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Leadbelly: The Inside Story of an Underworld War
For the last 10 years, a war has raged on once-safe suburban streets that has stunned the world. The killings have been particularly callous and mothers gunned down with their babies sleeping beside them, fathers killed in front of their children, and couples shot down in cold blood. This is true crime at its most bloody, surreal, and terrifying.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 28, 2019
Love these books but wish someone would spell check before they are published. Always so many typos.
January 29, 2015
An early book about the Melbourne Gangland killings
6 April 2012
This book was released pretty quickly after the Melbourne Underground Gang War, which I still clearly remember. At the time all we knew was that criminals were pretty much going around killing each other, sometimes in broad daylight. There was one incident when one of the victims, Jason Moran, was shot point blank with a shotgun while he was sitting in his car getting ready to take his children home from their weekly football match. Many of us were laughing, thinking that finally something exciting was happening here in Australia, and there was also a debate as to whether the police should actually get involved as some were suggesting that we should simply leave them alone so that they can systematically kill off each other.
Thinking about those events about ten years later (though this war has continued to a minor extent since, particularly with the murder of Mario Condello, and lately the arrest of Judy Moran on the suspicion of manslaughter) I do wonder whether a hands off approach would have been at all possible. Personally I do not think so. As Silvester explains at the beginning of this book, one of the reasons that the war broke out was, to an extent, the exposure of systemic corruption within the Victorian Police Force. Anybody familiar with the Underbelly television series will be aware that corruption in the Australian police is not unknown, but bribery is not necessarily rife. However, at this particular point, a huge corruption scandal had broken out, and one of the results was that quite a few convicts were released as their arrests were considered dubious at best. Therefore, putting more criminals onto the street than normal, together with a breakdown of the respectability of the police force opens up opportunities for gangs to begin to take matters into their own hands.
Silvester is a reasonably well known Australian true crime writer (though I had not heard of him before this book) so he generally knows what he is talking about (and being a journalist, has access to sources that many of us don't). I have done a bit of criminology (having taken the subject at university) though I would hardly call myself an expert. Anyway, one of the other ideas he proposes is that there is a normal, and natural, shift in the make up of the criminal underworld. As the established godfathers are killed, arrested, or retire, others come up to take their place. Usually the older figures are pushed out in favour of a younger crowd. However, at this point in time, the natural evolution broke down when quite a few of those locked up were released. This was his theory, however it was 2004, and there was still a lot of uncertainty as to what was going on at the time (particularly due to ongoing investigations).
If we move forward another seven years, the gangland wars were then turned into a television series called 'Underbelly'. In this book we do not hear the name of Carl Williams, nor do we know anything about his connections with the Carlton Crew. All Leadbelly really does is that it goes through each of the murders outlining the person who was killed and the circumstances of the murder. Sometimes we know what happened (such as when Mick Gatto killed Andrew Venniman), other times we do not. However, it wasn't until all was said and done, and all of the dust had settled, that a clearer picture came to light. Initially we had a series of murders, connected namely through the association of each of the victims. However, by 2007, a much clearer picture had arisen to be able to make a proper television series.
Some have suggested that maybe because Carl Williams was still on trial (or the investigation was still ongoing) as the reason why Silvester did not write too much about the background or the connections, however for some reason I do not think that that is truly the case. The reason I say this is because when Underbelly was released, the Victorian Supreme Court put out an order preventing the series from being aired in Victoria for the reason that even at that time the trials were ongoing. I suspect that back in 2004 this was more of the case, but once the matters reach the courts, then the information being collected by the police is released to the public. In 2004 Silvester would not have had access to these investigations, in 2007 he would have.
This book was okay, but as mentioned, it was probably released a little too soon after the fact. In 2004 people still wanted to know what was going on and the cause. In a way they wanted to pierce the veil of the underworld to see what started this gang war and who the belligerents were. As it turned out it was simply one man wanting to claw his way to the top, and would use whatever means necessary to get there. In Carl Williams' case it pretty much involved him killing off his rivals. However, it was also a case of Williams trying to muscle in onto somebody else's territory (the Morans). The series suggested that he got access to the Moran's drug printing press and began to sell ecstasy onto the streets at massively reduced prices. Obviously the Morans did not appreciate somebody attempting to under cut them, so they did what criminals normally do when somebody tries to undercut their business - they shoot them. However Williams survived, and in that situation, if you are going to shoot somebody, make sure they are dead, because I tell you one thing, they are hardly likely to think 'gee, I upset him, I better not do that again.' No, they don't back off, they get even.
6 April 2012
This book was released pretty quickly after the Melbourne Underground Gang War, which I still clearly remember. At the time all we knew was that criminals were pretty much going around killing each other, sometimes in broad daylight. There was one incident when one of the victims, Jason Moran, was shot point blank with a shotgun while he was sitting in his car getting ready to take his children home from their weekly football match. Many of us were laughing, thinking that finally something exciting was happening here in Australia, and there was also a debate as to whether the police should actually get involved as some were suggesting that we should simply leave them alone so that they can systematically kill off each other.
