By Tammy Mills
A Williamstown solicitor has been found guilty of laundering dirty money allegedly given to him by a man accused of playing a part in the 1994 Richmond Armaguard robbery.
John Anile’s barrister Peter Billings said it would be a “miracle” if his client ever practised law again after a jury found 58-year-old Anile guilty of money laundering and obtaining financial advantage by deception.
Anile appeared in the Melbourne County Court on Friday for a plea hearing at which the court was told he laundered $400,000 allegedly given to him by former kickboxing champion Pasquale ‘Percy’ Lanciana in 1994.
The case against Anile was part of Operation Tideland, a taskforce that investigated an organised crime syndicate responsible for serious crimes, including the 1994 Richmond heist, when syndicate members allegedly dressed as road workers to hold up an Armaguard truck and steal $2.4 million.
Lanciana was charged with the Richmond robbery last year. He is contesting the accusations at a committal hearing in October.
The prosecution in Anile’s case did not specify the laundered money came from the heist, stating instead that the cash came from a serious offence and Anile knew it was dirty.
“That alone makes it a very serious offence and it calls for an immediate custodial sentence,” prosecutor Matt Fisher said.
According to court documents, Anile was caught in a covert recording in 2013 saying to a witness: “I know exactly where the f—ing money came from. I will never tell you where the money came from. You can put a gun to my head and I will never tell you. All I can tell you is that the $400,000 cash was a small proportion of it.”
In another meeting, the witness speculated the money came from a train robbery, to which Anile replies: “You don’t have to be a genius. They had a bunch of cash and they did not work.” He went on to say: “Whatever it was, whether it was stand-overs or robberies, whatever it was, it wasn’t drugs”.
Anile had pleaded not guilty to laundering the money and deception. Police said he bought a vacant lot in Williamstown using $400,000 of “under the table” cash and avoiding stamp duty and taxes by underquoting the sale.
Mr Billings told the court his client had an unblemished record before and since, but his reputation was now lost and he had suffered substantial hardship. He said the Legal Services Commissioner had taken over Anile’s firm and he will have to hand in his practising certificate.
“Unless a miracle occurs, he’ll never practise law again,” Mr Billings said.
He said Anile had suffered an “enduring campaign” from the press, where it was alleged the money came from the Richmond Armaguard heist. “That’s not the basis of the prosecution case,” Mr Billings said.
He asked Judge Phillip Coish to take into account his client’s remorse and likelihood he wouldn’t reoffend.
Anile will be sentenced on Friday.
The
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