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I thought the Aussies had ended this sort of thing with their gun control laws....?
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1260&storyid=1415064
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1260&storyid=1415064
Debt, grudges and gunmen
By KARA LAWRENCE and EVELYN YAMINE
June 2, 2004
POLICE yesterday searched the car dealership of a debt-ridden former bankrupt who was gunned down behind his office desk.
Franco Mayer's business records were seized and officers inspected the cars in the yard for any signs of car rebirthing.
Mr Mayer was slain execution-style at the Guildford dealership on Monday morning.
Bankstown police commander Mick Plotecki said yesterday it was still unclear if more than one gunman was involved or what vehicle was used as a getaway car.
"He was known to police but didn't have criminal convictions," Superintendent Plotecki said.
"You could call his past chequered but there's nothing to explain why he was killed," he said.
Mr Mayer's lawsuit against a former employer was due to be heard before the Industrial Relations Commission today.
Instead tributes – mostly bad – were flowing in.
Mr Mayer's family and friends yesterday said he was a good and intelligent family man and said claims he had left many people in debt were untrue.
"He's been a brilliant father, husband, son, brother and friend," said one woman who had known him for 20 years.
A close neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said they were a good, quiet family.
"They're very nice people, always happy, always laughing," the neighbour told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
"He was not a bad person. They are a lovely, friendly family and it didn't look like they had a problem in the world."
Mr Mayer was involved in a protracted case in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, in which he was seeking a ruling of an unfair employment contract.
He took the action against his former employer, Sydney's American Imports, trading as Mosman Automobiles.
Mr Mayer would have been able to seek up to $200,000 in compensation if the contract was declared unfair.
Sydney's American Imports declined to comment yesterday.
The Daily Telegraph was flooded by calls yesterday from people who had held grudges against Mr Mayer, saying he left people with bad debts.
One car dealer said Mr Mayer had been a contracted car buyer for his company in 1994 and had left him $400,000 in debt.
Another man said Mr Mayer had left his father, who had employed Mr Mayer, with a $20,000 debt in the early 1990s after failing to repay the bulk of a person loan.
"He's always painted a pretty picture but the real picture was ugly," he said.
