Nov 23, 20222 min read

Matthew Guy's "Lobster with a Mobster" Affair

In August of 2017 it was revealed that Victorian Opposition Leader, Matthew Guy, had attended a private dinner with the alleged head of Melbourne's Mafia, Tony Madafferi, at the Lobster Cave restaurant. The joint Fairfax Media-Four Corners investigation also revealed that Liberal party fundraiser and official, Barrie Macmillan, met Mr. Guy outside the Lobster Cave specifically so no members of the public would see the Opposition Leader entering or leaving the restaurant with any other guests.

A market gardener and owner of La Porchetta pizza, Mr. Madafferi has been accused by police of being a high-ranking member of Melbourne's Mafia for three decades, although he denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged with a crime.

Detective Superintendent, Peter Brigham, stated in an affidavit that police hold "substantial intelligence" suggesting Mr. Madafferi had "substantial and close involvement with serious criminal conduct including drug importation, murder and extortion," and that Mr. Madafferi was "a known associate of prominent criminal entities and persons who have a history of significant criminal conduct that includes money laundering and drug trafficking".

In 2008 Mr. Madafferi was filmed by Australian Federal Police alongside a group of Mafia drug traffickers as part of a probe into Australia's import of ecstasy. In 2015 NSW police assistant commissioner, Clive Small, an expert on the Mafia, cautioned Australian politicians from receiving donations from the likes of Mr. Madafferi.

The lobster dinner revelations follow Mr. Guy having cultivated a "tough on crime" persona as Opposition Leader" according to media after having "unwittingly" become the headline attraction as Planning Minister at a fundraiser hosted by Mr. Madafferi in 2013.

A review by Liberal Party elder statesman, Tony Nutt, into the Victorian Liberal Party's 2018 state election loss and found that Mr. Guy's dinner with Mr. Madafferi undermined the party's "tough on crime" stance.