Underbelly Files: Infiltration | |
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Genre | Crime drama |
Written by | Graeme Koetsveld |
Directed by | Grant Brown |
Starring | Sullivan Stapleton Jessica Napier Tottie Goldsmith Kassandra Clementi Valentino del Toro Buddy Dannoun Glenda Linscott Henry Nixon |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | Peter Gawler Elisa Argenzio |
Production company | Screentime |
Release | |
Original network | Nine Network |
Original release |
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Related | |
Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer was Here Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away |
Underbelly Files: Infiltration is an Australian made-for-television movie that aired on 14 February 2011 on the Nine Network. It is the second of four television movies in the Underbelly Files series, the other three being Tell Them Lucifer was Here , The Man Who Got Away , and Chopper .
It tells the true story of Victorian detective Colin McLaren who posed as a shady art dealer and infiltrated the Australian branch of the Calabrian Mafia. The character Antonio Russo is loosely based on Antonio Romeo of the Honoured Society (Australia).
The ISAN production code number is 0000-0002-9A74-0002-L-0000-0000-B [1] or 170612-2 (in shorter decimal form).
Infiltration tells the true story of Victorian detective Colin McLaren, who posed as a shady art dealer for 18 months and infiltrated the Australian branch of the Calabrian Mafia. It resulted in the biggest win of his career, seeing 11 of Australia's most villainous Mafiosi sent to prison. Valentino del Toro and Emma de Clario play their mafia family roles with truth and power [2]
Infiltration aired on 14 February 2011 at 8:30pm and pulled in an audience of 1.113 million viewers which ranked it the #6 rating show for that night. [3] [4] However it was down from the previous Underbelly telemovie which pulled in 1.377 million viewers. [5]
Reggio di Calabria, usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Regional Council of Calabria. It has an estimated population of nearly 200,000 and is the twenty-first most populous city in Italy, after Modena, and the 100th most populated city in Europe. Reggio Calabria is located in the exact center of the Mediterranean and is known for its climate, ethnic and cultural diversity. It is the third economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. About 560,000 people live in the metropolitan area, recognised in 2015 by Italy as a metropolitan city.
The 'Ndrangheta is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of the most powerful organized crime groups in the world. Since the 1950s, following wide-scale emigration from Calabria, the organization has established itself worldwide. It is characterized by a horizontal structure made up of autonomous clans known as 'ndrine, based almost exclusively on blood ties. Its main activity is drug trafficking, on which it has a near monopoly in Europe, but it also deals with arms trafficking, money laundering, racketeering, extortion, loan sharking, and prostitution.
Joseph Dominick Pistone, is an American former FBI agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family, and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City. Pistone was an FBI agent for 17 years, from 1969 until he resigned in 1986. The evidence collected by Pistone led to over 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of Mafia members—and some responsible for his infiltration were also killed by other mobsters.
Donald Bruce Mackay was an Australian businessman and anti-drug campaigner. He disappeared in 1977, but his body has never been found. In 1986, James Bazley was convicted on his murder.
Organized crime in Italy and its criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially Southern Italy, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions since at least the 19th century.
The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, or The Office is an Italian-American Mafia family in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, and the other in Boston, Massachusetts. The family is currently led by Carmen "The Cheese Man" Dinunzio, who is part of the Boston faction. The family is primarily active in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut with other territory throughout New England.
Jessica Napier is a New Zealand-born actress based in Australia. She has appeared in a number of feature films, including Love Serenade, Blackrock, Cut, City Loop, Angst, The Illustrated Family Doctor and Ghost Rider, and is well known for her role of Becky Howard in the Australian TV drama series McLeod's Daughters.
Gyton Stephen Grantley is an Australian actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of convicted murderer and drug trafficker Carl Williams in the hit Australian television show Underbelly, for which he was nominated for both Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series and Most Popular Actor for the 2009 TV Week Logie Awards and the 2008 AFI award. Grantley won the 2009 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor.
Sullivan Stapleton is an Australian actor who is best known for his roles in the television series The Secret Life of Us, Strike Back and Animal Kingdom. He also starred in the NBC crime drama Blindspot.
The Honoured Society is a Calabrian 'Ndrangheta criminal confederation, started in Melbourne and currently active in all of Australia. In 1963, it was reportedly involved in the Victoria Market Murders. It was led by gangster Frank Benvenuto until his slaying in 2000. Tony Romeo, another high-ranking member, was shot in 2002.
Daniel Joseph Ricciardo is an Italian-Australian racing driver who last raced in Formula One driving for McLaren, under the Australian flag. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HRT team as part of a deal with Red Bull Racing, for whom he was test driving under its sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso. He has achieved 8 Grand Prix victories in Formula One.
Underbelly is an Australian television true crime-drama series which first aired on the Nine Network between 13 February 2008 and 1 September 2013, before being revived on 3 April 2022. Each series is based on real-life events. There have been six full series, with season 7 being a miniseries. A 2014 series titled Fat Tony & Co is a sequel to the first series but is not branded under the Underbelly title.
Colin McLaren is an Australian documentary filmmaker, crime writer and former police detective sergeant and task force team leader. A feature-length telemovie Underbelly Files: Infiltration about his life by Underbelly Productions, starring Sullivan Stapleton in the title role, aired in 2011 in Australia and other territories.
The Commisso 'ndrina is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Siderno, but also has a branch in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada as part of the Siderno Group. The Commisso clan is involved in international drug trafficking using family ties in Italy, Canada, the United States and Australia.
Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away is an Australian made-for-television movie that aired on 21 February 2011 on the Nine Network. It is the third of four television movies in the Underbelly Files series, the other three being Tell Them Lucifer was Here,Infiltration, and Chopper. It recounts the true story of British-Australian drug smuggler David McMillan, the only man ever to escape from Bangkok's Klong Prem prison.
Melissa Howard is an Australian actress, best known for playing Rebecca Ainsworth in Dead Gorgeous.
Kassandra Carolyn Clementi is an Australian actress. She is known for her role as Maddy Osborne on the Seven Network soap opera Home and Away, a role she played for over three years before leaving in May 2016.
Nick McKenzie is an Australian investigative journalist. He has won 14 Walkley Awards, been twice named the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year and also received the Kennedy Award for Journalist of the Year in 2020 and 2022. He is the president of the Melbourne Press Club.
The Papalia crime family also known as Papalia 'ndrina, is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Platì in Southern Italy and Buccinasco in Northern Italy. Another branch of the family is based in Griffith in the Australian state of New South Wales.