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Sydney Morning Herald
06-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Crooks who zigged when they should have zagged
2) Carl's three boo-boos For a drug boss and killer, Carl Williams made many dumb decisions. Here are three. Williams commissioned one of his hit teams (he had five) to kill hot dog vendor Michael Marshall, and the paid killer known as 'The Runner' sourced a clean car for the job. Police had got there first, bugging the car and hiding a tracking device in the rebuilt sedan. But the brake light stayed on, leading The Runner to find the device. He sought advice from Williams, who told him to carry on, using The Runner's own car, which was already bugged. After he killed Marshall, he was recorded ringing the 'Big Fella' with the message: 'You know that horse you and George [Carl's father] tipped me? It got scratched.' The Runner and the driver were arrested that night. The next mistake Carl made was not to pay his hitmen. He had promised The Runner $100,000 to kill rival Jason Moran – which he did, during an Auskick morning in Essendon North. But by June 2003, Williams had paid him only $2500. The Marshall contract was worth $300,000. The Runner was paid a $50,000 deposit, but once jailed, Williams sent the hitman's mother a paltry $1500. You shortchange hitmen at your peril. The Runner became a prosecution witness and was one reason Williams eventually had to plead guilty to several murders. The third mistake was when Williams wanted to do a deal, and he believed informing on an allegedly corrupt cop would not be seen by the underworld as being a snitch. But one gangster thought Williams needed to take certain secrets to the grave. In 2010, he was beaten to death inside prison by fellow inmate Matt Johnson. 3) Why they invented voicemail On December 22, 2003, Carl Williams and hitman Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin met Melbourne identity Mick Gatto at Crown casino for peace talks. Gatto said he wanted to remain neutral but made it clear he could fight gunfire with gunfire. 'If anything comes my way then I'll send somebody to you. I'll be careful with you, be careful with me,' Gatto said. 'I believe you, you believe me; now we're even. That's a warning. It's not my war.' When Williams considered a truce, Veniamin urged, 'Kill him'. The second dumb decision was when Benji answered his phone on March 23, 2004. It was Gatto inviting him to a Carlton restaurant, where Veniamin was shot dead. Gatto was charged, then acquitted on the grounds of self-defence. If only Benji had let the call go to voicemail. 4) The dumb cop and the public phone William Stephen 'Dingy' Harris was not much of a cop, but he was an excellent conman. In the police force, he was a sergeant stationed at Hawthorn, but to the underworld he was known as 'The Captain' and had impressive contacts that could protect massive hashish importations of more than 300 kilos a time. The syndicate would pay him $300,000 a pop. Dingy's identity was known by few, and to protect himself he would never use the Hawthorn police station phone to talk business, preferring to use the public one across the road, believing it couldn't be bugged. By the time he knew he was wrong, the jig was well and truly up. In the secret investigation code-named Rock, police recorded 14,000 phone calls and in October 1987, Dingy was sentenced to 14 years' jail, where he was allowed a couple of phone calls a week. 5) Know when to walk away, know when to run Loading The six-man burglary team was to pull off the crime of the century. Break into the Sigma pharmaceutical company and steal amphetamines with a street value of $166 million. They broke into the plant 25 times – perfecting their methods based on the movie Heat, in which the message was: at the first sign of risk, walk away. When they were setting up CCTV monitors in the ceiling, they found a system that had been set up by police to watch them. Rather than walk away, they convinced themselves it was the management that was using the system to monitor staff. One was recorded saying: 'Flash a brown eye at them. It was our idea to put a camera in, anyway.' In September 1996, they were arrested at the scene by the special operations group as they broke into Sigma. 6) The clock was ticking, but not in a good way As a terrorist, Hagob Levonian should have spent less time studying international politics and more time swatting up on chemistry. In 1986, he came to Melbourne to blow up the Turkish consulate. However, he ignored the fundamentals of OH&S. He was supposed to set the timer for a few hours. Sadly, he stuffed up and was blown to pieces. Forensic experts found a piece of skin the size of a 5¢ piece at the blast site that matched a fingerprint on an invoice book from Levonian. The only other remains found were a pair of feet in the bomber's shoes. 