Sources: The Age, The Daily Advertiser
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New South Wales police reinvestigating the 36-year-old murder of Griffith anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay have been told two hit men dumped the body in a well at a property near Hay on their way back to Melbourne.
Police have been able to establish historical links between key figures of the Griffith mafia – alleged to have organised the hit – and the property now at the centre of the latest investigation.
The theory, believed to be supported by fresh information from an inside source, suggests Mackay was shot in the car park of the Griffith Hotel, bundled into the boot of a car and driven to a Hay property 150 kilometres away before the killers drove to Echuca and on to Melbourne.
Mafia insider, Gianfranco Tizzoni, gave evidence that he paid Melbourne hitman James Frederick Bazley $10,000 to carry out the murder.
He said he acted as a middle man for notorious crime figure Bob Trimbole who had agreed to organise the contract killing on behalf of Griffith crime figures.
Trimbole and Tizzoni were once in business together, repairing pinball machines in the Griffith and Hay districts.
Tizzoni claimed his only role in the killing was to hire Bazley. Police now believe he was present in the Griffith car park on the night of the murder and helped dispose of the body.
In recent years NSW forensic experts have carried out a review of evidence kept from the Griffith crime scene and have found sufficient DNA to be able to identify any remains if discovered.
In 1986, Bazley was sentenced to life over a double murder, nine years for the conspiracy to murder Mackay and a further four years for a $270,000 armed robbery.
Scores of police descended on the small town of Hay on Wednesday in the hope they could put an end to the 36-year-old murder mystery.
A search warrant was executed at a residential property on Maude Road and Griffith police, Australian Federal Police and Unsolved Crimes Unit Homicide Squad detectives spent all day searching the land, focusing on a mine shaft and former pig sty, which is now a lettuce patch.
But the officer in charge of detectives conducting the search has urged caution.
Superintendent Michael Rowan spoke with journalists outside the Hay courthouse on Thursday and while he spoke in glowing terms of advances in forensic technology, Supt Rowan was careful with his words.
“In real terms, what I can say is (Mr Mackay) was murdered in 1977, here we are in the year 2013 and the development in forensic science has been exponential in that time,” he said.
“I wouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves. At this stage we’re just making a search. In real terms we cannot discount the information, the NSW Police treats these matters seriously. But as I say, with the advent of science and so forth, there are possibilities, but I don’t want to (get peoples’ hopes up).”
Describing Mr Mackay's murder as ''the first political assassination in this country'', Supt Rowan said officers were searching with ''a very open mind, very structured process''.
“Our search is quite confined to an area which would be geographically 50 metres by about 30 metres and at the moment there is a dam in that area, there’s also an area that yesterday was cleared that looks like it was used as part of a farm tip and there’s also some trees as well,'' he said.
Police confirmed Wednesday night in a statement that the search was for the remains of the father-of-four after information was received that Mr Mackay's remains could be located at the property.
Police were seen in town buying hundreds of dollars worth of shovels before heading to the property west of Hay.
Tents were erected and an excavator was brought in at about 4pm to assist with the search.
It is expected that work will come to a standstill on the property for close to a week as the investigation continues.
It is understood that the property has been in the same family for several decades and is currently leased by the owner, Con Fattore, 79.
Mr Fattore was contacted on Wednesday night and asked if it was his property that police were searching and he said, "Yeah what do you want to know that for?"
Mr Fattore does not live on the property and refused to comment on how long he had owned it or the nature of the search.
"It's my property but ask the police," he said.
"I got nothing to do with it."
Neighbour John Mirabelli said Griffith detectives questioned him on Tuesday and said they were looking for a well or bore about three or four kilometres out of Hay.
"They asked me about whether we had a well on our property. It was obvious they had a tip-off of some description," he said.
Social media was rife with speculation all afternoon that the search could be for the remains of Mr Mackay, who went missing almost 36 years ago.
VIDEO: Mackay 'didn't believe anyone would kill him'
A $200,000 reward was offered last July for any information relating to Mr Mackay's death or disappearance.
Anyone with information about Mr Mackay's murder should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.