The Russell Street Bombing Read Online Free PDF Page B

investigators as forensic experts began to piece together
the events leading up to the explosion.
    So keen were the police to find those responsible, they used a time-honoured
method of investigation. They made their presence known in other areas of petty
and not-so-petty criminal areas. The gaming industry was as good as shut down
during the investigation, which meant that the police weren't the only ones
interested in having the case solved. If enough pressure was exerted in the
right directions, then information could come from unlikely sources.
    A link was soon made with the gelignite. On 6 October 1985, a large quantity
of gelignite had been stolen from the Triconnel Mine at Blackwood. The bomb
gelignite was identical to that stolen in the robbery. This meant that the
bombers had planned this for at least six months.

The Reward
    In the days after the bombing, an anonymous caller telephoned
Chief Commissioner Mick Miller five times in response to media appeals for
information. He said that not only did he know who the bombers were, but he also
had photographs of them. The caller couldn't be ignored; if what he said was
true, he could hold the key. The only catch was that that man wanted a
significant reward for his information.
    The calls were traced to several public phone boxes around the St Kilda area.
Police were unsure whether the caller had genuine information or whether the
whole thing was a hoax. In any case, they begin to stake out local telephone
boxes and local detectives soon became familiar with the location of every St
Kilda public phone box.
    On Friday 4 April, eight days after the bombing, Premier John Cain and
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mick Miller offered a reward of $500,000 for
information leading to the capture and conviction of the bombers. Police hoped
that that if the anonymous caller was indeed genuine, the promise of such a
large reward would flush him out. As soon as the reward was announced,
additional police were used to watch phone boxes around the St Kilda area.
    The anonymous caller wasn't the only member of the public phoning police with
potential information. Regular re-enactments and reminders in the media brought
forth hundreds of phone calls. One woman said that she had seen a man parking a
two-tone Commodore in front of the Russell Street police headquarters at 12.30pm
on the day of the bombing. With the help of police, she compiled an identikit
photo of him that was circulated among detectives. Several thought the photo
bore a strong resemblance to a small-time crook called Claudio Crupi.
    When Taskforce detectives went looking for Crupi, further witnesses came
forward to say that they had seen him wrapping up what appeared to be sticks of
gelignite on the day of the bombing. He was also known to have a grudge against
a detective at the Major Crime Squad. A number of search warrants on Crupi's
house and places he was known to frequent were unsuccessful. It was rumoured
that he'd left town soon after the bombing.

Hunting Crupi
    On Sunday 13 April, Taskforce detectives raided a number of
houses of associates of Claudio Crupi. In one of the raids, police found a photo
of Crupi's car which had been involved in an accident. In the background of the
picture another car was parked adjacent to his. Police checked the registration
number and found out it belonged to associates of Crupi's who lived in Moe.
Perhaps Crupi had headed in that direction so they headed there too, but the
illusive suspect stayed one step ahead of his pursuers.
    At this stage, a circumstantial case against Crupi was slowly building. A
witness described someone who looked like Crupi parking the bomb car outside
Russell Street headquarters on the day of the bombing; he had been seen on the
day of the bombing wrapping gelignite in newspaper; neighbours said he had left
his home a few hours before the bombing and returned a few hours later; and
finally, he had a known hatred of police. And the fact that he'd left