The feud led to more than a dozen homes and businesses being torched. The most high-profile of those was Sonsa Markets in Collingwood, a grocery store with family ties to Christopher Perrone.
Police intelligence holdings seen by The Age identify Perrone and another relative as key figures within Sonsa Markets, which came under the radar of investigators for its suspected role in the importation of drugs and large-scale money laundering.
This masthead is not alleging that Perrone and his relatives are involved in any wrongdoing, just that a business connected to them was under police investigation for illicit activity.
CCTV cameras captured the moment the fire ignited and filled Sonsa Market with smoke and flames.
The torching of the Sonsa Markets, which caused extensive damage to the business, wasn’t the only attack on property connected to the family.
About a week before, three men in balaclavas broke into the shop using a sledgehammer and set it alight, and arsonists targeted two cars parked in the driveway of the Fawkner home of one of the store’s co-owners.
The arson attack came two days after CCTV cameras outside the shop captured a group of men arguing on the street. Footage of the incident shows the men engaging in a series of heated exchanges before two of them walk off along Smith Street, telling the third man: “She’s beautiful” and “F— off”.
Perrone’s arrest will now trigger a series of hearings in Greece for authorities to determine whether his extradition back to Australia should be granted. But with the court closed throughout August in Greece, it could be at least a month before a hearing is scheduled.
The 32-year-old is yet to engage a lawyer overseas.
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Australia and Greece are bound by a bilateral agreement signed in 1991 that outlines the extradition process between both nations. In it, both Australia and Greece agree to extradite to the other any alleged offenders accused of having committed a crime punishable in both jurisdictions with a jail term of a year or more.
The legislation requires both countries to make an extradition request in writing through diplomatic channels, submit an arrest warrant, and provide an outline of the allegations against the person whose extradition is being requested.
Donald Rothwell, an international law professor at the Australian National University, said there were multiple variables at play to determine how the extradition might play out, including whether Perrone decided to contest the request in the Greek courts, a process that could take months.
“Another critical factor is how deep are the pockets of the individual who is seeking to contest the extradition? How much money do they actually have behind them to be able to engage lawyers in Greece to present and develop these arguments on their behalf?” he said.
Rothwell said the fact that Perrone’s arrest had been off the back of an Interpol notice was positive because it meant Victoria Police had been able to meet the requirements for the arrest warrant to be certified and acknowledged by international law enforcement.
“The fact that the Greek police have acted upon it is also positive,” he said.
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Victoria Police this week announced it would offer a $1 million reward for information about Issa’s murder in a bid to identify those involved “further up the chain” who might have ordered and financed the hit.
“We have already made clear we will do everything we can to identify every single person involved in both the planning and the execution, and now there are 1 million reasons to come forward with any information you may have,” the head of the homicide squad, Detective Inspector Dean Thomas, told reporters on Monday.
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