On Tuesday night, Pasquale Barbaro was shot dead in his car in the backstreets of Earlwood in Sydney’s south.
On hearing the news, I first thought of the difficulties facing journalists working at news desks that night. The first question to answer was which Pasquale Barbaro had been murdered? There’s a small army of them and many are known to police. Two other relatives bearing the name had already been murdered. Another was serving a 30-year jail term over his role in the biggest ecstasy importation Australia has seen.
On this occasion it was 35-year-old Pasquale Timothy Barbaro who became the victim.
In 2003, Jason Moran a key combatant in Melbourne’s bloody underworld feud, knew he was in danger and with a contract out on his life. He came out of hiding briefly to watch his children kick a footy around at an Auskick clinic at Essendon in Melbourne’s north with his bodyguard, Pasquale ‘Pat’ Barbaro, Pasquale Timothy Barbaro’s cousin.
Full column here.
If I had any talent for that sort of thing, this latest murder would give me an idea for a film or TV series – a criminal gang comprised entirely of people with the same name.
Still, the whole thing sounds ugly and one hopes there aren’t too many revenge killings that come out of it all – if they ever find out whodunnit.
“a criminal gang comprised entirely of people with the same name”.
Have you seen Rick and Morty? I think it might appeal to you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pYUHwIl0O8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgKUHtcZEXc
And of course this one:
http://www.montypython.net/scripts/bruceskit.php
And JTI, excellent site, especially the thread format.
Sorry smoke – didn’t read your post before posting mine…..
Anyway, we can’t have too many Bruces.
Smoke & Trab,
Thanks for confirming what I always suspected: Australian Philosophy Departments are criminal organizations
It’s always the good guys that get spammed Milt! Just ask Pasquale……. oh and Hilary.
As for me in the words of the immortal Kent Brockman; ‘I for one welcome our new master Mr Trump’
Your first sentence doesn’t fill me with confidence, Raze!
Dutton says the crime gangs are Malcolm Fraser’s fault. Dutton really is a scumbag.
Not that I have anytime for Mr Potato Head, but it is on record that Malcolm Fraser was warned that the North Lebanese Muslims would not be a good fit for Australia and events have proved it. I hope the crime gangs is just a phase (remember the Vietnamese Cabbramatta base gangs of the 80’s and 90s), but I have my doubts. Deprivation and criminality and eventually a turn to the opium of the people, religion, or in their case violent jihadism.
It would be worth looking at the crime stats to make sure
UQ
The Vietnamese are far from out of organised crime yet.
Mate you’d shit yourself if you were given Pasquale as a moniker!
Nice site and set up Jack. Looking forward to ongoing success. Looks like we need a Godwin’s law equivalent for the cricket, every discussion gets back to it.
Johnno
You must be a pom. Some of us can breath and walk at the same time. Cricket is after all the gentlemen’s game.
Really? And I’m guessing you’re a thin-skinned South Australian? For someone who has shown their hand for the underdog you certainly like to put people in boxes. You call me a Pom as an insult in your eyes I guess. I’m one of the few here that have supported most of your views, so there’s not really that many of ‘us’ as you allude to. For your info both sets of my grandparents were actually born in Australia and one great grandparent as well. And I played cricket (outdoor) well into my 40’s and continued indoor until a few years ago. I just am tiring of everyone’s ‘solution’ to fix Australian cricket.
cheers
Johnno
Geez, chill out Johnno. talk about thin skinned. You do understand the concept of blogs? Opinions from all and sundry? Oh and actually I live in SA but not a native. I did play district level cricket in SA and was part of the initial Pace clinic which was the forerunner to the Cricket Academy in Adelaide. Oh and my people of Scottish and Irish decent came here of their own volition in 1820, well not in chains anyway. Take it easy Johnno you will blow a valve. I appreciate you having an open enough mind to consider the views I have put forward.
“Geez, chill out Johnno. talk about thin skinned. You do understand the concept of blogs? Opinions from all and sundry?”
Methinks you might get quoted back at you now & then.
Cheers,
Linz
Hey Jack, you’ve done it! Welcome to the new world.
If Milton is going off to spam, maybe he could open the pathway for a few others. Just joking Milton, come back and redeem yourself, I’ll “friend you” if a reference is needed.
BOT, I’ve never really worked out the Mafia laws of operation/honour Jack, even after living through the Victorian clean out of the nineties. It changed the taste of Bisteca on Lygon Street for sure when an execution took place in a cafe right in front of the unwashed.
Has the sheer value of modern drugs, plus the “Middle East gang” involvement, mean we’re in for a rougher ride? When does the Phillipines solution become acceptable?
Lou oTOD says:
November 18, 2016 at 8:54 pm
“…When does the Phillipines solution become acceptable?”
How about never? Two things JTI has pointed out above: 1) crime rates are lower than they have been in a long time, and 2) it’s never OK to just execute someone without due process (and I would add that most people believe not at all). Especially for a government. It is simply insane to go around murdering _suspects_ in their thousands, as Duterte is doing.
I have to agree with that, John. Once they’ve finished with the druggies, who do they go after then? A lot of history suggests that once murderers are given executive licence to act with impunity you don’t just get to put them back in the box when you’re done with them.
The warlords and insurgencies and terrorists back on his home island of Mindanao and elsewhere?
What chance by the end of his term he ends up making Ferdinand Marcos or Pershing look good by comparison?
Hey Rhys. I doubt the people knocking off suburban druggies would be the types to go up against heavily armed insurgents. More likely they’ll go after another lot of easy targets. If I were a political opponent of Duterte I’d be looking for a career change or emigrating.
