 bribe to table the aforementioned letter, which had been prepared by a relative of Antonio Sergi, the man at the centre of the Mackay investigation and ensuing Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking by Justice Woodward.
In fact, it is important to make mention of the role played by the corruption of individuals at a local and larger level. The massive profits afforded by drug-trafficking provided a steady stream of disposable income that could be invested towards buying the loyalties of those that were susceptible. Consider the fact that the entire Detective branch of the Griffith Police had by 1973 been thoroughly corrupted by the Griffith ‘ndrina. Senior Detective-Sargeant Jack Ellis, Senior Constable John F. Robbins and Detective-Sgt Brian Borthwick would each be jailed following Justice Woodward’s final reports, whose examinations showed the men in each case being in possession of unaccountable wealth, which was deemed to have been obtained by accepting the regular bribes offered by the Griffith criminal syndicate.
Of course, the ‘ndranghetisti adapt and overcome. There were multiple growers supplying the markets in Sydney, which mirrored the rackets in Victoria. In any case, no article on the Griffith ‘ndrina would be complete without speaking on the murder of anti-drug campaiger, Donald Bruce Mackay, and the ensuing Royal Commission that lifted the proverbial rock and exposed some ugly realities. Some background is in order to establish a sense of the times.
Firstly, what seems to have been a major catalyst in Griffith’s massive proliferation was the charismatic criminal figure well-known to many as “Aussie Bob” Trimbole. He was a son of Domenico and Saveria Trimboli, who owned Farm 869, located near the Murumbidgee Irrigation Area. The Trimbolis were amongst one of the earlier waves of migration, arriving in the 1920’s. A well known name in Calabria, some sources state that Domenico had arrived with some low-key links to the Trimboli ‘ndrine of Calabria, which afforded him some measure of respect amongst the local groups.
In any case, the migrant couple arrived relatively early in the country and adapted to the hardscrabble farming life. On the 19th of March, 1931, their fourth child, and second son, Bruno was born. As the first of their children born in Australia, Bruno would grow up notably “Australianized”, especially in comparison to those born in Plati, and other towns across Calabria.
Trimboli is said to have met Antonio Sergi shortly after the latter’s 1952 arrival, and a friendship was struck. As the decades passed, Trimboli would launch into a number of varied ventures. Such included a stint as a reputedly talented mechanic, opening a restaurant and an interest in poker machines, all of differing successes. By his prime, Bruno had Anglicized his name, becoming known to all as Robert, or Bob, Trimbole. The adding of the “e” to his last name has been reported variously as being “closer to Irish”, to spare his family shame or because of a misspelling that stuck. Whatever the case was, Aussie Bob would become a well-known figure around Griffith.
The influence Trimbole wielded has, at times, been vastly over stated in media, with references to him being the Griffith “godfather” or “mafia boss”. In reality, Trimbole was a midlevel trafficker. The Woodward report stated that while he was initially a grower, he would only spend some 18 months before moving on to the role he was born to play.
The fact was that Trimbole’s strengths laid in his charm and networking skills. Carl Mengler, the veteran cop involved in several investigations into the Calabrian-Australian criminal societies, is on record attesting to Trimbole’s gift of gab. He describes Aussie Bob as being affable, and quite likeable, once he’d wormed his way into the circles he had targeted. According to Mengler, Trimbole’s social skills were recognised early on by Griffith higher-ups, who utilized Trimbole to the best of his abilities.
Several sources state that is was Trimbole himself who had first convinced the Griffith ‘ndrina that the cash crop of the future was marijuana. Numerous sources point to Trimbole as leading the initial efforts, and recount Trimbole pioneering the practice, organising fertilizer and cultivation lessons and, eventually leading the foray by becoming a grower himsel for a period, quoted as some 18 months in the Woodward report. He would then move exclusively into the distribution side of the operation, heading a small Sydney based crew that involved John Trimboli (a cousin), Pasquale Sergi (also known as Pat, the figure who would later move into real estate and politics), Antonio Sergi (known as Young Tony, son of Giovanni), and brothers Antonio and Domenico Velardi.
After spearheading what became a wildly succesful scheme right through to the time of the Woodward Royal Commission, the ever adaptable Trimbole would move into the heroin trade, partnering with a New Zealand national, and eventually end up as Australia’s most wanted fugitive. A few literary sources make the claim that Trimbole had also fallen out with certain Society members, suggesting that he’d taken off with a large amount of money belonging to some locals. After spending some years on the run, slipping between various European countries, Aussie Bob would die in the southern town of Alicante, Spain on the 12th of May, 1987. His legacy is the violence and abuse that was present at his funeral, famously caught on film and remaining for posterity.
While it would be easy to lay the blame for a multi-million drug ring at Trimbole’s feet, the reality of the ways the ‘ndrangheta operates is usually more complicated. While for a long period Griffith was the center of king crop plantations, following the Royal Commission, it became far too risky to continue growing in the area. It must be pointed out that numerous ‘ndrine would become involved funding grow operations across the country. However, there is evidence that a portion of each crops profits are directed back to Griffith, where the biggest portion is sent straight back to the Calabrian bosses.
