Kath Pettingill | |
---|---|
Born | 27 March 1935 89) | (age
Other names | Granny Evil |
Occupation | Former brothel owner |
Children | 10, including Dennis Allen and Victor Peirce [1] |
Conviction(s) | Drug trafficking |
Kathleen "Kath" Pettingill (born 27 March 1935) is the matriarch of the Melbourne criminal family, the Pettingill family.
Pettingill's 10 children are:
(with Dennis Ryan)
(with William George "Billy" Peirce (died 1968))
(with Jimmy Pettingill (died 1972))
Pettingill first worked in a bar, and having herself been a prostitute, [6] she went on to run brothels. [1] She lived with her children in the Richmond area of Melbourne, and a number of her sons were sent to the Turana Boys' Home.
Pettingill has a glass eye in place of the one she lost after being shot in 1978 by Kim Nelson and Keryn Thompson. The bullet passed through a closed door at the Collingwood Housing Commission of Victoria flats as she and her son, Dennis Allen, attempted to repay a $300 debt on behalf of her daughter, Vicky Brooks. [7] [ page needed ]
A biography of her life, The Matriarch: The Kathy Pettingill Story, was written by Adrian Tame and published in 1996. As of 2007, Pettingill was living in Venus Bay, Gippsland, Victoria. [8]
In the 2011 miniseries Killing Time, Pettingill is a major character, played by Kris McQuade.
Fictionalized versions of Pettingill, as the character Janine "Smurf" Cody, have appeared in both the 2010 Australian film Animal Kingdom portrayed by Jacki Weaver, and the 2016 TNT television show of the same name portrayed by Ellen Barkin. Weaver was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance.
The Melbourne gangland killings were the murders of 36 underworld figures in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between January 1998 and August 2010. The murders were retributive killings involving underworld groups. The deaths caused a power vacuum within Melbourne's criminal community, and rival factions fought for control and influence. Many of the murders remain unsolved, although detectives from the Purana Taskforce believe that Carl Williams was responsible for at least ten of them. The period culminated in the arrest of Williams, who pleaded guilty on 28 February 2007 to three of the murders.
HM Prison Pentridge, better known as Pentridge Prison, was an Australian prison established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first convicts arrived at the gaol in 1851. The facility closed on 1 May 1997, although some of the heritage-listed buildings still stand.
The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and current museum on Russell Street, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It consists of a bluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildings, and opposite the Russell Street Police Headquarters. It was first constructed starting in 1839, and during its operation as a prison between 1845 and 1924, it held and executed some of Australia's most notorious criminals, including bushranger Ned Kelly and serial killer Frederick Bailey Deeming. In total, 133 people were executed by hanging. Though it was used briefly during World War II, it formally ceased operating as a prison in 1924; with parts of the jail being incorporated into the RMIT University, and the rest becoming a museum.
The Walsh Street police shootings were the 1988 murders of two Victoria Police officers: Constables Steven Tynan, 22, and Damian Eyre, 20.
This is a timeline of major crimes in Australia.
Victor George Peirce was an Australian gangster from Melbourne, Victoria. Peirce was a member of the Pettingill family, which was headed by matriarch and former Richmond brothel owner Kath Pettingill.
Bertram Barney Wainer was an Australian doctor who successfully campaigned for legal access to abortion for women in the state of Victoria. In the process he received multiple death threats from Victoria Police and survived at least three attempts on his life, including shootings and arson. He was also to uncover political and police corruption.
Dennis Bruce Allen was a notorious Australian drug dealer and alleged serial killer based in Melbourne. He was the oldest son of Kath Pettingill, a criminal matriarch. Allen's lawyer, Andrew Fraser, helped him avoid jail time by leveraging his knowledge of corrupt Victorian police officers at the time. However, Allen died of heart disease in 1987 while in prison custody, awaiting trial for murder.
Janus is an Australian legal drama television series broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1994 to 1995. It was created by Alison Nisselle and Tony McDonald.
Zarah Garde-Wilson is an Australian criminal defence lawyer known for her involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings and the Lawyer X scandal. She has represented notorious Australian criminals such as Carl Williams, Roberta Williams, Tony Mokbel, Fadi Haddara, and Rob Karam. Garde-Wilson is noted for her outspoken views on corruption within the Australian criminal justice system and the subsequent erosion of defendants' rights. She is the principal partner at Garde Wilson Lawyers.
The Pettingill family is a Melbourne-based criminal family, headed by matriarch Kath Pettingill. Family members have many convictions for criminal offences including drug trafficking, arms dealing and armed robberies.
Judith Maryanne Moran is the matriarch of the Moran criminal family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, involved in the Melbourne gangland killings.
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.
Excalibur was a 15.2-metre (50 ft) racing yacht based in Melbourne, Victoria, at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron and owned by Alan Saunders.
Animal Kingdom is a 2010 Australian crime drama film written and directed by David Michôd in his feature directorial debut. It stars Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, James Frecheville, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, and Sullivan Stapleton.
Killing Time is an Australian television drama series on TV1 subscription television channel which first screened in 2011. It is based on the true story of disgraced lawyer Andrew Fraser. In New Zealand it screens on Prime Television.
Criminal activity in Victoria, Australia is combated by the Victoria Police and the Victorian court system, while statistics about crime are managed by the Crime Statistics Agency. Modern Australian states and cities, including Victoria, have some of the lowest crime rates recorded globally with Australia ranked the 13th safest nation and Melbourne ranked the 5th safest city globally. As of September 2018 the CBD of Melbourne had the highest rate of overall criminal incidents in the state (15,949.9), followed by Latrobe (12,896.1) and Yarra (11,119.2). Rural areas have comparatively high crime rates, with towns such as Mildura (9,222.0) and Greater Shepparton (9,111.8) having some of the highest crime rates in the state.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC), an international outlaw biker gang, has been involved in multiple crimes, alleged crimes, and violent incidents in Australia. The Hells Angels are legally classified as a criminal organisation in the Australian state of Queensland, and there have been attempts to classify them as such in New South Wales. The Hells Angels have been linked with drug trafficking and production, as well as a host of violent crimes including murder, in Australia.