Mick Gatto and wife released from custody after police raid home
Updated . First published at
Mick Gatto and his wife Cheryl have been released from custody after being arrested as part of a police investigation into allegations of corruption within the Victorian building industry.
Police arrived at a property in Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula, located around 50 kilometres from Melbourne, and executed a search warrant regarding an investigation into alleged financial offences early today.
Mick Gatto and his wife have been released from custody pending further enquiries. The Age
Investigators took Gatto, 70, and his wife, 72, into custody.
They were interviewed by police and have since been released pending further enquiries.
No charges have been laid.
3AW’s Jacqui Felgate reported that police remain at the scene and members of Taskforce Hawk were seen removing boxes from the property.
“Police are still at scene, they have been taking boxes, I think there are about six cars there at the moment, and they have been taking boxes in and out of the property all day,” Felgate said.
Police seized electronic devices and two controlled weapons including a baton and knife.
Gatto arrives home after being interviewed by police. The Age
Gatto was a prominent figure in Melbourne’s gangland wars.
He was acquitted of murdering suspected hitman Andrew “Benji” Veniamin after he shot him in self-defence at a Carlton restaurant in 2004.
Gatto also faced charges of extortion and blackmail in 2024, accused of threatening and assaulting restaurateur Jamal Mohammad over two decades.
Taskforce Hawk was established to investigate criminal behaviour within Victoria’s construction industry.
Gatto was facing 10 offences, including extortion with threat to kill, blackmail, assault and producing firearms.
Mick Gatto and his wife Cheryl. 9News
Detectives searched Gatto's Mount Martha residence, taking him into custody. Nine News
The charges were withdrawn by prosecutors in October 2024.
Gatto denied allegations in a report released in February by Geoffrey Watson QC which alleged that through his work as a “mediator” between the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and construction companies, he had “damaged the building industry and damaged the Victorian economy – maybe permanently.”
During an interview with Felgate, Gatto denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was not “above the law”.
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