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Domenic Gatto

Domenic "Mick" Gatto (born circa 1952) is an Italian-Australian former heavyweight boxer, who once was a serious contender for the Australian Heavyweight title, and a convicted criminal.

Gatto is a professional mediator within the building industry in Melbourne. He is also known as a member of Melbourne's underworld, and was an associate of the murdered Alphonse Gangitano and Graham Kinniburgh.

He has convictions for burglary, assaulting police, racketeering, possessing firearms, and obtaining financial advantage by deception.

Gatto runs a chain of legitimate companies, Arbitrations and Mediations Pty Ltd and has an interest in crane company, Elite Cranes. At a building industry royal commission in 2002 he was named as a standover man by prosecutors who were investigating illegal payments made to unions. Gattos Associates in the underworld ran deep. The "Carlton Crew" , Gattos Associates through the '80s and '90s all have been victims of the brutal gangland war, which left Gatto the final one standing, but ties with the underworld have yet been soured. Still living the life of a gangster, Gatto still closely associates with other underworld figures such as John Khoury, Previously lived in East Doncaster and in October 2005 he purchased a A$2 million home in Lower Plenty. In June 2007 Gatto's nephew Daniel Gatto pleaded guilty to three assault charges related to a fight that occurred on December 24, 2006 in front of a Prahran nightclub .

Murder acquittal

In 2004 he was charged with the murder of suspected underworld hitman Andrew Veniamin but was found not guilty. During the trial, Gatto claimed he had acted in self defence after Veniamin pulled out a .38 and threatened to kill him. Gatto claims that during a struggle he was able to turn the gun around on Veniamin and fire one shot into his neck, and one shot in the eye. He also claimed that during the argument, Veniamin had implicated himself in the deaths of Dino Dibra, Paul Kallipolitis and Graham Kinniburgh.

Gatto remained remarkably calm after the shooting.

Emerging from the rear of the restaurant, Gatto told proprietor Michael Choucair: "He tried to kill me. He said he wants to kill me like he did to Graham", even though police surveillance proved that Veniamin was not present at the time of Graham Kinniburgh's death. He waited at the scene for police to arrive and told them it was a clear case of self-defence after Veniamin pulled out a .38 and threatened to kill him. Veniamin was wearing a tight shirt with 3 quarter length pants which had an elastic waist, as well as thongs. Investigators claim that it would have been very hard to conceal and produce a gun in that attire.