Alex Vella | |
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Born | Alessio Emmanuel Vella 5 June 1953 Crown Colony of Malta |
Other names | Alex, Maltese Falcon |
Occupation(s) | Biker, lightweight boxer |
Known for | Former national president of the Rebels MC, founder of the Sydney chapter |
Spouse | Heather Vella |
Children | Adam Vella |
Website | alexvella |
Alessio Emmanuel Vella (born 5 June 1953), or Maltese Falcon, is a Maltese businessman, former boxer and the former national president of the Rebels Motorcycle Club in Australia. Despite having lived in Australia since the 1960s, he is not a citizen of the country. [1] This caused visa problems when he tried to return to Australia after having gone to Japan with his son Adam (also a boxer) for a boxing match in 2007. [2] [3] The New South Wales Police Force tried to bar Vella from re-entering Australia then, but he was eventually allowed to return. [4] In 2014 Vella visited his friends and family in Malta, and while he was there, his residency visa was cancelled by the Australian Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Vella tried to appeal in the High Court of Australia in October 2015, but was not permitted to.
Vella was born into a strict Catholic family in Malta and was one of eleven children. His parents lived in a small villa near Buskett. He began work at the age of eight, carrying buckets of water on a building site for 30 cents a day, and is functionally illiterate. He and his family then moved to Australia in the 1960s and established a strawberry farm near Horsley Park, New South Wales. In his 20s, he sometimes worked two or three jobs at a time; as a bouncer, labourer and bricklayer. He also joined the Rebels Motorcycle Club while pursuing a promising career as a boxer; he eventually became the Maltese light-heavyweight champion. After a serious road accident, he received A$225,000 in compensation and used this money to set up a business importing and selling motorcycles.
In 1990, police found a $15,000 stash of marijuana while searching his home, which they believed to be a methamphetamine factory. He was sentenced to 18 months of two-nights-a-week prison, and two-days-a-week community service. He has also been arrested, but not convicted, of a number of other crimes including stabbing two men and assaulting a woman. He was freed on appeal after being given six months in jail for the latter. [5]
On 28 May 2008, Vella won a court case against the ANZ Bank. He sued them for $2.7 million after his former business partner, Tony Caradonna, re-mortgaged three properties, including the Rebels' clubhouse, for $2.4 million by falsifying Vella's signature. [6] He also claimed $300,000 was fraudulently withdrawn from their joint bank account. [7]
On 16 June 2014, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison cancelled Vella's residency visa on character grounds while Vella was visiting Malta. [8] [9] Vella attempted to challenge the action in the High Court of Australia, [10] but on 16 October 2015 the court refused his application for leave to appeal. [1]
The Sydney gang rapes were a series of gang rape attacks committed by a group of up to 14 youths led by Bilal Skaf against Australian women and teenage girls as young as 14, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia across several days in 2000. The crimes, described as ethnically motivated hate crimes by officials and commentators, were covered extensively by the news media, and prompted the passing of new laws. In 2002, the nine men convicted of the gang rapes were sentenced to a total of more than 240 years in jail. According to court transcripts, Judge Michael Finnane described the rapes as events that "you hear about or read about only in the context of wartime atrocities".
An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a bikie gang, biker gang or motorcycle gang, is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group.
The Mongols Motorcycle Club, also known as the Mongol Brotherhood or Mongol Nation, is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969, the club is headquartered in Southern California. Although the Mongols' main presence lies in California, they also have chapters nationwide in 14 states and internationally in 11 countries. Law enforcement officials estimate approximately 2,000 "full-patched" members are in the club. The Mongols are the fifth-largest outlaw biker club in the world, after the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws and the Pagans.
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Organised Crime and Gangs in Australia refers to the activities of various groups of crime families, organised crime syndicates or underworld activities including drug trafficking, contract killing, racketeering and other crimes in Australia.
The Comanchero Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle gang in Australia and South East Asia. The Comancheros are participants in the United Motorcycle Council of NSW, which convened a conference in 2009 to address legislation aimed against the "bikie" clubs, their poor public image in the wake of several violent clashes and ongoing biker wars, and defusing deadly feuds such as the Comancheros' battles with the Hells Angels. The sincerity of these efforts to defend the battered image of the clubs has been met with skepticism.
The Finks are an Australian outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Adelaide, Australia, in 1969 and now also has chapters in other states. The name comes from The Wizard of Id cartoon where the peasants, to his dismay, often proclaim, "The King is a fink!". The logo used by the Finks is of Bung, the king's jester. The pants worn by the jester used to differ in colour depending on the state the chapter resides in.
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Man Haron Monis was an Iranian-born refugee and Australian citizen who took hostages in a siege at the Lindt Chocolate Café at Martin Place, Sydney on 15 December 2014, lasting for 17 hours, until the early hours of the following morning. The siege resulted in the death of Monis and two hostages.
The Club Deroes Motorcycle Club or Club Deroes MC are an Australian outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Perth, Western Australia, in 1971.
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The Bandidos Motorcycle Club is classified as a motorcycle gang by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in numerous countries. While the club has denied being a criminal organization, Bandidos members have been convicted of partaking in criminal enterprises including theft, extortion, prostitution, drug trafficking and murder in various host nations.
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The Black Uhlans Motorcycle Club are an Australian "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club. Maintaining several chapters throughout the country, the club has been described by law enforcement as one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in the state of Victoria and are said to be among the wealthiest, if not, wealthiest of Australia's outlaw bikie groups.
Allan Meehan is an Australian outlaw biker and alleged gangster who served as the national president of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club in 2022–2023.