Mafia influence and the Whitlam government.(Edward Gough Whitlam, political aspects of Australia)(Editorial)

• Position: 134672589
• Pages: 5(3)

The death of Mr. Al Grassby in April 2005 has elicited wide-spread public comments on his Mafia ties. Mr. Grassby, the architect of "multiculturalism" and non-assimilation in Australia, was an influential member of the Whitlam government, being the Minister for Immigration.

Mr. Bruce Provost, a retired National Crime Authority senior investigator, has recently indicated that he had no doubt that the Whitlam government Minister was paid to commit crimes and do favours for Calabrian Mafia members operating in Australia and that the National Crime Authority bowed to political pressure not to fully investigate his Mafia links. He indicated that there had been more than enough intelligence on Mr. Grassby to warrant a full-scale investigation but that he had been held back by the N.C.A. (1)

A Herald Sun report indicated inter alia:

--Giafranco Tizzoni, a Mafia supergrass, identified Mr. Grassby as being at the beck and call of Calabrian crime heads.

--Mr. Grassby had, for example, sponsored to Australia a Mafia member who had been convicted of killing police by exploding a hand grenade in a Calabrian police station.

--One of Mr. Grassby's closest associates was Toni Sergei, the man identified in...