Page 1316 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 16 April 1991
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shrimp on the barbie, but rather to set up criminal connections and operations. Another of Gaswirth's partners in his US pornography operations was Jacob Molinas, a Californian organised crime figure who was murdered.
Shortly after Arno's arrest, Arno applied to the court to have bail conditions relaxed so that he could visit Australia. Arno subsequently flew into Australia on 21 May 1980. During his stay of 15 days, Arno held meetings with Australian associates in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
Initial corporate connections between Australian identities and the Mafia were made by Daniel M. Stein, an associate of Meyer Lansky. Lansky was one of the US Mafia leaders who was responsible for much of the overall direction of the Mafia. The investigative reporter Bob Bottom, in reporting the Stein connection in his book Connections II, wrote that Stein visited Australia a number of times between March 1971 and April 1976 and had dealings with that well-known Sydney criminal George Freeman, now deceased.
To give a summary of the United States connection so far, we have seen that Norman Arno and his associate Theodore Gaswirth were recognised by the FBI as leading organised crime figures in the United States and members of the Colombo family - one of five Mafia families controlling crime in New York. We have seen that Arno and Gaswirth had recently been arrested for illegal porn operations and that they then came to Australia to set up operations distributing pornography.
I have here Norman Arno's signature on a licence agreement with a company now operating in Fyshwick. But let me state it more clearly. It clearly shows a connection between Arno, the US Mafia racketeer, and our own Australian Capital Territory.
Mr Collaery: What is the name of the company in Fyshwick?
MR STEVENSON: I will be naming the various companies involved. The main contact in Australia for Arno and Gaswirth was Alexander Gajic who, together with his father Todor Gajic, was a director of Sienna Pty Ltd, a company formed in South Australia and now operating at Fyshwick in the Australian Capital Territory in association with the businesses Australian United Videos and Private Screenings Home Video.
Private Screenings Home Video was run by Gajic and Barry Taylor. This was admitted on a Four Corners television program called "X-rated". Taylor had been arrested in Asia for crimes connected with drugs and had escaped, initially to Hong Kong. Alexander Gajic was named by Justice Woodward during the 1980 New South Wales royal commission on drugs as a major player in the drug ring established by Bruce "Snapper" Cornwall and Barry Bull.
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