Notorious Australian gangster laid to rest

Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 6:32 AM Posted by Beijing News


The last remaining patriarch of Melbourne's most notorious mobster family was laid to rest, closing one of the bloodiest chapters in Australia's gangland history.

Desmond "Tuppence" Moran, 60, was gunned down by men in balaclavas in the city's Ascot Pasta and Deli Cafe last week, the latest violent episode in a nine-year turf war so sensational it inspired a smash-hit television series.

Moran's brother Lewis and nephews Jason and Mark were among the 25 gangland murders fictionalised in the drama "Underbelly", and he was the last remaining male in the Moran family.

Well-known mobsters and figures from the horse-racing world were among some 300 mourners who packed the Roselyn Court wedding reception rooms to pay their respects to Moran in an intensely private service.

Security was tight, with uniformed police guarding the doors and media barred from entry, Australian Associated Press reported.

Close relatives and colourful associates have been implicated in Moran's murder, including Lewis's widow and family matriarch Judy, in a plot allegedly fuelled by simmering bad blood and grudges over money.

Geoffrey "Nuts" Amour is accused of pulling the trigger, while his girlfriend Suzanne Kane -- a member of another crime family closely linked to the Morans --- has been charged as an accessory.

Victoria state's police Commissioner Simon Overland has described the murder and subsequent suspicious fire at Judy Moran's house as "stranger than fiction".

"If you were a scriptwriter and sat down and wrote this stuff you'd probably say: 'Look, no, it's a bit far-fetched. No one will believe it.'," Overland said this week.

"Underbelly", one of Australia's top-rating shows last year, could not be shown in Melbourne because some of the characters depicted were still facing trial in real life.







The sun sets over the New York City skyline on June 26. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

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