Underworld killer beaten to death

Gynton Grantley played Carl Williams in Underbelly - a portrayal the real Williams, who was found dead yesterday, was extremely unhappy about. Photo / Supplied

Carl Williams, babyfaced killer and scion of one of Melbourne's most notorious crime families, has been beaten to death in jail.

Williams, 39, died after going into cardiac arrest following an assault yesterday at Barwon maximum security prison near Geelong.

He suffered serious head injuries after he was struck from behind several times with the stem of an exercise bike while sitting at a table in an exercise facility.

He was serving a minimum 35 years for four murders and conspiracy to murder another underworld rival.

The death was confirmed by Williams' lawyer, Rob Stary.

Williams, also a convicted drug trafficker, was a key figure in the gangland wars that killed as many as 30 men in a vicious series of tit-for-tat murders, often committed in front of witnesses.

He was also a key character in the top-rating Underbelly television series based on the wars, although he was reportedly unhappy at his depiction as an incompetent fool.

"I don't mind them telling the truth about me, but telling lies and painting me out like some dickhead who is brain-dead, well, that's just bullshit," he wrote in a letter to his mother, obtained by Channel Seven.

Williams also showed no regret for the killings.

"Yes, I did what I did and nothing I nor anyone does will ever change that," he wrote. "I am not ashamed of the lengths I was forced to take to protect myself and my loved ones."

Williams grew up in a world populated by gangland figures with names such as "Mad Charlie" Hegyaljie, Nik "The Russian" Radov and Graham "The Munster" Kinniburgh.

They had emerged from crime and turf wars made infamous by the Painters and Dockers Union, the Calabrian'Ndrangheta, and gangs that included the Carlton Crew, his own family, and the rival Moran clan.

The wars began in earnest when Williams was shot in the stomach by Jason Moran during a meeting in a park over an amphetamines deal.

Williams vowed revenge and, when police warned that his life was in danger, he reportedly replied: "Then come and get me - just don't miss."

The ensuing war wiped out many of Melbourne's leading crime figures.

Williams was allegedly responsible for at least seven murders, but in a deal with police he pleaded guilty to four and one charge of attempted murder.

He ordered the murder of Jason Moran, who was gunned down in front of his two young children as he and an associate, Pasquale Barbaro, sat in a car outside a football ground at Essendon in June 2003.

In October the same year Williams was responsible for the slaying of 38-year-old Michael Marshall, shot four times in the head in front of his 5-year-old son, apparently in revenge for the killing of one of Williams' associates.

Williams ordered the murder of Lewis Moran, who was shot dead at a Brunswick club in 2004.

Williams was also convicted of the 2007 killing of drug trafficker Mark Mallia, and of conspiring to kill Mario Condello, an underworld lawyer shot dead at his home in Brighton in 2006.

Meanwhile, the Herald Sun reported yesterday that police had paid A$8000 ($9980) for Williams' daughter to attend an elite private school.

The newspaper said it could not say why the fees had been paid for legal reasons.