Graham Kinniburgh

Graham 'The Munster' Allen Kinniburgh (1943 – 13 December 2003) was an Australian organised crime figure from Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, who became a victim of the Melbourne gangland killings later dramatised in the drama series Underbelly.

Early life

Kinniburgh's criminal record consisted of charges of wounding with intent to cause murder, escaping legal custody, dishonesty, racketeering, extortion, bribery, possession of firearms, escape, resisting arrest and assaulting police. ^{[citation needed]} Kinniburgh met with members of the Moran family while working on Melbourne's waterside. A former member of the notorious Painters and Dockers, Kinniburgh was considered Melbourne's "Mr Big" and one of the most influential gangsters in Australia.

Death

Kinniburgh garnered notoriety for his role in the Melbourne gangland killings. On 13 December 2003, Kinniburgh himself was murdered outside his home in Kew on Belmont Avenue. Two members of a rival criminal gang were suspected of involvement in his death; Carl Williams was questioned, and Andrew Veniamin was treated as a suspect. In 2004, Mick Gatto claimed that Veniamin had implicated himself in Kinniburgh's death prior to himself being killed, but it was later proved by police that Veniamin was in fact innocent and was on the other side of town at the time of the murder.

Part of the series on Australian criminals

International Criminals by nationality

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Alphonse Gangitano murder

Kinniburgh was a long-term associate of Alphonse Gangitano. On 16 January 1998, Kinniburgh had been drinking with associate, Lou Cozzo, at the Laurel Hotel in Ascot Vale before driving to the home of Alphonse Gangitano.

Kinniburgh left the house shortly after 11pm to purchase cigarettes from a local store. Upon his return 30 minutes later, Kinniburgh found Gangitano had been shot several times to the head. Gangitano's de facto wife, Virginia, was with the body of her husband who had died in the laundry. Kinniburgh adopted a code of silence, frustrating police investigating the murder. Evidence was presented at an inquest that showed both Kinniburgh and Jason Moran were at the home of Gangitano on the night of his murder. ^{[citation needed]} Both were exempted from giving evidence at the inquest on the grounds their evidence may incriminate them. Kinniburgh's blood was discovered at the murder scene and a witness had seen Moran leaving Gangitano's house. ^{[citation needed]}

In television

In the drama series Underbelly he is portrayed by actor Gerard Kennedy.

See also

• Crime in Melbourne

External links

• The Bulletin - Mobsters Inc: How Melbourne became No.1 with a bullet
• Modest mobster who kept the peace, John Silvester, The Age, 14 December 2003
• From the Sacred Heart a plea to end the violence, Jamie Berry, The Age, 20 December 2003