Specialist police unit Taskforce Hawk raided a Mount Martha home, detaining Mick Gatto and his spouse amid a large‑scale investigation into alleged financial crimes linked to the construction sector.
Detectives from the specialist Taskforce Hawk conducted a police search at a residence in Mount Martha early on Wednesday morning, acting on a warrant that forms part of an ongoing probe into alleged financial misconduct.
The operation targeted a property owned by a married couple in their seventies, both of whom were taken into custody and are currently being questioned by investigators. Police indicated that further details would be disclosed later in the day. Taskforce Hawk, a unit established to investigate criminal conduct within the construction industry, was created in response to extensive media reporting on corruption and illicit practices in that sector.
The taskforce's remit includes examining complex financial schemes, fraud, and collusion between unions, contractors and other stakeholders. The current inquiry appears to focus on alleged wrongdoing linked to a self‑styled mediator and arbitrator who has long positioned himself as a go‑between for the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and various building firms.
The individual at the centre of the investigation is Mick Gatto, a former figure in organized crime who has, in recent years, marketed himself as a dispute‑resolution consultant for the construction trade. On 18 February, Gatto publicly denied accusations made in a report by Geoffrey Watson QC, which claimed his activities had inflicted lasting damage on the Victorian building industry and the state's economy.
Gatto told 3AW that he was being unfairly scapegoated and that past inquiries, including several royal commissions, had failed to produce any substantive findings against him. He asserted that he has spent the past three to four decades navigating similar accusations without legal consequence. On Wednesday afternoon, 3AW reporter Jacqui Felgate confirmed that the two individuals arrested were indeed Mick Gatto and his wife.
Felgate reported that the couple was taken into custody by the detectives and then transported back to their home in a police van. She described a scene of considerable police activity at the property, noting that several police vehicles were present and that officers were moving boxes in and out of the house throughout the day.
The presence of approximately six police cars underscored the scale of the operation and suggested that investigators were seizing evidence, possibly including financial records, electronic devices, and other material relevant to the alleged offences. The investigation has drawn renewed attention to the broader issue of corruption in the construction sector, a topic that has been the focus of numerous investigative reports and journalistic awards.
Notably, the Age's senior investigative journalist, a three‑time recipient of the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year award and winner of 20 Walkley Awards including the Gold Walkley, has frequently covered the intersection of politics, business, foreign affairs and criminal justice. His work has highlighted the complex network of relationships that can exist between unions, contractors, and individuals such as Gatto, who operate at the fringe of legality.
The current police action may represent a significant development in the ongoing effort to expose and dismantle illicit financial arrangements within Victoria's construction industry
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