Man lured to club to be killed: court

A man was lured to an Italian social club so he could be murdered in a "vengeance"
killing, a court has been told.
But the intended murder victim, whose identity is unknown to police, left minutes
before the killing was to occur, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Thursday.
Francesco Madafferi, 48, of Greenvale, has been charged with conspiracy to murder
the man at the club on July 24 last year.
A second man, Pasquale Barbaro, 47, of Griffith in NSW, was charged with the same
offence last week.
Detective Senior Constable Daniel Baulch told the court that police surveillance
revealed the getaway car, hired for the killing at the Reggio Calabria Club in
Parkville, had broken down.
By the time those involved in the conspiracy reached the club in a car driven by
Barbaro, the intended victim had left because he felt uneasy, he said.
The evidence emerged during Madafferi's bail hearing. The crown opposed bail saying
he posed an unacceptable risk of flight and reoffending.
Det Sen Const Baulch told the court phone intercepts revealed Madafferi was to lure
the intended victim to the club.
He alleged that on the night of the intended murder, Madafferi contacted Barbaro to
tell him he was at the club with the intended victim.
Madafferi allegedly told Barbaro: "That guy is with me and he is about to go home".
Madafferi then told Barbaro he would try and stall him.
Det Sen Const Baulch said Barbaro then went to a Carlton flat used as a safe house
where he took two loaded guns from a container buried in the property's backyard.
He gave them to another member of his group and they travelled in convoy to the
club. But on the way, the getaway car broke down and the group in that car joined
Barbaro in his car.
By the time they got to the club the intended victim had gone.
The court was told the murder plot was uncovered while Barbaro and Madafferi were
under surveillance by the Australia Federal Police (AFP) as part of a major drug
investigation.
Recorded conversations between those involved in the plot revealed the murder was
about "vengeance".
Det Sen Const Baulch said that when interviewed by police, Madafferi made no comment
except to say: "I've already spoken too much and that's why I'm here".
Police seized 11 rounds of ammunition, believed to be .32 calibre, inside a barbecue
during a search of Madafferi's Greenvale home.
The bail hearing continues on Friday.