Indeed, part of the enduring legacy of Griffith’s drug racket would be the planning of regular crop rotation, with off-season crops organised in more temperate parts of the country, which ensured year-long production cycles. Such would be the success that numerous other families became involved in the trade, to such a degree that an ABCI report in 1993 would state that of 250 persons arrested over 188 king crops discovered across Australia between 1974 and 1986, 60 percent of them were connected to just 15 surnames; Sergi, Barbaro, Romeo, Trimboli, Perre, Pelle, Pochi, Cannistra, Catanzariti, Velardi, Agresta, Carbone, Zappia and Alvaro, with only the Alvaros not related by blood or marriage. This also includes a wide-ranging network of crop sitters and tenders, often individuals that are otherwise unknown to police, either as ‘ndrangheta affiliates or criminals. The network often includes Italians without a history of Society membership, and just as often includes Australians of various ethnicity and descent. It is a prominent example of the Calabrians working with other ethnicities.
But for Griffith, it is during that period in the 1970’s which saw the proliferation of the massive king crops, some of the biggest on record in Australia. It was also this period which initiated the series of events that led to the murder of Donald Mackay.
In 1975, Mackay had received information regarding a crop being grown a Coleambally, a suburb west of Griffith. The crop was being overseen by one Leonardo Gambacorta, born 5th October, 1924, Italy. Having arrived in May 1953, he’d lived in Brisbane for a time before moving to Griffith. He himself had no prior connection with the Calabrian network.
In 1974, he had approached a local real estate agent about buying land at Coleambally, and over a few months, began flaunting inexplicable wealth. After the Mackay tip which led to a raid on the property, Gambacorta claimed to be working at the behest of Francensco Sergi, brother-in-law to Tony Sergi.
Following the 1975 trial where his co-conspirators were sentenced, it arose that the jury was unable to decide on Frank Sergi’s guilt. Eventually, he was issued a “No Bill” by the state, granted by the NSW Labor Party’s Attorney General, Frank Walker. Upon hearing the news, Mackay is said to have exclaimed that “…now he was in trouble.” During the case, the judge had directed attention towards the official police diaries regarding the raids, in which Mackay’s name was easily legible. During the Woodward Commission, Justice Woodward found compelling evidence that Frank Sergi had, in fact, been involved as the primary funder of the Coleambally crop.
At a later date, it was discovered that the hung jury had contained a relative of the family. Sergi would return to trial in November 1980, and was sentenced to 3 years after being convicted of conspiring to sell marijuana.
On the 15th of July 1977, Donald Mackay was murdered. There were small amounts of blood and some bullet casings found near his car, parked outside of a local hotel and bottle-shop. There remains no trace of his body, despite several searches and leads from a number of tips.
When State Premier Wran visited Griffith soon after, instead of organizing a visit to the grieving Mackay family, local MP Lin Gordon infamously took Wran to see Peter Callipari. With the public beginning to see the lack of Government action as a disgrace to the State, the Wran Government bowed to public pressure and announced a Royal Commission in Drug Trafficking. Royal Commissioner Justice Philip Woodward was appointed to chair the inquiries, and proved to be determined in his role.
With an initial six-month expectation, the inquiry would range from 1977 to 1979. Justice Woodward would examine thousands of documents and hear from over five hundred witnesses and suspects. It concluded in October, when Justice Woodward handed in his report to the Attorney Genera, outlining no less than eighty-nine recommendations. The findings were damning for an organization that could only thrive under a veil of shadow.
There were some obvious difficulties involved, beyond that of the often hesitant and unwilling witnesses. The Griffith families have maintained a cohesive nature for many decades, with a complex web of inter-marriages, frequently between cousins. Adding to that is the Italian tradition of naming their offspring after ones familial forebears. For example, Tom Gilling, a pioneer investigator of the Calabrians, and a veteran reporter who was close to Donald Mackay, followed the case perhaps more closely than any other. They would discover that the town of Griffith at the time was home to no less than twenty Antonio Sergis, aged between eight and eighty. During the Woodward proceedings, such difficulties in proper identification was highlighted when Justice Woodward took note of the number of Sergi family members mentioned in relation to the Griffith ‘ndrine. These included; four Antonio’s, five Francesco’s, four Giuseppe’s, three Giovanni’s and three Domenico
***Compare this to the number of Barbaro’s, and the number is even greater, with the inter-marital links stretching through Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide. While this is not the place for it, I am currently compiling a study that will profile the “First Families” of the Australian ‘ndrangheta, the Sergi and Barbaro, which will delve much deeper towards these leaders in the field***
The reports would detail the men involved in both the growing side and distribution of the network, with Antonio Sergi and Bob Trimbole being the respective leading figures, and at the centre of nearly every matter of import. Such men, described sometimes as the “leaders” or “bosses” of the Griffith ‘ndrine, at that point were more likely to comprise a type of “executive board”, in a sense.
