A man charged with murder and attempted murder over the alleged fatal shooting of a Middle Eastern crime figure in Melbourne has been granted bail.
Justice Michael Croucher told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that “bail on a murder charge is a rare thing”, but allowed Fabio Perrone to walk free on a $950,000 surety provided by the accused killer’s cousin, 7 News reported.
Perrone is one of three brothers charged over the alleged broad daylight killing of Robert Issa, 27, and his associate Eric Catanese in a shopping centre carpark in Craigieburn in October 2023.
Balaclava-clad gunmen allegedly opened fire on Issa and Catanese as they sat inside a Mercedes and then fled in a Range Rover, but Perrone is not accused of pulling the trigger or driving the getaway car but of complicity in the alleged murder.
The court heard Perrone allegedly did reconnaissance before the shooting, sourced the getaway car and helped his co-accused avoid law enforcement detection, but Justice Croucher noted the case against him was circumstantial, Nine News reported.
The prosecution’s case uses phone, encrypted device, bank records, CCTV and GPS data to link him to the alleged offending, the judge said.
Justice Croucher said the case may not go to trial until mid-2027 due to the need to find a courtroom big enough to house the five or six co-accused, and because of delays in extraditions from Greece.
He gave Perrone bail on the condition he not contact his four co-accused, including his two brothers, not leave Victoria, not go within 500m of Catanese or his home, and not go out between 10pm and 5am.
Victoria Police last month announced a $1 million reward for more information on the alleged murder of Issa, who is linked to Melbourne’s tobacco wars and several organised crime groups.
Header image: Left, Robert Issa (Victoria Police). Right, Fabio Perrone (7 News).