7) Drugs are bad, OK? Allan Williams was a drug dealer who used his own product and was too big for his boots. Why else would he agree to the crazy scheme to kill an interstate undercover cop to stop him testifying in a case so weak it was doomed to fail? He wanted to bribe the undercover, Mick Drury, but when he refused the offer, Williams, NSW rogue cop Roger Rogerson and hitman Christopher Dale Flannery conspired to kill him. On June 6, 1984, Drury was shot in his Chatswood home, but survived. The backlash was immediate. Although never convicted, Rogerson was finished, and he died in prison serving time for another murder. Flannery was considered too hot to handle and killed in cold blood, while Williams pleaded guilty to trying to bribe and then kill Drury. He later told me: 'I was a giant in the trade; I thought I was invincible and unpinchable. But I stepped over the line with the Drury thing. It is something I will regret for the rest of my life.' 8) Milking a snake without gloves Barrister-turned-snitch Nicola Gobbo didn't play by the rules. She was too close to her clients, then she turned on them, becoming a police informer while still feeding crooks titbits of information. She burnt both sides, which has become a stain on the criminal justice system costing north of $300 million, and with criminal appeals and civil action, shows no signs of reaching resolution. Loading 9) The smiling assassins In a world full of dangerous men, Nik Radev was a man to be feared. He had ambitions to be a drug boss and wanted to 'borrow' a drug cook who worked for Carl Williams and Tony Mokbel. The fear was that he wouldn't give him back. In April 2003, he was lured to a meeting at a coffee shop in Brighton and then given directions to travel across town to get the cook. He was ambushed in his car in Coburg. Earlier, he paid $55,000 in cash for dental surgery to have teeth as pearly white as his idol Tony Montana from Scarface, money that would have been better spent on armour-plating his car. He remembered to floss but forgot to duck. 10) Mafia's own goal In the 1970s, the Griffith mafia had a winning hand. Corrupt cops, bent politicians, an Australian-wide transport network and a near-monopoly on massive cannabis crops. They were rich and getting richer. Trouble was, there was a whistleblower and that son of a bitch was brave and getting braver. Local furniture shop owner Donald Mackay had reported on a couple of crops. Instead of seeing it as a minor hiccup, the mafia took out a $10,000 contract on his life.
The Age
06-06-2025
- The Age
Crooks who zigged when they should have zagged
2) Carl's three boo-boos For a drug boss and killer, Carl Williams made many dumb decisions. Here are three. Williams commissioned one of his hit teams (he had five) to kill hot dog vendor Michael Marshall, and the paid killer known as 'The Runner' sourced a clean car for the job. Police had got there first, bugging the car and hiding a tracking device in the rebuilt sedan. But the brake light stayed on, leading The Runner to find the device. He sought advice from Williams, who told him to carry on, using The Runner's own car, which was already bugged. After he killed Marshall, he was recorded ringing the 'Big Fella' with the message: 'You know that horse you and George [Carl's father] tipped me? It got scratched.' The Runner and the driver were arrested that night. The next mistake Carl made was not to pay his hitmen. He had promised The Runner $100,000 to kill rival Jason Moran – which he did, during an Auskick morning in Essendon North. But by June 2003, Williams had paid him only $2500. The Marshall contract was worth $300,000. The Runner was paid a $50,000 deposit, but once jailed, Williams sent the hitman's mother a paltry $1500. You shortchange hitmen at your peril. The Runner became a prosecution witness and was one reason Williams eventually had to plead guilty to several murders. The third mistake was when Williams wanted to do a deal, and he believed informing on an allegedly corrupt cop would not be seen by the underworld as being a snitch. But one gangster thought Williams needed to take certain secrets to the grave. In 2010, he was beaten to death inside prison by fellow inmate Matt Johnson. 3) Why they invented voicemail On December 22, 2003, Carl Williams and hitman Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin met Melbourne identity Mick Gatto at Crown casino for peace talks. Gatto said he wanted to remain neutral but made it clear he could fight gunfire with gunfire. 'If anything comes my way then I'll send somebody to you. I'll be careful with you, be careful with me,' Gatto said. 'I believe you, you believe me; now we're even. That's a warning. It's not my war.' When Williams considered a truce, Veniamin urged, 'Kill him'. The second dumb decision was when Benji answered his phone on March 23, 2004. It was Gatto inviting him to a Carlton restaurant, where Veniamin was shot dead. Gatto was charged, then acquitted on the grounds of self-defence. If only Benji had let the call go to voicemail. 4) The dumb cop and the public phone William Stephen 'Dingy' Harris was not much of a cop, but he was an excellent conman. In the police force, he was a sergeant stationed at Hawthorn, but to the underworld he was known as 'The Captain' and had impressive contacts that could protect massive hashish importations of more than 300 kilos a time. The syndicate would pay him $300,000 a pop. Dingy's identity was known by few, and to protect himself he would never use the Hawthorn police station phone to talk business, preferring to use the public one across the road, believing it couldn't be bugged. By the time he knew he was wrong, the jig was well and truly up. In the secret investigation code-named Rock, police recorded 14,000 phone calls and in October 1987, Dingy was sentenced to 14 years' jail, where he was allowed a couple of phone calls a week. 5) Know when to walk away, know when to run Loading The six-man burglary team was to pull off the crime of the century. Break into the Sigma pharmaceutical company and steal amphetamines with a street value of $166 million. They broke into the plant 25 times – perfecting their methods based on the movie Heat, in which the message was: at the first sign of risk, walk away. When they were setting up CCTV monitors in the ceiling, they found a system that had been set up by police to watch them. Rather than walk away, they convinced themselves it was the management that was using the system to monitor staff. One was recorded saying: 'Flash a brown eye at them. It was our idea to put a camera in, anyway.' In September 1996, they were arrested at the scene by the special operations group as they broke into Sigma. 