# Murder, Extortion, and Gelato: a History of the Calabrian Mafia in Australia



## Disir (Mar 23, 2016)

Around 3 AM on March 15, the body of Joseph Acquaro was found behind his gelato shop in Melbourne, Australia's Italian heartland of Lygon Street. It's thought Acquaro had locked up for the night and was walking to his car when he was shot in a drive-by attack.

Locals mourned Acquaro as a pillar of the Italian community: a former head of the Italian Chamber of Commerce, a stalwart at the Reggio Calabria Club in Parkville. But media suspicion quickly turned to Acquaro's other Calabrian connection—as the longtime lawyer for the Australian outpost of the 'Ndrangheta mafia gang, the Honoured Society. If this is true, it makes Acquaro the latest victim of one of the country's most secretive and brutal criminal groups, whose violent history stretches back almost a century. 
Murder, Extortion, and Gelato: a History of the Calabrian Mafia in Australia | VICE | United States

That's an interesting little read.


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