The fact remains that there is more often observed to be a cabal of leading figures, answerable to the family heads. Such candidates would include Peter Callipari (named as late as 1981 as one of the national leaders), Giuseppe Sergi, father of Antonio, Giovanni “Old Joe” Sergi, a “cousin” to Antonio, and Francesco “Little Trees” Barbaro, of course another relative, this time through marriage, and Antonio Sergi himself.
As well as detailing the network operation, Justice Woodward would examine the money trails that invariably led back to Griffith residents. He would investigate a string of supposed loans and gifts, especially those to Antonio Sergi. Justice Woodward would label these such unsecured “gifts” as a straight and simple way to launder money, although far more elaborate schemes such as those involving Sydney Real Estate sweet-heart deals and kickbacks would also be found to be a factor.
Justice Woodward closely examined the banking records of other figures, including the three aforementioned detectives. He would find that most, if not all, of the unaccountable wealth evident amongst numerous Griffith residents had come from the illicit drug trafficking and bribes.
In his final statements, Justice Woodward would state that he wa satisfied in the belief that the men responsible for the murder of Donald Mackay were the principal figures involved in the Griffith drug trade. The report named these men as including Bob Trimbole, Francesco Barbaro and amongst others, the man described as the “pivotal figure”, Antonio Sergi, aka The Operator or Winery Tony. No charges were possible to be laid. As is symptomatic of the whole notion of a fully operating, cohesive criminal syndicate in Australia, Woodward would never actually be given access to historic intelligence, such as the Cusack, Macera and ASIO reports on the Italian Criminal Societies
After some years following the Royal Commission, which had made a raft of extremely damaging accusations, a man named Gianfranco Tizzoni was caught driving a car in Victoria that held a boot full of marijuana. His testimony featured heavily in the Nagle Commission.
Originally an associate of Bob Trimbole, he had come to be a part of the Griffith cell for all intent and purposes. Following his arrest, Tizzoni flipped and became a police informant. He would describe in detail his knowledge of, and interaction with, the Griffith ‘ndrine in 1983. As a Northern Italian, born on the 3rd of December, 1934 in Nettuno, he was a Laziale or Roma, as opposed to the Calabrese he was dealing with. He none the less became a trusted associate.
It was from Tizzoni that the information regarding the meeting was obtained. He would claim the Mackay murder was subcontracted to him by Trimbole during the meeting he also attended with Antonio Sergi, Bob Trimbole and a few others. He would explain how he had approached a local gunshop owner, George Joseph, who had a reputation for association with several underworld figures. Joseph would put Tizzoni in touch with James Frederick Bazley, who’s underworld pedigree stemmed from a long and violent history with the Federated Painters & Dockers Union, the infamous criminal group that had controlled the country’s wharves for decades. After being tapped to be the hitman in the Donald Mackay murder, Trimbole prevailed upon Tizzoni to take care of a pair that were informing police on the activities of the so-called Mr Asia heroin ring, of which Trimbole held a piece. Once again, Tizzoni would contract Bazley to commit the deed.
For his part, Tizzoni was sentenced eight years, released after four, whereupon he returned to Italy. Veteran journalist Keith Moor famously tracked down Tizzoni with ease, finding him after knocking on some doors in Foligno, Italy. Agreeing to an interview, he would describe a fearful view of the ‘ndangheta in Australia, which he maintained had long hooks into Australian government and society, and also kept solid ties with Calabrian based bosses. He would die in 1988.
George Joseph, the gun-dealing go-between, served barely two of a seven-year sentence. Bazley, on the other hand, served fifteen years of a life sentence for the murders of Donald Mackay and Isabel and Douglas Wilson. During the trial and all through his sentence, Bazley maintained his innocence. Despite numerous entreaties, he has never wavered in his version of events, and refused to entertain any notion of knowledge regarding the whereabouts of Mackay’s body. He was released in 2001, some weeks before Mackay’s widow Barbara would pass away. As of 2017, Mackay’s family are still without proper answers.
Writers better than I have covered the Mackay “Disappearance” extensively, and far more detailed accounts are to be found amongst the Bibliography section. Focusing on the ‘ndrangheta of the Riverina, the Woodward Royal Commission had unveiled the Society to Australia at large. And yet, in the longer term, little changed. Australia as a whole could easily shift its attention to other, more pressing troubles. A secret society composed of middle-aged Italian-Australian men met little more than a passing nod. And of course, the Griffith ‘ndrine could adapt and overcome whatever obstacles were placed before them.
The funeral of Pietro “Peter” Callipari took place in November of 1987, an extravagant affair attended by Al Grassby, besides a number of some known mafioso. What, if any, role he had played in any criminal conspiracies is unknown, likely sealed in a government document awaiting examination following its open period.
Antonio Sergi, of the ubiqiutous Winery, would die in September of 2017, a millionaire from his ownership of the vaunted Warburn Estate, which bottled some of Australia’s best selling wines. Trimbole famously died a fugitive, and Francesco “Little Trees” Barbaro is still alive at the time of writing. None ever faced charges for the murder.
Mafia in Australia 