6) The clock was ticking, but not in a good way As a terrorist, Hagob Levonian should have spent less time studying international politics and more time swatting up on chemistry. In 1986, he came to Melbourne to blow up the Turkish consulate. However, he ignored the fundamentals of OH&S. He was supposed to set the timer for a few hours. Sadly, he stuffed up and was blown to pieces. Forensic experts found a piece of skin the size of a 5¢ piece at the blast site that matched a fingerprint on an invoice book from Levonian. The only other remains found were a pair of feet in the bomber's shoes. 7) Drugs are bad, OK? Allan Williams was a drug dealer who used his own product and was too big for his boots. Why else would he agree to the crazy scheme to kill an interstate undercover cop to stop him testifying in a case so weak it was doomed to fail? He wanted to bribe the undercover, Mick Drury, but when he refused the offer, Williams, NSW rogue cop Roger Rogerson and hitman Christopher Dale Flannery conspired to kill him. On June 6, 1984, Drury was shot in his Chatswood home, but survived. The backlash was immediate. Although never convicted, Rogerson was finished, and he died in prison serving time for another murder. Flannery was considered too hot to handle and killed in cold blood, while Williams pleaded guilty to trying to bribe and then kill Drury. He later told me: 'I was a giant in the trade; I thought I was invincible and unpinchable. But I stepped over the line with the Drury thing. It is something I will regret for the rest of my life.' 8) Milking a snake without gloves Barrister-turned-snitch Nicola Gobbo didn't play by the rules. She was too close to her clients, then she turned on them, becoming a police informer while still feeding crooks titbits of information. She burnt both sides, which has become a stain on the criminal justice system costing north of $300 million, and with criminal appeals and civil action, shows no signs of reaching resolution. Loading 9) The smiling assassins In a world full of dangerous men, Nik Radev was a man to be feared. He had ambitions to be a drug boss and wanted to 'borrow' a drug cook who worked for Carl Williams and Tony Mokbel. The fear was that he wouldn't give him back. In April 2003, he was lured to a meeting at a coffee shop in Brighton and then given directions to travel across town to get the cook. He was ambushed in his car in Coburg. Earlier, he paid $55,000 in cash for dental surgery to have teeth as pearly white as his idol Tony Montana from Scarface, money that would have been better spent on armour-plating his car. He remembered to floss but forgot to duck. 10) Mafia's own goal In the 1970s, the Griffith mafia had a winning hand. Corrupt cops, bent politicians, an Australian-wide transport network and a near-monopoly on massive cannabis crops. They were rich and getting richer. Trouble was, there was a whistleblower and that son of a bitch was brave and getting braver. Local furniture shop owner Donald Mackay had reported on a couple of crops. Instead of seeing it as a minor hiccup, the mafia took out a $10,000 contract on his life.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Gal Gadot 'reluctant to ever film in London again' after antisemitic protests
Gal Gadot has been left 'scarred' and 'reluctant to ever film in London again' following a wave of anti-Israel and antisemitic protests that have dogged the production of her latest film. The Wonder Woman star, 40, is currently in the UK shooting The Runner, a political thriller, but has faced persistent demonstrations from pro-Palestinian activists who accuse her of 'normalising war criminals' because of her past support for Israel and mandatory service in the Israeli Defence Forces. According to a source close to the production, Ms Gadot has told friends she is 'reluctant to ever film in London again' and has found the experience 'scarring'. The source added that those working on the film had become increasingly exasperated by the scale of the disruption, which began earlier this month, and by what they perceived as a lack of firm action by police. But last week the Metropolitan Police finally took action. They confirmed that five people were arrested at a filming site in Westminster for attempting to disrupt the production. Two of the arrests were for offences committed at previous protests, while three were for action on the day. The Wonder Woman star, 40, is currently in the UK shooting The Runner, a political thriller, but has faced persistent demonstrations from pro-Palestinian activists who accuse her of 'normalising war criminals' because of her past support for Israel and mandatory service in the Israeli Defence Forces 'While we absolutely acknowledge the importance of peaceful protest, we have a duty to intervene where it crosses the line into serious disruption or criminality,' said Superintendent Neil Holyoak. 