Thinking about those events about ten years later (though this war has continued to a minor extent since, particularly with the murder of Mario Condello, and lately the arrest of Judy Moran on the suspicion of manslaughter) I do wonder whether a hands off approach would have been at all possible. Personally I do not think so. As Silvester explains at the beginning of this book, one of the reasons that the war broke out was, to an extent, the exposure of systemic corruption within the Victorian Police Force. Anybody familiar with the Underbelly television series will be aware that corruption in the Australian police is not unknown, but bribery is not necessarily rife. However, at this particular point, a huge corruption scandal had broken out, and one of the results was that quite a few convicts were released as their arrests were considered dubious at best. Therefore, putting more criminals onto the street than normal, together with a breakdown of the respectability of the police force opens up opportunities for gangs to begin to take matters into their own hands.
Silvester is a reasonably well known Australian true crime writer (though I had not heard of him before this book) so he generally knows what he is talking about (and being a journalist, has access to sources that many of us don't). I have done a bit of criminology (having taken the subject at university) though I would hardly call myself an expert. Anyway, one of the other ideas he proposes is that there is a normal, and natural, shift in the make up of the criminal underworld. As the established godfathers are killed, arrested, or retire, others come up to take their place. Usually the older figures are pushed out in favour of a younger crowd. However, at this point in time, the natural evolution broke down when quite a few of those locked up were released. This was his theory, however it was 2004, and there was still a lot of uncertainty as to what was going on at the time (particularly due to ongoing investigations).
If we move forward another seven years, the gangland wars were then turned into a television series called 'Underbelly'. In this book we do not hear the name of Carl Williams, nor do we know anything about his connections with the Carlton Crew. All Leadbelly really does is that it goes through each of the murders outlining the person who was killed and the circumstances of the murder. Sometimes we know what happened (such as when Mick Gatto killed Andrew Venniman), other times we do not. However, it wasn't until all was said and done, and all of the dust had settled, that a clearer picture came to light. Initially we had a series of murders, connected namely through the association of each of the victims. However, by 2007, a much clearer picture had arisen to be able to make a proper television series.
Some have suggested that maybe because Carl Williams was still on trial (or the investigation was still ongoing) as the reason why Silvester did not write too much about the background or the connections, however for some reason I do not think that that is truly the case. The reason I say this is because when Underbelly was released, the Victorian Supreme Court put out an order preventing the series from being aired in Victoria for the reason that even at that time the trials were ongoing. I suspect that back in 2004 this was more of the case, but once the matters reach the courts, then the information being collected by the police is released to the public. In 2004 Silvester would not have had access to these investigations, in 2007 he would have.
This book was okay, but as mentioned, it was probably released a little too soon after the fact. In 2004 people still wanted to know what was going on and the cause. In a way they wanted to pierce the veil of the underworld to see what started this gang war and who the belligerents were. As it turned out it was simply one man wanting to claw his way to the top, and would use whatever means necessary to get there. In Carl Williams' case it pretty much involved him killing off his rivals. However, it was also a case of Williams trying to muscle in onto somebody else's territory (the Morans). The series suggested that he got access to the Moran's drug printing press and began to sell ecstasy onto the streets at massively reduced prices. Obviously the Morans did not appreciate somebody attempting to under cut them, so they did what criminals normally do when somebody tries to undercut their business - they shoot them. However Williams survived, and in that situation, if you are going to shoot somebody, make sure they are dead, because I tell you one thing, they are hardly likely to think 'gee, I upset him, I better not do that again.' No, they don't back off, they get even.
June 11, 2015
Has been updated.
May 14, 2008
So much potential wasted. A possibly gripping story of a gangland war escalating but the authors have clearly written it piecemeal in a one chapter/ one murder fashion. It reads a little too crime porn in the pulp fiction style without any noir sensibility. Really needed to be framed within the organised crime history in Melbourne as it is essentially a changing of the guard story.
November 6, 2008
Whilst the subject matter and the events described are interesting, particularly if you lived in Melbourne when this gangland war was going on, the writing style is a tad melodramatic. The author is newsreporter and it tends to show.
August 28, 2017
On a personal level, I love this book. On a reviewer level, I think the book needs to be updated and cleaned up a little. I’ll explain.
The gangland wars that took place in Melbourne, Australia between 1994-2004 were in a sense, movements by the next crew to take over and run the Melbourne underworld. This underbelly has a fascinating history and provides some of the background as to the how’s and why’s events unfolded as they did.
The Carlton Crew, who had taken over from the Richmond Crew, were the controlling force in Melbourne throughout the 1980’s. But all underworld stories in Melbourne start with the Painters and Dockers union and it is worth doing a little background because it is fascinating.
This book covers the demise of the Carlton Crew and the rise of “The New Boys”. The book is cobbled together from what was then current crime stories being published in local papers. In some cases, the names have been left out as court cases were still being heard when the book was written.
