The underbelly construction crackdown: Why was Mick Gatto really arrested?
6/8/202615 min
When one of Australia’s most infamous Victorian gangland figures was arrested last week over an alleged traffic infringement, it raised some eyebrows.
So given Mick Gatto’s centrality in the building industry, was this the Victorian police pulling at straws in some last ditch attempt to crack down on suspected corruption?
Today, investigative reporter Nick McKenzie on whether this arrest was, as Gatto asserts, “a load of crap”. Or if it’s illustrative of a new dedication by police to clean up an industry that’s been rife with alleged corruption for decades.
Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSamantha Selinger-Morris· Host0:00
[upbeat music] When one of Australia's most infamous Victorian gangland figures was arrested last week over an alleged traffic infringement, it raised some eyebrows. Given Mick Gatto's centrality in the construction sector, was this the Victorian police pulling at straws in some last-ditch attempt to crack down on suspected corruption in the industry? I'm Samantha Selinger-Morris, and you're listening to The Morning Edition from The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. Today, investigative reporter Nick McKenzie on whether this arrest was, as Mick Gatto asserts, a load of crap, or if it's illustrative of a new dedication by police to clean up an industry that's been rife with alleged corruption for decades. It's June the 9th. Nick, welcome back to the podcast.
Nick McKenzie· Guest0:52
Great to be with you again.
Samantha Selinger-Morris· Host0:54
What happened last week?
Nick McKenzie· Guest0:56
Well, it was a fairly s- sensational event in some respects. That was the raiding of the gangland veteran identity, Mick Gatto, by the Victoria Police's Taskforce Hawker, specialist taskforce set up to investigate, uh, crime and corruption in the building sector. Huge media event. There were people camped outside of Gatto's home. He was arrested, taken away, uh, but then released without charge. Uh, his wife, Cheryl, was also interdicted by police, but also n- not charged.
Speaker 3· Soundbite1:24
[upbeat music] First to breaking news, and police have sensationally