'I hope today's operation shows we will not tolerate the harassment of or unlawful interference with those trying to go about their legitimate professional work in London.' Protests have taken place over at least 20 days, with activists sharing filming locations on social media and attempting to block access. One poster, circulated ahead of filming at YY London earlier this month, read: 'Last time her filming location was circulated, filming was successfully interrupted and activists made the point loud and clear. No to IDF soldiers in our city. No normalising war criminals!! Free Palestine.' Last month, protesters targeted Ms Gadot while she was filming on Waterloo Bridge, waving Palestinian flags and placards, banging saucepan lids, and blaring sirens. Chants included 'Gal Gadot, you can't hide,' while signs read 'Trash Gadot not welcome in London' and 'Stop starving Gaza.' Officers from Scotland Yard dispersed the group, but no arrests were made at that time. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed the recent operation followed weeks of similar disruption 'solely because an actress involved in the production is Israeli.' Ms Gadot has not commented publicly on the protests, but her treatment has sparked widespread condemnation. The Campaign Against Antisemitism has condemned the sustained targeting of Ms Gadot, a mother-of-four, warning it reflects a wider climate of hostility toward Jewish people in the UK. A spokesperson told the Mail: 'We welcome the arrests of individuals who have allegedly been harassing Gal Gadot and her colleagues during filming. At least the financial cost of allowing the mob unfettered freedom to spew their bile is motivating the authorities to act, even if the social cost has yet to be acknowledged. 'With Ms Gadot reportedly reconsidering her business in the UK, it remains to be seen whether this is too little too late. Our polling shows that less than half of British Jews feel welcome in the UK. 'Here is an example of a foreign Jew being made to feel unwelcome. We have all learned the hard way that 'Free Palestine' activism does not end with mere rhetoric. The time has come to clamp down once and for all.' The experience stands in stark contrast to her previous time filming in the UK, including work on Wonder Woman 1984, which shot scenes in London in 2018 without incident. Her latest visit has unfolded against a backdrop of growing concern over antisemitism in Britain, with the UK increasingly viewed as a hotbed of hostility toward Jewish figures in public life. Ms Gadot has also faced similar protests in the US. Demonstrators disrupted her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in May, chanting 'Shame on Gal Gadot' and waving Palestinian flags. Days later, her star on the Walk of Fame was defaced, with vandals scrawling 'Baby killer' and altering her surname to 'Greestien'—a misspelling of her family's original Jewish name, Greenstein. Stickers with inflammatory messages like 'Israeli snipers target children' were also found. The Campaign Against Antisemitism called the graffiti 'a modern manifestation of medieval antisemitic tropes,' likening it to the blood libel.
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Gal Gadot sports a bloodied face as she runs through central London while filming thriller The Runner after pro-Gaza demonstrations disrupt filming
Gal Gadot sported a bloody face as she filmed tense scenes for the upcoming action thriller The Runner in London on Thursday. The actress, 39, had fake blood on the side of her face as she ran down the street near Temple tube station. The Snow White star cut a casual figure in a blue top along with a pair of black leggings and red trainers. At one point, the actress was seen hunched over near the tube station as her character appeared to catch her breath. She carried a bottle of water and a light jacket with her while chatting with crew members in between takes. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The Runner sees Gal play a successful London lawyer who is thrust into a dangerous chase across the city when her son is abducted. She is forced to obey a series of mysterious demands from an unknown caller as she attempts to save her son. The film, which will be distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, also stars Damien Lewis. In recent weeks, police say demonstrators have repeatedly targeted filming locations of The Runner across the capital due to Gal's Israeli nationality. Gal, who served in the Israel Defense Forces, has previously voiced strong support for Israel's invasion of Gaza, following the October 7 Hamas attacks - a stance that has sparked outrage among pro-Palestinian campaigners. Officers from the Met were deployed on Wednesday to the central London set, aiming to identify suspects linked to earlier protests and to prevent fresh disruption. They arrested five people for harassment and offences under Section 241 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act, which prohibits obstructing access to a workplace. Of those arrested, two were wanted in connection with previous incidents, while three were detained for offences that occurred on Wednesday. She carried a bottle of water and a light jacket with her while chatting with crew members in between takes Superintendent Neil Holyoak, who led the operation, said: 'While we absolutely acknowledge the importance of peaceful protest, we have a duty to intervene where it crosses the line into serious disruption or criminality. 'We have been in discussions with the production company to understand the impact of the protests on their work and on any individuals involved. 