In that sense, it seems a bit pulpy and also unevenly written. The book also changes stylistically at one point and seems like there was some last minute add-ons to merely fill the book. There is more than enough information to write volumes on the goings on in Melbourne’s underworld so I think the book was pushed out quickly.
Time now then to go back and finesse the book putting in facts, names and other material that had to be left out at first print. If you want to treat yourself to the dramatized stories that the book tells, checkout the Australian series “Underbelly”. There are several seasons which are online or I found on Netflix. It will make the book more sensible. However, it is still great crime stuff that hasn’t been over told in multiple books….yet.
The gangland wars that took place in Melbourne, Australia between 1994-2004 were in a sense, movements by the next crew to take over and run the Melbourne underworld. This underbelly has a fascinating history and provides some of the background as to the how’s and why’s events unfolded as they did.
The Carlton Crew, who had taken over from the Richmond Crew, were the controlling force in Melbourne throughout the 1980’s. But all underworld stories in Melbourne start with the Painters and Dockers union and it is worth doing a little background because it is fascinating.
This book covers the demise of the Carlton Crew and the rise of “The New Boys”. The book is cobbled together from what was then current crime stories being published in local papers. In some cases, the names have been left out as court cases were still being heard when the book was written.
In that sense, it seems a bit pulpy and also unevenly written. The book also changes stylistically at one point and seems like there was some last minute add-ons to merely fill the book. There is more than enough information to write volumes on the goings on in Melbourne’s underworld so I think the book was pushed out quickly.
Time now then to go back and finesse the book putting in facts, names and other material that had to be left out at first print. If you want to treat yourself to the dramatized stories that the book tells, checkout the Australian series “Underbelly”. There are several seasons which are online or I found on Netflix. It will make the book more sensible. However, it is still great crime stuff that hasn’t been over told in multiple books….yet.
July 31, 2018
Amazing, lots that I didnt know was a hard book to put down
March 23, 2019
Good read if you’re into the Melbourne’s underground world
November 28, 2008
I found the whole Melbourne underworld story fascinating and the introduction to its characters came in handy when I watched the Underbelly series (which I watched on DVD, far more satisfying than the week-by-week method!).
The first part of the book covers the Underbelly series of events but, as this was an early edition, Carl Williams's name wasn't mentioned once. Very disconcerting until I realised he was probably in court when it was published.
The writing style in this part of the book was of a hardbitten newspaper crime reporter: short, sharp sentences and snappy paragraphs. It did begin to grate after a while. However, the second part of the book covered some of the police investigations, in a more description, flowing style.
It was a book that I put down a few times but really glad I finished it. It gave some substance to the TV series and makes me want to read more 'true crime'.
The first part of the book covers the Underbelly series of events but, as this was an early edition, Carl Williams's name wasn't mentioned once. Very disconcerting until I realised he was probably in court when it was published.
The writing style in this part of the book was of a hardbitten newspaper crime reporter: short, sharp sentences and snappy paragraphs. It did begin to grate after a while. However, the second part of the book covered some of the police investigations, in a more description, flowing style.
It was a book that I put down a few times but really glad I finished it. It gave some substance to the TV series and makes me want to read more 'true crime'.
Read
April 5, 2021This book provides a relatively good insight into Melbourne's gangland war, but isn't particularly riveting.
November 1, 2014
I live in the United States, so foreign crime is interesting to me. That said, this book was informative, but rather dull. As another review stated, the author's journalism background shows. It reads as 'So and so was blah, he did this, died this way'. Good book for what it is, good read between my security patrols.
July 4, 2010
A riveting, rollicking, and sometimes scary, read. Read it just before the Underbelly mini-series screened. was very impressed at how well the series was cast based on the photos in the book.
A whole new side to Australia and a reminder of why I never want to live in Melbourne (no offence meant)
A whole new side to Australia and a reminder of why I never want to live in Melbourne (no offence meant)
Want to read
May 29, 2008The book is based on the real life events of the Melbourne Gangland Wars which inspired the hit tv series Underbelly(not aired in Melbourne). The story revolving around key players in Melbournes criminal underworld.
January 4, 2009
I felt the book was really two books - the first half a collection of serialised print articles while the second half - looking at what made the vic police so trigger happpy as the real story worth reading and well written.
December 27, 2009
Great introduction to the Australian series Underbelly. That said, this book was written like a high school essay. Nothing imaginative about the writing. I'd only recommend this if you're going to watch Underbelly.
November 17, 2008
I read this book after watching Underbelly. It read like a report and each chapter was a new report. Very interesting at times.
Want to read
August 22, 2011Currently reading and have been for the past 3 years. :/ Not really my type of book, but started reading it after I made quite a few friends from Australia.
Read
August 2, 2011Read it after the TV series. Of course, a different perspective and doesn't focus on the same events in the same way but compelling nonetheless.
March 4, 2014
very very interesting, the aussie crims havent changed since the days of ned kelly & neither have their cops but otherwise a very good read, full of corruption, narks & half truths
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews