SHOTGUN CITY Melbourne's Gangland Killings

Softcover. The author takes you through the chilling criminal slayings that shocked Melbourne, linking the players and events that made up Melbourne's underworld crime scene. The author traces the complicated web back to the Painters & Dockers' Union power struggle that claimed at least 40 lives between the 1950s and the early 1980s, and delves into the more 'recent' wave of murders that had seen Melbourne become a virtual criminal killing field. The execution of self-styled gangster Alphonse Gangitano in January 1998 sparked a deadly chain-reaction that led to the deaths of a further 26 people and showed no sign of relenting. While a special police taskforce codenamed 'Purana' was been set up to investigate a number of the slayings and their common links to the lucrative amphetamine trade, the killings continued, and individual motives arose: revenge, greed, overblown pride...and the influence of crime movies. From crime scene to funeral, the book takes you inside the lives of each victim, uncovering the links and offering the ultimate insider's knowledge of Melbourne's brutal underworld war. Illus. in colour. 310pp. trade size softcover. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. with no creasing to covers.