tuffrr

Ice cream turf war led to murder, court told
February 3, 2004 - 3:01PM


A longstanding dispute between two families over ice cream van territory led to the murder of a man, the Victorian Supreme Court was told today.

The court heard that Dennis Timothy Giunta, 26, died from multiple stab wounds after he was attacked in his suburban Williamstown home by a masked man wielding a sword.

His cousin Francesco Mangione, 47, of Moonee Ponds, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Giunta on February 5, 2002.

Crown prosecutor Bill Morgan-Payler, QC, told the jury that DNA samples found on a glove left at the scene matched DNA taken from Mangione.

He said the Mangione and Giunta families had argued over which areas they would operate their ice cream vans.

The dispute escalated into acts of violence between various members of the two families including the dead man and the accused, he said.

Mr Morgan-Payler said it was the Crown's case that Mangione had "developed and nurtured an intense hatred" of Mr Giunta.

The trial before Justice David Harper is continuing.

Batman976

Here is a photo of Mangion's ice cream van.

__________________
The following statement is true.
The preceding statement was false.