In Thailand when Thaksin was running the show the Police had Carte Blanc to kill drug dealers. Many thousands were killed some perhaps drug dealers but it could never be certain who was or not. The police said they only killed dealers but the youngest was only 5 years old so the were probably telling porkies. All this killing achieved was piles of bodies and a continuing drug problem
Good start to a brand new site JTI. I love the bigger text box and can’t wait for the merchandise section where I’ve got first dibs on the first cap with “JTI” on it. Sort of like those caps the FBI wear on operations – but classier! TBLS’s analogy about moving pubs was spot on.
My only exposure to the seamier side of life was in Sydney in the late 70’s, early 80’s. I worked in one of the pokie palaces at Bondi and shared the key to the safe with a colleague. One night he said that he’d prefer if he had the key all night. To emphasise his point he handed me a heavy calico bag and encouraged me to have a look. It was full of large denominational cash and at the bottom was what I now know to be a 9mm pistol.
I’ve got no idea what the story was but agreed that he could have the safe key for the night, especially after he showed me how the magazine and cartridges were engaged and disengaged. My one memory of the gun is how heavy it was – and later that my prints were on it!
A few month’s later when I was working and courting Mrs Mac, she came into the club with a few girlfriends and was in the bistro at a table of about 10-12. I remember being introduced to a few people and one in particular – Abe Saffron. It was a sliding door moment that we both ended up on the right side of.
JTI and I have disagreed in the past about the community-worth of the illegal casinos in Sydney in the 70’s and 80’s. Let me just say that given the choice of trying to join a blackjack table at Packer’s joint, with patrons in trackies and T-shirts with their bum crack showing – or showing my face through a keyhole and enjoying free Chinese food and drinks above a shop in Rozelle, I was happy with my choice.
Short and succinct? Bugger that!
JTI, did one of the cricketers at your reunion have initials SR? Apparently was a predicted Carlton star until his body gave up. Loves the gee-gees too.
One or two big Carlton men down there, football and cricket clubs but SR does not ring any bells.
Mac/Jack,
I was once in the employ of Frank Theeman, of Juanita Nielsen fame. Whilst I was aware of the rumours re Frank, Jo Meissner and Juanita, I didn’t know anything for sure.
I remember reading Phil Dickie’s and Bob Bottoms’ stories about the Askin era. Those were heady times.
Jack, do you have any views on the worst crime city(s) in Australia?
The take home message is our major cities were a lot more violent 30 years ago than they are now, JS, in terms of murder rate and violent assault rates. The only area of crime that remains stubbornly at that level are domestic violence matters. It’s probably true there is more reporting of those types of offences than there used to be but still they are unacceptably high. In terms of sexual assaults on women there was a spike in offending that probably related to an increase in reporting 10-15 years ago but that has declined which leads to the conclusion that women are not reporting these offences as much as they were, not that the offending itself has declined.
Jack The Insider says:
November 19, 2016 at 9:37 am
“The take home message is our major cities were a lot more violent 30 years ago than they are now”
A very hard message to get through; for some reason, most people believe it’s worse than ever now, for any value of ‘now’ and no amount of facts will convince them otherwise. Golden Age delusion, perhaps.
if you can recall the croxton park, you will remember that violence was a commonplace of doing something as banal as going to see a band.
I worked there, mate. It was red hot at times. I worked for a time at the Lower Plenty Hotel in the 1980s that had some rather willing bouncers. The fight between these guys and a dozen or so Hells Angels was the biggest stink I’ve ever seen. I managed to find a safe spot behind the bar. It went on for probably 3-4 minutes until the bloke from the bottle shop fired a shotgun into the air and everyone scattered. Genuinely terrifying.
“Willing” is right. Bouncers used to be a worry before the number system came in — the job seemed to have more than its share of people who enjoyed fighting, rather than preventing it. While I was playing in their pub it was their job to protect me from aggro punters, but some of the beatings I saw dished out in those days made me wish they’d just let the guy hit me with a chair.
Milton, I can understand the ‘problem’ perfectly…
Ok here’s the other comment for a test run. Me, Spam? How very dare they!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFrtpT1mKy8.
I’m glad it wasn’t me
JTI 7.03pm: it is probably because your IT administrator knows Milton is a Chelsea fan.
Very bloody funny, Simon.
An interesting game for your boys tomorrow night. I’ll be checking to see if you have the courage of your convictions and tip a win!
You take bets on Hilary’s children? What odds?
First SimonT, then Lou oTOD and now you, Linz – everyone’s a comedian!
Actually, I’m in Vegas in January…maybe I should give it a go?
I run the opposite of JTI – betting on Man Utd is bad joss. It means I have been happy to get it wrong many many times over the last 24 years.
SimonT how’s “the special one” working for you?
Jack, I’m a bit slow to get what I need to put in the website box I didn’t think my comment on the previous blog had actually gone through.
As for Mr Barbara I guess it’s a case live by the sword, die by the sword not much sympathy there ultimately it’s a lifestyle that causes grief to many.
Tracy now that is just nasty – anyway Man Utd fans are happy to show a bit of patience. Interesting fact did you know Utd have won 13 of the 24 titles since the English game grew up into the Premier League 🙂
Good site, Jack. I don’t want to go over the wall to comment, I have difficulty in making ‘he who must be obeyed’ any wealthier. His politics are an anathema to me as well. Hope you are feeling and getting better.
Welcome EG but I’ll tell you something for nothing. I come up with the topics for my columns and write them without any editorial direction. And I mean none. I don’t think there’d be many at Fairfax with that sort of freedom and even less at the ABC. But what I do know, eh? I only work in the industry.