The mother of one of the worst killers ever seen in Victoria has returned to court in Wangaratta to face up to her role in a failed plot to commit a second murder.
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Maria Cardamone, 78, appeared in the County Court on Tuesday via video link from Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, watching the screen without expression.
She had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice by helping son Michael Cardamone hire a hitman to kill Myrtleford man Eddie George, the key prosecution witness in the murder case against him.
Michael Cardamone was last week sentenced in the Supreme Court to life in prison without parole for the brutal murder of his Whorouly neighbour Karen Chetcuti (nee Verbunt).
Crown prosecutor Jane Warren told the court she was not ready to begin Maria Cardamone’s case and it was adjourned to be heard in Wangaratta on September 6.
The victim impact statement of Mr George will form part of the evidence and Judge Gerard Mullaly said he wanted to give any others who made statements the chance to read them in court.
“I’m not going to transfer this back to Melbourne, I can’t for the life of me understand why it’s in this court and not the Supreme Court,” he said.
Defence barrister Rob Stary said he would not call any witnesses, including Cardamone herself, to give evidence and would rely on medical reports and submissions.
She will not travel to Wangaratta for the hearing, instead appearing via video link from prison with an Italian interpreter by her side.
Mr Stary said he wanted the case dealt with as soon as possible.
Crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert told last week’s Supreme Court hearing that Michael Cardamone’s guilty plea to murder may have been entered only to help secure his mother’s release from custody.
He said Maria Cardamone had called and visited her son in jail, where they had coded conversations and organised for her to pay a deposit to an associate of the hitman they knew as Matty Thompson, but did not realise was actually an undercover police officer.
On March 23, she handed a package with $9000 cash to a covert operative assuming the alias Rick and six days later the hitman told Michael Cardamone the job had been done.
“The prisoner instructed Thompson to show his mother, Maria Cardamone, the photo as proof that the job was done,” Mr Silbert said. “Thompson queried whether the prisoner's mother would be able to handle seeing a photograph of a dead man and the prisoner said that she would be fine.”
She was eventually arrested on May 4.
