A Victorian Labor Party figure is facing weapon charges and had his local council election partly bankrolled by an alleged Calabrian Mafia boss in a major embarrassment for the ALP in the lead-up to the state election.
A Fairfax Media investigation can reveal that Moreland City councillor Michael Teti is facing three firearms charges and, according to court records, had a warrant issued for his arrest after failing to appear in court in May.
Donation records show Cr Teti, who controls a Labor Party branch and has used his factional power to influence the selection of state ALP candidates, received several thousand dollars in political donations from figures or firms closely connected to the Calabrian Mafia in 2012.
A firm called Alta Strada gave Cr Teti $1000 and is directed by the alleged boss of Melbourne’s Mafia. The man’s name is suppressed by a court order but his nickname in the underworld is “Blondie” and several of his closest associates have also donated to Cr Teti.
Cr Teti refused to discuss the matters when contacted on Sunday.
It can also be revealed that he works for Blondie’s brother, a convicted Mafia standover man who has previously been jailed for serious offences.
Blondie’s brother’s name is also suppressed, but Fairfax will call him “Shorty”.
Underworld sources said Cr Teti’s weapon charges involve figures who are close associates of Shorty.
As well as being a major embarrassment for Labor leader Daniel Andrews, the revelations raise fresh concerns about the Calabrian Mafia’s infiltration of political parties.
Blondie donated to the Liberal Party as recently as last year and in 2009 was investigated by the federal police in a donations-for-visa scandal that involved Shorty avoiding efforts to deport him back to Italy.
The revelations also raise questions about Victoria’s anti-corruption regime, with the state’s integrity watchdog, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, not having the jurisdiction to probe suspicious connections between political figures and questionable donors.
A close associate of Cr Teti’s who also has ties to Calabrian Mafia figures was recently working in the office of Labor senator Mehmet Tillem, who is a party ally of Cr Teti.
In a Federal Court case in 2000, Shorty and Blondie were described in a Victoria Police statement as alleged members of a Calabrian “crime family involved in blackmail, extortion and murder”.
In 2008, the pair were again named in police intelligence as having deep organised crime links.
Cr Teti is an influential figure in the Labor Party in Melbourne’s northern suburbs and was recently listed on party documents as a state ALP conference delegate.
A former deputy mayor of Moreland who has been a councillor since 2008, he has previously worked in the Victorian ALP’s head office, as well as for federal member Kelvin Thomson. Along with other ALP figures, Cr Teti controls the votes of a group of northern suburbs residents, including many with Italian heritage. There is no evidence Senator Tillem or Mr Thomson are aware of Cr Teti’s associates or alleged criminal activity.
In addition to his political activities, Cr Teti has been building close ties to Shorty and advising him on legal and business matters. There is no suggestion Cr Teti is involved in Shorty’s alleged organised crime activities. Shorty and Blondie own several legitimate fruit and vegetable outlets.
Cr Teti studied law and has worked in a law firm but, according to the Legal Services Board, does not hold a current Victorian legal practising certificate.
A Melbourne Magistrates Court spokeswoman said Cr Teti is facing three criminal weapon charges but failed to appear in court on May 29, after which a warrant was issued for his arrest. He is expected to appear in court in the near future.
Court documents reveal the charges relate to a firearm registered in his name and found by police in the back of Cr Teti’s car, which was allegedly in another man’s possession at the time. A person can be jailed for up to a year for failing to secure a firearm or ammunition.
Sources close to the Calabrian underworld said Cr Teti’s weapon may have been in the possession of a fruit and vegetable market identity with gangland ties around the time it was seized by police.
The case raises issues for both major parties as alleged Mafia figures in Victoria have sought to cultivate connections and made donations across the political spectrum.
Earlier this year, Fairfax reported that Blondie had helped bankroll the Liberal Party’s 2013 campaign for the marginal federal seat of Bruce via a fund raiser at a Docklands reception centre owned by Blondie and Shorty.
After these revelations, senior Labor MP Luke Donnellan launched an extraordinary attack in Parliament on Premier Denis Napthine and the Liberal Party for taking “blood money” from a suspected Mafia boss. He also accused the Liberal Party of ignoring repeated warnings that the suspected Mafia figure and donor was allegedly involved in criminal activity. Between the late 1990s and 2014, the brothers helped to raise tens of thousands of dollars for the Liberal Party.
The two were investigated by federal police in 2009 over claims they arranged for donations to be made to the Liberal Party in 2004 as part of efforts to get then immigration minister Amanda Vanstone to overturn a decision to deport Shorty because of his Mafia ties and previous criminal convictions, which included violent offences in Italy. In 2005, Ms Vanstone granted Shorty a visa.