'I hope today's operation shows we will not tolerate the harassment of or unlawful interference with those trying to go about their legitimate professional work in London.' All five suspects remain in custody. Despite the unrest, Gadot has been spotted back on set this week, filming scenes for the high-stakes thriller in the heart of London. Meanwhile, in May Gal's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony was hit by warring protestors amid ongoing controversy over her 'woke' film Snow White. The actress, who plays the Evil Queen in the live action remake alongside Rachel Zegler's Snow White, looked delighted as she arrived to receive the accolade - but outside the barriers, drama was unfolding. In dramatic video captured by, police were seen running after a member of the public amid claims 'a pro-Palestine protestor stole a pro-Israel protester's flag.' Pro-Palestine protestors gathered outside the ceremony carrying signs reading: 'Heroes fight like Palestinians' and 'Viva Viva Palestina.' Israeli actress Gadot who formerly served in the IDF - is staunchly pro-Israel. The unidentified man was seen being grabbed by police and pushed against a wall, as screams rang out from the crowd. Recent claims emerged that a feud was brewing between Gadot and Zegler - who is pro-Palestine - over their opposing stances on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Zegler was tellingly not in attendance at the ceremony. Gal seemed unaware of the altercation unfolding outside as she posed with her husband Jaron Varsano and their four daughters, as well as Fast & Furious co-star Vin Diesel and Wonder Woman director Patti Jenkins. In an interview published Tuesday with Variety, Gal spoke about how she felt compelled to speak out on politics after the October 7 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. She said: 'After October 7th [2023], I don't talk politics — because who cares about the celebrity talking about politics? I'm an artist. I want to entertain people. I want to bring hope and be a beacon of light whenever I say anything about the world. 'But on October 7th, when people were abducted from their homes, from their beds, men, women, children, elderly, Holocaust survivors, were going through the horrors of what happened that day, I could not be silent. 'I'm not a hater. I'm a grandchild of a Holocaust survivor who came to Israel and established his family from scratch after his entire family was erased in Auschwitz. And on the other side of my family, I'm eighth generation Israeli. I'm an indigenous person of Israel. 'I am all about humanity and I felt like I had to advocate for the hostages. I am praying for better days for all,' she continues. 'I want everybody to have good life and prosperity, and the ability to raise their children in a safe environment.'
New York Post
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
London police arrest five protesters attempting to disrupt production of Israeli actor Gal Gadot's new film
Five anti-Israel protesters were arrested Wednesday for disrupting the filming of Gal Gadot's new movie 'solely because an actress involved in the production is Israeli,' according to London police. The five, who have not yet been identified, included three who targeted the set of Gadot's upcoming film 'The Runner' in Westminster, close to Big Ben and Parliament, on Wednesday, London's Metropolitan Police said. 3 Gal Gadot is currently filming 'The Runner' in London. Click News and Media / BACKGRID Advertisement Two others were arrested and charged for previous chaos on the set. All five were charged with harassment and obstructing access to a workplace. 'In recent weeks, protesters have disrupted filming at various locations across London,' the Met police said. 'They have done so solely because an actress involved in the production is Israeli.' Advertisement All five were charged them with harassment and obstructing access to a workplace. Gadot, 40, has been supportive of Israel since war erupted with Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which has led to death threats. The actress revealed earlier this year she was 'shocked by the amount of hate' she received after speaking out after the surprise Hamas attack, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed. 3 A demonstrator in London held a sign calling the actress 'trash.' UnBoxPHD / Advertisement Before accepting her star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in March, Gadot's ceremony was interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, who held up signs reading, 'Heros Fight Like Palestinians,' 'Viva Viva Palestina' and 'No Other Land Won Oscar.' The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel has previously called for the boycott of Gadot's films for supporting Israel in its campaign in Gaza, the BBC reported. Superintendent Neil Holyoak, who oversaw Wednesday's arrests, said while authorities acknowledge the right to peaceful protests they must 'intervene where it crosses the line into serious disruption or criminality. 3 Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted filming at various locations in recent weeks, London police claimed. UnBoxPHD / Advertisement 'We have been in discussions with the production company to understand the impact of the protests on their work and on any individuals involved,' Holyoak said. 'I hope today's operation shows we will not tolerate the harassment of or unlawful interference with those trying to go about their legitimate professional work in London,' he added.
